I-Jah Lundy is a passionate and high-spirited yogi.
He started teaching at Florida A&M’s Campus Recreational Center this year. Before that he taught for two years at the Tallahassee Yoga and Meditation Center.
He teaches at the rec center two times a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-6 p.m., and once a week on Fridays at the meditation center through Zoom.
Lundy started teaching at the rec center after being persuaded by a friend who urged him to share his gift with the students.
He enjoys teaching yoga at the rec center because he finds inspiration through the students who show up. He said he loves learning how to connect with others on a spiritual level.
Briona Hopkins, a student who took one of Lundy’s classes, found it to be a good experience as a first timer.
“The class was very inviting and easy to grasp,” Hopkins said.
She recommends it for all students who are interested in yoga and want to try it.
With a good start, Lundy hopes to continue to build a yoga community at FAMU.
“I would like to expand and get more yogis of the culture to the rec center to educate them on yoga and the benefits of it,” Lundy said.
He also plans on opening his own studio in Tallahassee in the near future.
“I imagine having studios with Black yoga instructors and students,” he said. “I feel like our culture has a special energy and yoga can help us connect with that.”
He began his journey with yoga after he was in a car accident and needed therapy.
Searching for a solution, he decided to take a class at the Tallahassee Yoga and Meditation Center.
“I fell in love with yoga after that class,” Lundy said. “I was amazed at how much energy I put out and received at the same time with the flow of the movement.”
He enjoyed how everyone was connected and focused on the current moment of the practice.
Since then, Lundy has been improving his practice for the past four years. He practices five days a week and is very devoted to it.
He has found that practicing keeps him grounded in his thoughts and actions. He also explained how it helps him cope with the daily challenges of life.
When Lundy isn’t teaching, he works as a caregiver for a friend with a disability. He enjoys helping his friend continue to live independently while at home.
Together, the two spend time with one another, and on the weekends, they travel to nearby beaches where his friend will teach scuba diving courses.
“He’s the first paraplegic person to master a scuba diving program,” Lundy said.
Working as a caregiver has given him inspiration. In the future, he said that he wants to give back to his community and help kids with disabilities and medical conditions through yoga.
Gabrielle Gabrielli, the executive director of Life Worth Leading and a friend of Lundy’s, described him as kind.
“I-jah is the most compassionate person I’ve ever met,” Gabrielli said. “He has such a positive energy that makes everyone feel joyful when around him.”
The two are mutual friends who have worked with one another through caregiving for their friend with disabilities. Gabrielli says that Lundy has a pure heart and everyone who meets him loves him.