Free Yo’ Mind – A Mental Health Workshop Rooted in Faith and Freedom
Before a single word was spoken, before chairs were filled or introductions were made, a spirit of calm already swept through the room. Attendees were treated to a 15-minute, instructor-led yoga session that invited breath, presence, and stillness into their bodies. It was a grounding moment—a prelude to a powerful evening centered on healing, truth, and community care.
Hosted by the Spiritual Wellness Partners of the ChiWellness Circle at the Project VIDA Wellness Center — the Free Yo’ Mind workshop brought together over 25 community members to engage in a soul-stirring dialogue about mental health in Black LGBTQ+ faith spaces. With May recognized nationally as Mental Health Awareness Month, this event served as both a celebration of progress and a call to reclaim wellness as a sacred birthright.
The evening was introduced by longtime collaborators and community leaders including Dr. Ulysses Burley III, Rev. Jyrekis Collins , Darren Calhoun and Pastor Charles Straight, who set the tone with an honest reflection on how the Black church has historically misunderstood or stigmatized mental health—especially in LGBTQ+ contexts.
Against this backdrop, the featured guest, John Sykes, an integrative therapist, educator, and beloved community member, took the mic. What followed was an unfiltered, deeply resonant talk that wove together personal story, clinical insight, cultural critique, and a call for embodied healing.
“We walk around carrying so many wordless tragedies,” Sykes shared. “We have to loosen the grip—on social media, on shame, on silence.”
Sykes encouraged attendees to reimagine therapy beyond the therapist’s couch—naming community, breathwork, rest, meditation, and safe spaces like Free Yo’ Mind as essential expressions of care — reminding us that:
Healing is collective, not just personal. Sykes rejected the whitewashed, individualistic notion of self-care. “We need people like we need air,” he said. “Collective care is our way forward.”
Mental health support can look like many things. Attendees explored alternatives to talk therapy, from hypnotherapy to yoga, astrology to group art-making—especially important given the systemic barriers in traditional mental health care.
Spirituality and therapy are not opposites. Rather, Sykes emphasized how integrating faith and mental health can be liberating when rooted in affirming theology.
Audience questions pushed the conversation further—tackling issues like finding the right therapist, affordable access to care, managing substance use with compassion, and the role of alternative practices like consulting hypnotism and cultural pathways to healing.
One attendee, a military veteran, spoke movingly about learning to manage PTSD outside of medication, while another reflected on how generational models of care emphasized community resilience over individual survival.
Each moment, whether spoken from the stage or shared from the floor, reinforced a core truth: we heal better when we heal together.
As the evening drew to a close, gratitude and possibility filled the room. There was no altar call, but there was a call to remember: your body is wise, your rest is resistance, your joy is sacred, and your healing is valid.
“Make an intention to protect your energy and be in community,” Sykes said in closing. “Love each other more. Talk about each other less. Celebrate what’s here.”
The ChiWellness Circle and its Spiritual Wellness Partners are proud to continue creating safe, liberating spaces like this one—where mind, body and soul can be held in love and light.
We would especially like to thank Jerome Montgomery of Project VIDA for hosting this wonderful event, and we invite you to check out our full media gallery to see highlights from the pre-event yoga session and workshop!
Be sure to Follow @ChiWellnessCircle on Instagram for future events, insights, and spiritual wellness tools…and to visit our ChiWellness Community Calendar for free classes, workshops, therapy session and upcoming community building events.
