Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shanta Sweet. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Shanta, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2016, I left New York and everything and everyone I knew to move to Jacksonville, FL. I didn’t have a job lined up. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or that I’d stay. I just knew I wanted a change in life. I suffered through some brutal winters over the years in New York and after a life changing, near fatal motor vehicle accident, I decided the cold weather was no longer for me. So, I took a big leap of faith and ended up 1,000 miles south in Florida!

Employers will often ask, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. I can tell you; I could never imagine being where I am now when I left NY in 2016. I changed jobs a few times before I found my way in pursuing my passions. The journey has not been easy, but I have never been happier with the quality of my life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Shanta Sweet and I’m a Registered Yoga Teacher. I was first introduced to yoga in 2003 and immediately loved the sense of peace I experienced during gentle and restorative classes. After engaging in many other forms of fitness, I returned to yoga in 2009 for holistic healing of a back injury. I used my practice to restore my body and have been practicing yoga ever since. I work with private clients, and partner with other organizations like Yoga 4 Change to teach accessible yoga. As a Yoga teacher, my vision is to bring inspiration and the therapeutic benefits of yoga to those that think it isn’t accessible to them due to injury, pain limitations, range of motion issues, trauma or other challenges.

In 2021, the best parts of my world collided, and I joined the Yoga 4 Change team as full time Grant Manager. I currently manage the Overdose to Action (OD2A) Grant, which was created to reduce the overdose epidemic in the United States.

Yoga 4 Change is a non-profit organization that achieves lasting, demonstrative change for veterans, individuals who are experiencing incarceration, youth, and people living with mental health conditions through a purpose-driven yoga curriculum.

Yoga 4 Change provides evidence-based trauma-informed programming. This sets us apart from other organizations. Data are what allows Yoga 4 Change to be a results-driven organization that is motivated by the change we see in our students.

I am most proud of the work I get to do with Yoga 4 Change each day. The quantitative and qualitative data we collect shows the impact of our programming. It’s what motivates me to keep doing the work! I can see that what we do makes a difference in our local communities and in the world.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In July 2013, I was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. I suffered major injuries, including a shattered femur and a broken tibia. After several extensive surgeries, I started on the road to rehabilitation. I endured a lot of pain but learned that I was very lucky to be alive. I had to start from the beginning with many activities, including learning to walk, bathe and even dress. By late December, I was medically cleared to return to a gentle yoga practice. I had turned to yoga in the past for holistic healing of an injury, so I decided I would restore my body through yoga again, and I did! My first physical yoga practice after my motor vehicle accident was with my teacher, Ellen Wesler. Ellen offered to work with me one on one in her studio to help ease me back into the practice. It was a super gentle restorative class. I was so excited that I was able to do some of the asanas that I love again! Ellen has been an inspiration to me since the very first class I took with her in 2009 and I credit her as the reason I fell in love with yoga.
My love for yoga and seeing its healing effect on my body is what inspired me to take my first yoga teacher training. I completed my 200-hour RYT training at Happy Buddha Yoga in Goshen, NY in August 2014. In 2015, I went on to study with Alison West at Yoga Union and Yoga Union Backcare & Scoliosis Center in New York City. After moving to Jacksonville, FL in 2016, I connected with Yoga 4 Change and joined the teaching team, further pursuing my passion to inspire and empower others and serve the community.
I love expanding my knowledge base. In 2016, I completed a Yoga for Cancer certification with Christina Phipps Foundation in Jacksonville, FL. In 2021, I became certified in Accessible Yoga.
Out of my own journey, a passion to help others was born!

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I like to say this profession (yoga) chose me. Prior to ever taking a yoga class, I always enjoyed so many other forms of fitness. When injury kept me from the other fitness activities, yoga was there. I wouldn’t recommend my journey as the way to get on this career path, but I don’t think I’d be here any other way. Yoga changed my life and saved my life!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.y4c.org
• Instagram: @y4c_official
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/yoga4changeJax, www.facebook.com/yoga4changeorlando, www.facebook.com/yoga4changesoflo, www.facebook.com/yoga4changetampa
• Linkedin: yoga-4-change
• Twitter: yoga_4_change
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpwrT1k2hEuHwZwqmh7t2g
• Other: Shanta Sweet website: sweetinspires.com Shanta Sweet instagram: @sweet_inspires