We caught up with the brilliant and insightful SonJoria Sydnor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

SonJoria, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I wear many hats as an entrepreneur, but at the heart of everything I do is one clear intention, to engage families in wellness practices. I center Black families in this work, while creating space where all families feel welcomed and seen.

Schools have often been the doorway, the most natural place to connect with children, but I have always known my purpose stretches beyond those walls. My vision is to make wellness a family practice, something that doesn’t end when the school day does, but continues in living rooms, in quiet moments, in everyday routines.

That vision is not without its challenges. In many ways, our society has placed the responsibility for children primarily on schools and educators. So when I try to reach both children and their caregivers outside of those spaces, it can feel like I’m pushing against what people are used to. There are moments when it seems like physical and mental well-being are not prioritized, and in those moments, I find myself wondering, am I truly making an impact, is this work reaching the families who need it most. Then, something shifts.

Recently, I was recognized and awarded for my work as an entrepreneur and community leader. Along with that recognition came messages, quiet, personal messages from parents and grandparents who shared how this work has touched their families. Those moments reminded me of something important. My reach may not be wide, but it is meaningful, and it is powerful.

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 background and context?

My story as an Author and Family Wellness Storyteller didn’t begin as a business idea, it began as a personal need. During and after pregnancy, I found myself navigating my own mental health, searching for ways to feel grounded, supported, and whole. In that season, I realized something important, if I wanted to truly prioritize my mental and physical well-being, it couldn’t be something I did alone. I needed to invite my children into the practice with me, to create a shared experience of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.

What started small began to grow. I led donation based yoga sessions, simply creating space where I could. I wrote a children’s book to reflect what I wasn’t seeing, and to give families something they could hold onto. And over time, that work evolved into something bigger, the founding of Our Family’s Doing Yoga, OFDY, also known as Black Kids Do Yoga, in 2020.

From the beginning, OFDY has been about more than movement. It is where wellness and literacy meet, where stories and practices come together in ways that feel joyful, accessible, and inclusive. Through our programs and products, we create representation in wellness spaces while supporting children and families in nurturing their social, emotional, mental, and physical well-being.

Today, that vision continues to expand. We’ve been featured on Nine PBS along with several other digital and media publications. We lead experiences in school-wide assemblies and after-school programs, and partner with libraries, museums, and community spaces to meet families where they are. Each summer, we take that work on the road through the Black Kids Do Yoga and Read Tour, traveling to different regions to introduce yoga, mindfulness, and literacy, and to create spaces where Black children can see themselves reflected in wellness as a natural part of the story.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

After writing Our Family’s Doing Yoga, I knew I didn’t want the journey to stop with the book. I kept thinking about what could come next, something hands on, something families, caregivers, and educators could use in real time. That’s when the idea for yoga pose and affirmation cards came to me. As a parent, I had already experienced how helpful they could be, and I wanted to create something that felt aligned with our work and truly useful for others.

The vision was clear, but the path was not. I had no idea how to bring it to life. My first step was reaching back to DG Self-Publishing, the team that helped me bring my book into the world. While this wasn’t their area of expertise, they pointed me in a new direction, toward Canva. Canva offered support and gave me a starting place, but I quickly realized that what I could create on my own didn’t fully match what I was envisioning.

Then an opportunity opened. I was awarded a business grant through Buy From A Black Woman, and that support allowed me to take the next step. I reached out to a local graphic artist who helped bring the vision to life in a way I couldn’t have done alone. From there, we partnered with She Prints It to produce the cards, turning an idea into something tangible that families could hold in their hands.

Looking back, that process taught me so much. The biggest lesson was simple but powerful, with the right support and even a small amount of capital, ideas can become real. Dreams that once felt out of reach can take shape. And because of that, I carry a deep sense of gratitude for organizations like Buy From A Black Woman, who choose to invest in small businesses and make stories like mine possible.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has never felt simple to me, especially as a solo entrepreneur. It’s a space full of possibilities, but also full of noise, with constant advice telling you to show up everywhere, all at once. At times, that pressure felt overwhelming. I’ve had to make intentional choices, to prioritize certain platforms, to step back from others, and to give myself permission to take breaks when needed.

Our journey began across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, each one offering a different way to connect. Early on, Instagram became the place where our community really started to grow. The engagement felt natural, the momentum was there, and over time, the other platforms became harder to maintain, especially when they didn’t feel as rewarding. So I leaned into what was working.

During the pandemic, that growth continued. Conversations around the Black Lives Matter movement and mental well-being were rising, and in many ways, our work naturally aligned with what people were seeking. Still, I didn’t have a clear strategy or formal experience. I showed up based on how I felt in the moment, creating and sharing from instinct rather than structure.

Now, things look a little different. I’ve begun to intentionally rebuild our presence on YouTube while continuing to show up on Instagram and Facebook. Through that process, I’m learning something that feels both simple and hard at the same time, consistency matters.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ourfamilysdoingyoga.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/blackkidsdoyoga?igshid=108b7otoad0ws
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackKidsDoYoga/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/OurFamilysDoingYoga

Image Credits

Tyler Smalls
Nico Church Photography
Felise Photography