The Press

The New York Times

By CHESTER HIGGINS Jr.

Published: June 14, 2006

Queen Afua believes "there is a healer within each of us and we must establish a relationship with him/her."

Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

Queen Afua is a holistic health practitioner. Judging by the popularity of her books, "Heal Thyself for Health and Longevity" and "Sacred Woman," her message resonates with today's stressed population. Her third book, "City of Wellness," will be published this summer. Her Heal Thyself Living Center has expanded beyond Bedford-Stuyvesant to include celebrity and corporate clients.

"All women are sacred by birth," Queen Afua says, "all men are sacred by birth, and taking it back to the past, all men and women are based on the ancient lotus principle."

"The lotus," she says, "represents rebirth, illumination, purification, a oneness with the Most High within you."

She embraces ancient African theology. African-Americans, she notes, suffer greatly from high blood pressure, fibroid tumors, diabetes — in fact, many diseases — but "in nature there are answers, as ancient as breath."

African Queen-YOGA Magazine 2004

She is a queen among women and the womb is her kingdom. Queen Afua talks to Halima Malik about nutrition, nuturing and the importance of healing yourself

Exuding a calm disposition and a shimmering, clean complexion, Queen Afua is a tribute to the African legacy. Her timeless classic, Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind and Spirit continues to be an international bestseller. Her follow-up book Heal Thyself for Health and Longevity has also enjoyed success. Based around holistic health, the books are targeted at women and they encourage them to empower themselves by taking control of their health. The testimonials of hundreds of women are evidence of Queen Afua's healing touch. Her contributions and work with women overcoming difficulties has resulted in words of praise from a wide range of people including celebrities who have turned to her for healing. Bob Law, author and radio presenter describes Queen Afua as a "national treasure". Hazelle Goodman, the actress, describes her as an "extraordinary healer, teacher, mother, and keeper of our legacy. Through Sacred Woman, she has given us the sacred tools we need to live our lives in this new century".

An expert nutritionist and famous herbalist, hatha yoga instructor, founder of womb yoga, Ari ankh ka instructor and Khemetic Priestess, she is also founder and Director of the Global Sacred Woman Village Centre. Queen Afua's ideas are based around Afrocentric spirituality, she is a pioneer in the African-American women's health movement and together with her husband Hru Ankh Semahj is co-founder of the Heal Thyself Natural Living Centre in Brooklyn, New York. Queen Afua credits her husband with being her spiritual mentor and the inspiration for her work. '"He was the spiritual guide for sacred woman and he was the literary mind behind the scenes," she says. Their approach to healthy living is inspired by ancient Khemetic science (African spirituality) but they have applied it to contemporary living.

The courses and workshops that are designed for women focus principally around the 'womb centre'. Considered to be a focal point, it is a vortex of energy not just in the ancient khemet traditions, but also in yoga and in the martial arts traditions of the Chinese and Japanese. "In order for a woman's womb to be at peace, she needs to be at peace in all of her intimate relationships," observes Queen Afua in Sacred Woman (p.326). These relationships mean "with all things that she [woman] consumes at a physical or energetic level and that become a part of her. Whether the intimate exchange is breathing air into the body or putting food into her mouth, all of a woman's intimate relationships are rooted in her relationship with the self." The Centre's work revolves around the aryunkah concept "which is bringing your soul to life by focusing on the womb as the focal point and I'm careful of the movement that would help to flush the womb, energize the womb, balance the womb sending more oxygen to the womb centre". The womb is described as a plant and "if it's not watered properly, if it doesn't have the sun, it will die."

Therapies and techniques used in her work to help heal women include fasting, detoxing, diet, dance, yoga, aromatherapy, positive affirmations and use of ornaments and symbols and spas. The therapies are all natural and not only strengthen the physical body within, but also have a knock on effect on the psychology of women and how they perceive themselves. It's also a golden opportunity for the beauty conscious to expel harmful toxins and improve the complexion of the skin and hair.

The concept of healing yourself originated in Queen Afua's own self development. She tells me that at 18, she was suffering critically from a cocktail of diseases and ailments including arthritis, asthma and hay-fever, coupled with mood swings and lethargy. Simultaneously she was hooked on the medication, the prescription drugs used to relieve and alleviate the symptoms.

Desperate to overcome both the physical and psychological pain Queen Afua, on the advice of a friend, sceptically booked herself into a weekend retreat. She credits that weekend as a transformative one that changed her outlook forever. "I came up there with the asthma and I ate my grapefruits, my lemons, my oranges and I began to cleanse and purify." During that critical period of healing, Queen Afua confronted not only her inner self but also the toxins inside her physical body. "There was so much coming out of my system during that weekend," she explains. A sign of relief can be heard in her voice as she recalls how she confronted her breath. And it wasn't just breathing in the mechanical fashion but really feeling and appreciating its impact. "I got my breath back for the first time after years of medication," she says. This was a pivotal moment for Queen Afua. Her inner inquisitive nature and hunger to learn and educate herself in holistic and natural living led her to a new path. She began a self-study of holistic principles and her desire to help heal other women and to teach them to take control of their lives became Queen Afua's aspiration.

The Heal Thyself Centre, in the heart of New York, is the result of Queen Afua's willpower, courage and passion to transform a dream into reality. The centre has always used natural health techniques to overcome both psychological and physical pain. Founded 22 years ago when the concept of holistic health and natural health had not made a big impact with the many people, the centre nonetheless zealously preached healthy diet and living. It has firmly established itself now and its success is expanding and deservedly so. Her reputation and skill have passed through word of mouth and now many individuals have benefited from her work and support her methods. As a woman, we have to balance ourselves in the world in which are forced to survive. Eating healthily is critical to our survival and the wellness of the mind, body, spirit trinity. Foods in khemetic science are classified according to the elements and this concept can also be found also in both the ancient Indian and Chinese traditions. The elements are an integral component of our systems and instead of viewing them as separate and distinct, we have to learn to embrace them as a part of who we are, both psychologically and mentally.