Exercising In My Aftro...

Dear God, (and anyone else out there reading...)

Day One
On Wednesday, I was waiting to see Creyole in aerobics. She was not there when I got there, but I was all prepared for her to take up close pictures of me with her digital camera to post on my blog.

So in a earlier e-mail I told her I would be wearing my afro. Well, I strutted confidently into class for the first time wearing my own natural hair.

Then I could not contain myself. Since class was late starting, many ladies were already there sitting around waiting for our instructor and class to start. I said, "Hey everybody, do you see my hair?" Many gave positive comments and some were silent. I started singing about how free I feel.

These pictures in this post are AFTER the workout. Which I think came about pretty good. Now the BEFORE the workout, you just have to take my word that I was-- my hair (which I had freshly styled) and my little lip gloss, and my outfit were --too cute! I will try to recreate myself next week and see if I can make another photo appointment with Creyole.

I hardly heard anyone as I told them I am going to get Sisterlocks™ real soon like the ones Creyole sports. Some began relate, by making comments about such as , "do I know such and such who wears her hair natural ?" and other ladies they know in class who wear their hair natural. Eventually with both Creyole and RJQueen10 in class being free to be natural they ALL will want to make the change.

It IS personal and it IS a process (like all healings that don’t come directly from Jesus Christ and God Himself. The bible declares that whenever Jesus healed, the miracle was immediate, instantaneous.)

In aerobics class, I told them not to laugh if my afro shrunk up by the end of class. I was really surprised that it did not shrink up after sweating up a storm for a little over 1 hour and then taking a hot shower afterward. I sweat so hard, that even by the time Creyole came into the dressing room (I left class 15 minutes early to shower etc.) I could not stop my body from sweating. However, my hair performed “exceedingly and abundantly” above all of my expectations and without shrinkage. You can see my sweat in this photo. My husband gave me a pretty good edge up! Thanks, hubby! I would have preferred a softer edge-up but beggars can't be choosy!

Day Two
okay, Okay OKAY here is FREEDOM and PEACE. I went to aerobics class again on Thursday, sporting my Afro day 2. There were a different set of ladies in the Tues/Thus. class vs. the Mon/Wed/Sat class. I did not make a big to-do about my hair today. However, I received several compliments on my figure (so far I have lost 24 pounds since 10/18/2006) and MY HAIR. I believe my strut is just so much more confident than in the past, so much more “phenomenal” (as Maya Angelou might say).

Okay I came home and today my 4 to 6 inch afro shrunk up like crazy (that did not happen yesterday, thank you, God because I went to church immediately after my workout)! I was like okay I have to do something to my hair or else tomorrow it will be totally unmanageable. I stepped in the hot shower with my large tooth comb. The heat and steam were perfect. I wish I had some eucalyptus to clear up my nasal passage (well actually I do have some I just did not know how to apply it during my shower, I usually take it to the gym with me and use it in the steam room). I let the strong water flow thru my hair. Whew! That felt so very, Very, VERY great! I just rinsed the impurities out, because on Satudays I like to do "No Poo" shampoo sessions with my hair and it is just was not time for that again, yet.

My hair became soft. I was able to comb thru easily. After I got out of the shower, I applied about 16 or so large Two-Strand Twists to my damp hair and foam rolled the ends. Let's see how my afro comes out in the morning... I am excited, refreshed, and renewed!

Day Three
I like the way my hair came out! I am actually forcing myself to like and LOVE my hair. I wanted to cover my hair up, because it was kind of unruly. However, I reasoned. I look less unnatural being natural than I did when I went about with braid extensions with lots of new growth coming in and fake ponytails extensions. I am glad I did not cover up my natural hair. I wrapped a black scarf around the edges and went to workout at the gym. I felt cute, I may not have looked cute, but I felt cute. And that I believe, is half of he battle. Understanding my natural hair is maturing me into the phenomenal woman that I want to become.

I completed the workout with another one of those great steamy showers. This time I applied a Moisturizing Spritz to my hair-- 1 teaspoon of aloe vera juice, 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin (I don't have this ingredient--I need to go to the whole foods store), 3 drops of your favorite essential oils (I used about 1o drops of Jojoba Oil, 1 teaspoon of Tea Tree Oil). For water I used 2 Cups Dasani purified bottled water a product of The Coca-Cola Company, that I drink about 80 to 100 oz of daily. I picked up this recipe from page 45 in a book called "Going Natural" by Mireille Liong-A-Kong, http://going-natural.com. I Two-Strand Twisted my damp hair and foam rolled the ends. Put on my black nylon bonnet with while ruffles. Then I chilled with the twins and my neice the rest of the evening.

Sisterlocks™ here comes RJQueen10, my appointment is 13 days away on March 16, 2007!

In Jesus's Name, Amen

Sis. RJQueen10

If anyone out there besides God is listening, feel free to share and post a response.