BENDING TOWARDS JUSTICE

Expanding Skills in Yoga communities

Faith Bynoe

Faith Bynoe, MDiv, is a Wellness Chaplain whose life mission is supporting the development of people as they strengthen their communities. Founder of Syncretic Wellness, Faith focuses on the intersectionality of integrative health and spiritual formation through a womanist and racial equity lens. It’s at this intersect that Faith believes people will optimize their health and focus on cultivating a just society. Race and equity is challenging; it impacts the mental, physical and spiritual health of individuals. Faith incorporates integrative techniques to support individuals' holistic wellness, address trauma, and increase community care by increasing their ability to address equity and inclusion.

For over 15 years, Faith has worked throughout the US and internationally with diverse communities supporting the health of individuals while addressing systemic equity. To that end, her work is currently focused on the creation and coordination of a national network of healers that conduct healing circles throughout neighborhoods providing rapid response to trauma and workshops with caregivers to care for themselves; creating an infrastructure for the healing and wellness sector to optimize service delivery; wellness coaching and capacity building with organizations, chaplaincy and teaching mindful leadership and workplace wellness to patients and staff. She’s worked with the New York Presbyterian Medical System, the NYC Center for Health Equity, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Urgent Action Fund, and Marga Inc among others.

Faith started and coordinated yoga and meditation practices for the over 7,000 members of Alfred Street Baptist Church (ASBC), as well as the faculty, staff and students of Howard University through Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel and the School of Divinity introducing and integrating the practices into their daily routine and spiritual practice. She has conducted self-care workshops and healing circles for over 300 caregivers nationally and internationally in places like Atlanta, Chicago, Oakland, and Haiti. She is currently completing training towards chaplaincy board certification, Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital- including the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Faith practices her own philanthropy while being active within her community. She is a founding member of the Black Benefactors, a giving circle focused on grant making in the Washington DC metro area. A licensed minister, Faith is an alumnus of Howard University School of Divinity, the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Program, is a member Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, and a Masters Series of Distinguished Leaders fellow. In her spare time, Faith loves to deepen her own yoga practice, finding balance in the vinyasa and restorative flow, listen to live music and hang out with family and friends. She resides in Brooklyn, NY. You can contact her at faith@syncreticwellness.com and find her on Twitter @wellnesspastor.