Meet
Sam Williams
Meet Sam Williams, our partner from One Circle Health and Wellness and Concord Prison Outreach.
Raised in the heart of Boston, Sam Williams' journey exemplifies the transformative power of community, resilience, and mental health awareness. Growing up, Sam played Pop Warner Football with the Ross Bay Raiders and spent his days at the Shelburne Community Center. A graduate of the Boston Public School system, Sam always knew he wanted to give back to his community.
Amidst personal challenges, Sam discovered solace in yoga and meditation. Recognizing their profound impact on his well-being, he embarked on a mission to share these healing tools with others. For the past decade, Sam has taught trauma-sensitive yoga in Massachusetts prisons, helping incarcerated individuals "reestablish a relationship with their body and know how they can develop." He also leads free, virtual community meditation sessions seven nights a week and free virtual yoga every Saturday. When Sam first started these virtual sessions three and a half years ago, he wasn't sure how many people would attend, but he knew that even helping one person would make it worthwhile.
When I started doing this work, I was most excited about how to get this to the community—how to make it more accessible, more simple, how to put the practices in the hands of the community.
Sam cites the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social isolation as strong motivators for his journey into meditation and yoga. "Even though yoga is about movement and strengthening the muscles, you can definitely discharge trauma and stress through movement," he explains. Sam emphasizes that the benefits of yoga and meditation are difficult to articulate in words. Instead, he believes everyone should experience for themselves how these practices can "re-synthesize and retrain the nervous system—retrain the brain."
Yet, Sam acknowledges that yoga and meditation aren't one-size-fits-all solutions. He emphasizes the importance of cultural competency and meeting people where they are on their journey towards mental wellness. "When I started doing this work, I was most excited about how to get this to the community—how to make it more accessible, more simple, how to put the practices in the hands of the community."
I truly believe that healing starts within and expresses itself outwardly.
As a staunch advocate for mental health, he recognizes the intersecting factors that shape individual well-being. In a world plagued by staggering health disparities, particularly among Black populations, Sam sees yoga as a tool for healing. He uses his various platforms to introduce community members to these practices, hoping they'll integrate them into their daily lives.
"You want to engage and inspire people where you're able to plant the seed, and they walk away with something that they see is relevant and can be useful in their lives."
Sam is a longstanding partner of Vital CxNs and is currently a partner in our Mental Health Equity project. In discussing his work with Vital CxNs, Sam describes the landscape of Boston: “There's not a whole lot of cities you can go to that have that many medical institutions in a small geographical cluster, but somehow that information and knowledge still hasn't made it to the community in practical and useful ways.” This ongoing effort hopes to demystify mental health and address stigmatization in BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and persons of color) communities facing economic and health inequities.
“I truly believe that healing starts within and expresses itself outwardly.”
Written by Adede Appah-Sampong (May 2024)