Our Story
At Agbara, our mission is to empower women of the diaspora, providing them with a safe and supportive space to heal, be seen, and support one another on their individual journeys. We believe in the power of restoration and transformation, which is why we employ a range of healing modalities and create an optimal environment for personal growth. Our aim is to offer a transformative experience that not only empowers women to heal but also equips them to become catalysts of healing for others. We believe that by embracing our own healing journeys, we can inspire and hold space for others to do the same, making a positive impact in the world.
Kema and Amber's sisterhood spans over two decades. Their friendship blossomed during their college years in Charlotte, NC, where they were both members of the track & field team. The deep connection they formed became the bedrock for Agbara, as they supported and understood each other as young women. The Agbara Experience is built upon the healing, nurturing, and spiritual essence of their friendship.
The inception of this collaboration can be traced back to the real-life challenges that Kema and Amber individually faced. These challenges compelled them to embark on separate journeys of healing and self-discovery. Along their paths, they recognized the significance of returning to their roots, rediscovering their inherent power, and reconnecting with the essence of who they truly are. It is within this transformative process that 'Agbara' came to fruition.
Amber Wood
Sacred Woman ~ Healer ~ Light Worker
Amber Wood is a certified Holistic Practitioner, Reiki Master, Meditation and Breathwork Practitioner, and Herbalist from Durham, NC. Through her own loss journey, she was brought to a place of seeking deeper healing - mind, body and spirit, and this uncovered a desire to cultivate safe spaces of healing for other women. It also inspired her to launch her company, Scales & Alchemy, which was founded on the belief that every woman deserves to be seen, heard, healed, and whole.
As she journeyed through her own path to self-discovery, she realized that her mission was to go beyond healing in the general sense and she found greater inspiration to expand and become a Pregnancy Loss Practitioner. In this capacity, she guides women to heal their loss wounds through the uses of neuro linguistic programming (NLP), emotional freedom techniques (EFT), and nervous system down-regulation to promote holistic recovery.
Amber brings forth a tapestry of sacred practices, and it’s her use of her innate wisdom, divine guidance, formal and informal education and a multidimensional approach that encourages expansive evolution in her clients, as they navigate their own experiences. She understands that her role isn’t to diagnose, but to remove barriers to their self-discovery and cultivate an environment where her clients can lean into their own inner wisdom for guidance. Her experience honors women's wholeness, and creates a nurturing sanctuary for their soul.
Kema Ward
Yogini ~ Death Doula ~ Mentor
Kema Ward-Hopper is an Alliance Certified Yoga Asana Instructor, Certified Death Doula, Life Coach, and author originally from Houston, TX, now based in Nicoya, Costa Rica. Drawing on her own transformative journey through life’s challenges, including overcoming cancer and embracing a new path of mindfulness, Kema empowers individuals to heal, grow, and thrive by integrating the principles of the 8 Limbs of Yoga with accessible spirituality.
As a passionate advocate for personal and collective transformation, Kema and her husband founded UnpluggedCR, a mindfulness collective dedicated to cultivating presence and inner peace. Through yoga, meditation, and other healing practices, they create spaces for deep reflection, restoration, and community connection.
Kema is also the author of For My Beloveds and The Power Within, with a forthcoming memoir that delves deeply into her own journey of transformation. She is committed to helping others embrace their innate potential, create lives of purpose, and hold space for healing in their communities.
Janeen Anderson
Creative ~ Flow Facilitator ~ Cultivator
Janeen is an alliance registered yoga teacher and uses her education in body work, energy healing, and mindfulness to support women in honing their power, reemerging from their shadows, and embodying a life of bliss and balance. As a Flow Facilitator she offers integrative mindfulness practices and yoga asana to elevate the experiences of beingness within the body, heart, and mind. She threads philosophy into movement and meditation practices to empower students to witness and embody Divine Bliss, Alignment, and Power. Utilizing a Humanistic and Eastern Psychology approach, she offers experiences that foster increased relaxation, self-awareness, compassion, and inner peace while strengthening the body, mind, and soul so that we may flow more freely and bend more beautifully on and off the mat.
Over the past nine years, Janeen has captured and celebrated the beautiful essence of women, families, and personal brands through Mindful Photography, honoring the personal stories we all hold through video and portraiture. She uses her background in mindfulness, art, and well-being to curate mindful photography sessions that serve as a rebirthing for women around the world, capturing the magic of the heart embodied.
Collectively harnessing the practices and awareness as a Flow Facilitator, Embodiment Coach, and Photographer, she offers love and Divine support to those in community. Fostering a space for remembrance and actualization of our birthright of peace and joy.