When I learned that Queen Oprah and her wonderful Lifeclass was coming to St. Louis, I chomped at the bit to get tickets. I went through the lottery process for the tickets and received a blessing—two admissions to the 7pm Lifeclass Tour with Oprah and author, speaker, and spiritual coach, Iyanla Vanzant.
What took place on the evening of March 26th at the historic Peabody Opera House in downtown St. Louis was indeed lifechanging. As a “Lifeclasser” and student of Oprah’s Lifeclass since its inception on OWN, I have attended the classes virtually. But being in an actual class with hundreds of other people, some who traveled from as far as California, to bear witness to the lessons, the teachings, and the amazing words of two women who have been given a gift to help us achieve, heal, learn, grow, and love was a phenomenal experience.
Iyanla spoke on the theme: Stop the Pain. This resounded with me because I have experienced pain in my life. Pain not of the physical sort, but dealing with emotional and mental pain has been an issue for me. We all find ways of copping with our pain; whether it be drugs, sex, food, alcohol, shopping, some of us use pain as a crutch for our addictions. And it then becomes a slippery slope as we cope with these issues on a daily basis. These issues stop us from living the lives we should be living, and instead of living to the fullest, we are living to cover the pain.
The event was a cathartic one as I shed tears as I held my Aunt’s hand. When I found out that I would be going to see Lifeclass live, there was no one else I thought of bringing with me. She has been such a great Aunt and friend and I knew she and I would takeaway a lot from the experience.
During the two hour Lifeclass, which was broadcast live on OWN, we learned the story about Steve, a man who has overcome his addictions, but still living in the past with his “story”. Iyanla said that Steve’s new addiction is the story of his addiction, which makes me stagnant. Many times, we all hold on to our stories and our pasts with a “whoa is me” attitude, instead of embracing the now and what we can do to move forward. It was a touching moment as Iyanla brought up two men from the audience (one was Tim from the OWN reality show based in St. Louis, Sweetie Pie’s), so that they would “hold him up” and let Steve know his father was proud of him. We all stood with Steve and clapped for his overcoming.
Words cannot fully express what I felt in that room during Lifeclass, but I will tell you, it was such a gift. And I am so grateful. I am so happy that Oprah chose St. Louis as the first city she brought the Lifeclass Tour to.
Below are some pictures from this historic night. To watch the full broadcast of Lifeclass, click HERE (you can see me and my Aunt at the 1:48 mark of the show as well as a few times throughout the program). And check this out. The picture above that I took during the program in which I tweeted and shared on Instagram is being used on the Lifeclass Storify site. You can see it on the page where you can view the video).
Outside of the historic Peabody Opera House. It was electric as we waited to get inside
Me with my Aunt before the show
I always meet a lot of fascinating people when I go places. That evening was no exception
Seated in the Peabody Opera House. Surreal.
My shoe game. We had to wait in line for awhile, so I had on my rolled flats. When I got inside, I put these on
Lifeclass the Tour stage
Queen O during the opening of the show
Oprah and the teacher for the evening, Iyanla Vanzant during the break discussing the next segment
Oprah made sure to introduce St. Louis’s own Miss Robbie from Sweetie Pie’s
Oprah working the audience
Iyanla Vanzant has a new show that will premiere on the OWN channel this summer called Iyanla Fix My Life. We were treated to a preview of it before the show started and it will be a program I will be watching.
Did you watch the Lifeclass broadcast? What were your thoughts?
How wonderful! So glad you had the opportunity to experience this.
Thank you for commenting, Bessie. It is something that I will remember for the rest of my life! It was amazing! 🙂
Thanks for this post. You know I love you…but I was soooo envious! Lol I love Oprah’s LifeClass. The lessons are priceless. So glad you were able to share and learn from your experience. SN: you looked cute! Lol
Andrea, I think I would be a little envious too of someone else if I wasn’t there. It was indeed an experience of a lifetime and I came away with so much. My blog post doesn’t even begin to touch on the lessons I learned during that Lifeclass. And thank you for the compliment!
The night was and still has an affect on me that I can’t explain. I realized the pain I also have. My best friend came from Tulsa so the day was something that changed both of our lives. I’m still taking notes and looking at the recording on my DVR. I will probably post by Friday. The healing has started, and I’m in control of all that. Can’t wait to tell my new story. I looked for you, but you know how packed the house was!
This was the most awesome show Oprah has EVER put on. The life lessons shared are priceless and so spiritual. I can not wait for Iyanla’s show on OWN!
Great post! I watched and was equally moved. I can’t wait for next Monday!
As a huge fan of Oprah for many, many years, and a lover of inspirational quotes, Monday night’s LifeClass was perfect for me. I am now obsessed with Iyanla and I want to know and study everything she says.
I watched the Steve segment twice and cried both times. I felt so sad for the guy and I wanted to reach through the tv and give him a hug. Not focusing on the story but learning the lessons that came with it and pressing on forward is what we all need to remember. As a christian woman, we are all going to have trials and tribulations, and what we do with them is going to affect our outcome. I have learned this year to never regret your past, but take what it taught you and move forward.
I look forward to New York next week and the rest of the LifeClass series!
I love Oprah and am so glad Iyanla will have her own show on OWN! I think Iyanla is great. I have all her books and just adore her-!
Great write-up. I didn’t see the entire show but plan to do so soon. I’m slightly envious, however, that you got to see a preview of “Fix My Life.”. Haha. But yeah, thanks for sharing your experience.
I watched the show. I love the statement that Iyanla made to Steve: “I am not my brother’s keeper; I am my brother!” POWERFUL.
Thanks for sharing your experience as well as highlights from the show. I love it that OWN is producing more of this type of programming. Have to admit I was a bit worried about marathon showings of shows about infidelity and convicts. I hope that the audience will continue to grow for this powerful and positive programming.
Thanks for using your platform to spread the word!