Rev. Dr. Iyanla (pronounced E-Yan-La) Vanzant likes to call herself "just an ordinary person. " She loves to shop at Wal-Mart. She is a Law and Order re-run junkie. She has never missed an episode of Top Chef and, she is greatly grieved over Simon leaving American Idol. On Sundays she organizes her linen closet which includes ironing sheets and pillow cases. In her spare team she is a master scrapbook maker and an avid scrapbook supply shopper. She goes out in the snow to make sure the birds have food in their feeders and; when her friends know she is cooking, they drop everything to rush over. And while she loves to do the things that ordinary people do, Iyanla has proven herself to be somewhat...Extraordinary.
Motherless at age 3. Raped at age 9. A mother by age 16. The mother of 3 by age 21. Married and beaten from age 22 to 30. A college graduate at age 34. A law school graduate at age 38. A publishing force 15 titles, including 5 New York Times Best-Sellers throughout her 40s.
Many ordinary people cannot tell tales of tragedy, struggle, strength, courage and triumph in the same way Iyanla Vanzant can. Much of what she has seen, heard, and lived through would have devastated the ordinary person. Through her life's experiences Iyanla has uncovered her life's purpose, discovered the power that lies within soul, recovered her cultural and her spiritual self, to emerge shining, sharing her stories, her gifts, her discoveries and her love with the world.
In 1988 with seemingly little notice, Iyanla's path to working with man's law unfolded to become a divine appointment of working with and teaching with Spiritual Law. This shift gave birth to her work of service in the form of the Inner Visions Institute For Spiritual Development. In the form of classes, workshops, lectures and best-selling books Iyanla began to share her intimate knowledge, experience and sincere love for the beauty and power of Spiritual Law and Principles.
Iyanla is a Spiritual Technician. She is a Master Teacher. She is a woman of passion, clear vision and purpose, with a wicked sense of humor. Ordinary? Maybe. We think Dr. Maya Angelou's description is much more appropriate. Iyanla is, by many accounts, a Phenomenal Woman!