By Moses Abeka
Thanks to doing what I love, I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Afrikan yoga, Pablo Imani, a UK born and raised yoga teacher with Jamaican roots and member of International Board of African Thinkers, conducting a yoga teacher training class at Nabbinonya beach, Entebbe 50km drive from Kampala city.
His star studded class included the beautiful UK based song bird and poet Lenea Herew, two time BEFFTA winner Janelle Oswald, the gorgeous Liz and Cisi Uma. Star struck, I was!
I had a brief chat with the founder of Afrikan yoga and this how it went;
1.PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF
My name is Pablo Imani. Am a teacher of yoga and the founder of Afrikan yoga. I have been teaching Afrikan yoga for about 12 years. Am bringing the principles and practices of Afrikan yoga to the world stage, i guess.
2.HOW DID YOU GET INTO YOGA
There are two stories that go with that. The first story; At home we had two cats when I was a little boy and I used to copy the cat stretching (we break into laughter) ….and that was my journey into yoga.
The other story; I had a bad back and was told to do Tai Chi (Chinese yoga). I did tai chi for a long time but my back was still bad! I later looked into a book on Egyptian yoga by Mouta Ashley who became a mentor to me. I did three back postures for a week and had no back pain! It was a breakthrough to me, I had to discover the secret of yoga.
3.DO I HAVE TO BE FLEXIBLE TO DO YOGA?
No you don’t. Nobody is flexible at the beginning except babies. Yoga helps you became like a baby again; nice, soft, flexible and receptive to learning.
4.DOES THAT MAKE YOGA MORE OF THE PHYSICAL?
No. It starts mentally. For instance, you can look at a chair. Before the carpenter formed the chair, he had to see it mentally. The more perfect the mental picture, the more perfect the physical manifestation will be.
5.HOW RELEVANT IS YOGA IN TODAY’S SOCIETY?
Yoga principles work with breath. Breathing allows the body to rejuvenate the cells and distress. Anxiety and stress puts the body out of balance producing toxins which cause emotional related diseases. Yoga practice focuses on breathing, for instance, when in danger, the first thing is your breathing rate increases and adrenaline kicks in, and naturally you calm down by breathing.
6.ON A SCALE OF 1-10, DOES YOGA MAKE ONE A BETTER LOVER?
I would say 10! ( Laughs)… Yoga puts you in touch with your own body. As you become aware and sensitive of your body, you begin to appreciate the other person. It gives you strength, flexibility and stamina to go into those wonderful bendy positions and because you are fit, you can sustain your energy and last longer. It is not only sexual, you begin to see the other person as a spiritual being to whom you are connected to thus creating a higher vibration and sex is a beautiful sacred thing that should be done with a higher vibration in mind.
7.WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR YOGA?
African is expanding to a more modern society and evolving, they need to embrace the African technology to keep healthy.
To be part of the African yoga experience, visit http://afrikanyoga.com/ for class, events and training classes in Kampala, Manchester
INTERVIEWED BY MOSES ABEKA
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/moses.abeka24
EMAIL: [email protected]om
MOBILE: 0785408698
“[katogoaward]”