Yoga in a Zimbabwe tavern is the latest mental health outreach in a struggling country

CHITUNGWIZA,
Zimbabwe
—
It’s
before
sunrise
on
a
Saturday
and
a
small
group
has
gathered
at
Socialite
Bar
in
on
the
outskirts
of
Zimbabwe’s
capital.
Instead
of
nursing
hangovers,
they
sit
with
eyes
closed
and
bodies
in
meditative
poses
on
the
bare
floor.

It’s
an
unlikely
setting
for
a
yoga
class.
In
Zimbabwe,
the
practice
is
rare
and
mostly
found
in
the
wealthy
suburbs.
Yet
it
is
quietly
taking
root
here
in
a
beer
tavern
in
Chitungwiza,
a
low-income
town
30
kilometers
outside
the
capital,
Harare.

The
initiative
is
led
by
Actions
Winya,
a
yoga
instructor
who
saw
how
economic
hardship
and
social
pressures
were
damaging
the
mental
health
of
people
in
his
hometown.

“Yoga
is
expensive
…
but
we
also
got
humans
in
the
ghetto.
They
need
mental
wellness,”
said
Winya,
who
usually
teaches
in
affluent
areas,
charging
between
$30
and
$100
a
month.
That’s
an
impossible
cost
for
most,
especially
in
a
country
where
many
survive
through
informal
jobs.

Since
2023,
Winya
has
been
offering
free
weekend
classes
to
some
of
those
hardest
hit
by
Zimbabwe’s
economic
problems.

The
sessions
have
become
a
source
of
relief
for
people
navigating
relentless
challenges.
Authorities
acknowledge
a
growing
societal
crisis
worsened
by
drug
abuse,
domestic
violence
and
poverty,
compounded
by
a
shortage
of
public
health
services
and
therapists.

“I
am
a
coach,
so
they
bring
the
stuff
that
they
face
within
families
(to
me).
This
is
where
we
come
in
and
say,
‘Guys,
come
and
try
yoga,
it
can
help
somehow,’”
Winya
said.

Yoga,
an
ancient
Indian
practice,
has
become
a
multibillion-dollar
industry
and
a
daily
ritual
for
millions
around
the
world.
The
United
Nations
over
a
decade
ago
designated
June
21
as
International
Day
of
Yoga.

In
Africa,
other
countries
like
Kenya
and
South
Africa
are
introducing
yoga
to
poorer
communities,
with
the
Indian
government
promoting
its
spread
across
the
continent.

Inside
the
tavern
in
Zimbabwe,
mellow
music
played
as
about
a
dozen
participants
moved
through
poses.
They
had
no
mats,
just
a
cold
brick
floor,
but
plenty
of
determination
for
inner
peace.
One
mother
tried
to
stay
focused
as
her
toddler
dashed
around,
disrupting
her
poses.

For
47-year-old
John
Mahwaya,
the
practice
has
been
transforming.
A
father
of
four,
he
also
supports
relatives
in
the
countryside,
a
responsibility
he
said
once
weighed
heavily
on
his
mental
health.

“My
head
was
always
spinning.
I
thought
I
was
losing
my
mind,
and
the
stress
started
causing
back
pains,”
he
said.
“Yoga
helps
me
relax
and
clear
my
mind.
I
sleep
peacefully
these
days.”

He
said
many
Zimbabwean
men
bottle
up
their
emotions,
afraid
to
show
weakness
in
a
highly
patriarchal
society
that
prizes
toughness.

“We
focus
on
physical
fitness,
forgetting
the
mind,”
he
said.
“We
suffer
slowly,
but
what
suffers
first
is
the
mind,
and
from
there,
it
becomes
a
slow
death.”

Edinah
Makosa,
24,
joined
the
class
earlier
this
year
and
said
it
gave
her
hope.

“I
used
to
be
depressed
a
lot.
You
know,
for
people
my
age,
our
main
stressors
are
unemployment
and
relationships,”
she
said.

“Yoga
changed
my
mindset.
I
used
to
think
negatively
all
the
time.
Now
I
have
started
selling
beauty
products
to
earn
a
living.
As
for
romance,
well
if
it
works,
it
works;
if
it
doesn’t,
it
doesn’t.
I
no
longer
stress
about
men.
I
go
with
the
flow.”

As
they
practiced,
the
sounds
of
township
life
seeped
in.
Taxi
drivers
shouted
for
passengers.
Vendors
pushed
carts,
calling
out
to
potential
customers.

“We
need
a
proper
environment
and
studio.
But
we
are
trying,”
Winya
said.

For
participants
like
Mahwaya,
the
location
didn’t
matter
nearly
as
much
as
the
healing.

“We
need
to
promote
yoga
in
the
communities
because
everyone
has
a
mind.
And
fitness
of
the
mind
is
the
responsibility
of
everyone,
regardless
of
where
you
live,”
he
said.
–
AP