#78 - Afrikan Yoga & Kemetic Yoga - Yoga in Ethiopia with Heran Tadesse
Welcome to Episode #78 of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast! My conversation with Heran Tadesse, a yoga teacher from Ethiopia, was so fascinating as we took a deep dive into African yoga and Kemetic yoga. I hope that this conversation made you curious about how yoga can help transform you into a vessel for peace, acceptance, and love.
If you’re looking to tune into a podcast episode that is all about yoga in Ethiopia, then this is the conversation for you.
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Tell me more about Heran Tadesse
Heran Tadesse is a yoga teacher from Ethiopia who has been teaching yoga for 9 years in several studios in the capital city of Addis Ababa. She teaches prenatal/postnatal yoga, and is a mother herself. As a student, she started off with Hatha Yoga. She was trained in Kemetic Yoga in Egypt and Afrikan Yoga in Kenya.
What to expect in the Yoga In Ethiopia episode of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast
Heran was adopted from Ethiopia as a baby, and was raised in the Netherlands. She studied tropical forestry in University, and first came to yoga at that time in her life. She practiced and attended classes for 10 years before attending a yoga teacher training in Belgium. After receiving a job offer in Addis Ababa, she returned to Ethiopia. She works in the educational sector and teaches yoga in multiple studios.
Heran then took us on a deep dive of what Kemetic Yoga, which has it’s roots in ancient Egypt which pre-dates yoga in India, though it is no longer a living part of Egyptian culture. It’s about reconnecting with the ancestors, and is modeled after the hieroglyphics. It’s akin to Iyengar yoga, with strict, static poses.
Afrikan yoga was founded by a man from Jamaica who is based out of Kenya. This style draws upon movements that people make, in the whole Nile Valley. This could be movements that fishermen make, or women who are grinding wheat. There are series of movements, with a lot more flow and, in fact, dance. There is a huge focus on relating to the elements.
Heran also walked us through all the diversity and beauty of her country, and about the history of yoga in Ethiopia and where she sees yoga going into the future. As there are only 20 yoga teachers, approximately, in her country— and as she is the most experienced practitioner in her country, she is often stopped on the street and people shout “yoga!” At her. The whole city knows her as the yoga teacher.
For the skimmers - What’s in the yoga in Ethiopia episode?
- The institutions of Afrikan yoga and Kemetic yoga
- Kemetic yoga is based on hieroglyphics
- Afrikan yoga is based on the natural movements of people in the Nile Valley and the elements
- Gatekeeping and the inaccessibility of yoga
- Being a vessel for more peace, acceptance, and love
- The growing scene of yoga in Ethiopia
Connect with Heran Tadesse
https://www.facebook.com/heran.tadesse
https://ethioyogaqueen.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/EthiopianYogaQueen
https://www.instagram.com/HeransYoga
Want more? Head on over to my website
https://wildyogatribe.com/thepodcast/
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