This Ancient Wellness Practice Reminds Us To Slow Down And Focus On Our Healing

Yoga is a beautiful practice that helps participants deepen their relationship with their mind, body, and spirit. 

It’s well known that yoga has roots in India. But did you know yoga can also be traced back to Africa? 

Kemetic yoga, also known as Smai Tawi, originated in ancient Egypt. Many of the Kemetic yoga poses are based on hieroglyphs found in Egyptian temples. 

The images show Egyptian pharaohs and gods in a series of different positions. 

While Kemetic yoga has some similarities to other traditional yoga practices, usually Kemetic yoga is done at a slower pace. 

Moving slowly allows practitioners to center breathwork, meditation, and engage their chakras. This helps to shift the energy stored within the body. 

Many civil rights activists like Rosa Parks practiced yoga. 

Today there are groups and classes available to help you learn basic techniques. There are online resources as well. Here’s a good routine to get you started.

Anti-Blackness continues to use capitalism to whitewash wellness practices like yoga. This is a major reason why Kemetic yoga is often excluded from yogic origin stories and archives. 

We decolonize wellness practices every time we reclaim our history. Exercising Afro-diasporic wellness practices honors our ancestors, provides us with spiritual self-care, and strengthens our relationship with healing as we raise the next generation.