Before sunrise on a Saturday, a small group gathers at Socialite Bar on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital. Instead of nursing hangovers, they sit cross-legged on the bare floor, eyes closed in meditation.
It’s an unlikely yoga spot. In Zimbabwe, the practice is rare, mostly confined to wealthy suburbs. Yet here, in a beer tavern in low-income Chitungwiza — 30 kilometers from Harare — it’s taking root.
Yoga instructor Actions Winya launched the free weekend classes in 2023, aiming to ease mental strain from economic hardship and social pressures. “Yoga is expensive, but ghetto residents need mental wellness too,” said Winya, who typically charges $30-$100 monthly in affluent areas — out of reach for most surviving on informal work.
Inside the tavern, about a dozen participants flow through poses to mellow music, no mats. A mother stays focused as her toddler darts around. The sounds of township life — taxi drivers shouting, vendors hawking goods — seep in.
For 47-year-old John Mahwaya, a father of four supporting rural relatives, yoga has been life-changing. “Stress made my head spin, back ache. Now I relax, sleep peacefully,” he said, noting Zimbabwe’s patriarchal norms push men to bottle emotions: “The mind suffers first — a slow death.”
Edinah Makosa, 24, found hope. “Depression stemmed from unemployment, relationships,” she said. “Yoga shifted my mindset. I sell beauty products now, and don’t stress over men.”
Yoga, a global multibillion-dollar industry with a U.N.-designated International Day (June 21), is spreading in African poor communities, backed by India. Winya dreams of a proper studio, but for participants like Mahwaya, “Mental fitness is everyone’s right — no matter where you live.”
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