Yoganika a safe space for women to declutter from burdens of patriarchy: Anika Rabbani
‘Taking up Space’ is The Business Standard Online’s latest addition – a column that entails the intricacies of womanhood. At the same time, the content aims to embrace, critique and examine this gender role and identity in its purest form and essence. Inspired by the book “Taking up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change”, the column's name signifies a woman’s bid to emulate power, share the vulnerabilities and challenges, and pave the way for equity.
Anika Rabbani, the woman whose life's most heart-felt establishment is "Yoganika", stands firm on empowering women through the practice of yoga.
She describes the journey of yoga as one that is beyond just a fixed set of rules or physical Asana (postures) but as the means of learning "Yama and Niyama" – ethics, wisdom and philosophies through which we can learn how to lead a good and fulfilling life.
"If you think of it [yoga] as black and white, or strength versus weakness, or 'Purusha and Prakriti' – as polar or binary opposites, then yoga is the middle path; the path to peace, serenity, magnificence, and to God," she says.
"Union with the divine through what we call 'Ishvara Pranidhana', you will find that yoga is a journey by which we learn to navigate the hardest moments of life."
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I have a dream that someday I would teach yoga in jails and prisons to the inmates
Rabbani, now a 43-year-old single mother to an 11-year-old daughter, embarked upon teaching yoga following some of life's most challenging moments leading up to an epiphany.
In conversation with The Business Standard, Anika Rabbani reflects on her personal journey of finding her truest calling and shares how she eventually built Yoganika.
On a December morning, at the Yoganika studio, Rabbani sat back on her couch and mused on having certain idealist views on life.
In this connection, she said, "I have a dream that someday I would teach yoga in jails and prisons to the inmates. I want to teach yoga to the underprivileged," she said as the warmth of scented candles illuminated every corner, dotted with indoor plants and small meditative sculptures – perhaps collected to create a symbolic décor to her home interior.
"I was 14-years old when I broke my tailbone and my mother sent me to yoga classes to recover. I couldn't walk for six months. But I wasn't that serious about yoga as a child or even in my 20s."
But after the birth of her daughter, Rabbani experienced a whole new challenge in life amidst bouts of post-natal depression. As a saving grace, she turned to yoga.
But the path in between was rocky.
"I've been working since the age of 14. I did various odd jobs – I worked as a model, then for my uncle at a garments buying house, a travel agency, and even schools. Eventually, I graduated from North South University in English Literature.
"Then I worked in the development sector, for INGOs, and other organisations. Through this, I was a witness to a lot of horrific events – cyclones like Sidr and Aila, fires, but the one that struck me the hardest was Rana Plaza."
Rabbani was one of the volunteers at the Rana Plaza collapse site in 2013.
She recalls the harrowing experience as one which inevitably traumatised her and many others who bore witness.
"It was a very difficult night. We saw bodies rotting away in the heat. It was a hot summer day. Inside that building, I remember I stepped on something; it might have been a rag, or somebody's arm. I met a mother who was crying looking for both her daughters who used to work at that factory," she said.
"That very night, I had an awakening. And it changed my perspective on life altogether. That is when I decided I wanted to change my career and do something more meaningful with my life. So, I started teaching yoga as a career."
Empowerment as a means to smash patriarchy
"Due to patriarchy, in the context of Bangladesh, women tend to lack a voice for themselves. Because of which, women pit against one another. Women do not support other women. They will fight others, be jealous, and compete with them. So, Yoganika to me is a safe space where women can come to not only unburden their stress, but also to leave feeling stronger in both body and mind.
"When I teach my students, I always teach them how to stand confidently. There's a pose called 'Samasthiti', where you're standing very strong, very powerful. When you get into these poses physically, something inside of you also changes.
"When you're able to get into a very difficult yoga pose, that is when you feel empowered, you feel stronger. It may take time, but after about two-three months, you feel you're able to do something. And just that realisation, of achieving something difficult, learning how to do something you thought you were not capable of doing, is very empowering," Rabbani said.
"Some women, in our society, when they walk in the streets, tend to slouch and have their heads down. Have you noticed that? I don't like that. I want women to stand tall, strong, powerful, with their heads up, with their chin and chest up. I want to see women be more courageous. Women do the heavy lifting, so much is unpaid work. And we put up with so much. I think it's time to understand our value and say I am worthy, I deserve more. That's why empowerment is really important for all women. We must raise boys and girls in the future so that they can understand its significance as well.
"We have to smash this patriarchy which deprives women of equal rights and forces them to suffer through societal pressures," Rabbani said.
She believes yoga is a transformative journey, especially in the sense that it may rejuvenate someone and give them an unparalleled purpose in life.
"I believe in the notion of empowerment simply because I'm a woman. I'm a woman who has suffered because of patriarchy and is still suffering. They try to subdue us but I'm not someone you can contain."
Rabbani believes in complete freedom, in the way people think, behave and speak. She feels freedom should be our birthright, as we are a country who has fought for our liberation.
Moreover, she said, "Women are coming up in every sphere of life – education, equal opportunities. We are on the rise. The future is female. That's what I see on Instagram at least."
Asked why women of all ages and all walks of life choose to or should come to Yoganika, Rabbani said, "Women see me as an example of a woman who speaks up, is not scared, has suffered a lot of obstacles in life and has managed to get past them – as a single mother, as a female entrepreneur, or as someone in her 40s who's still fit.
"I'm hypothyroid, I'm supposed to be really, really overweight. But I've managed it."
Among her students, Rabbani said, a lot of the women are those who are over 50 and menopausal, or may be going through divorces, or single mothers, or younger women struggling with societal pressure of marriage even if they're working and are perfectly accomplished.
"These women still come to me because they feel that life is not over for them. There's a lot more to look forward to."
"I have a daughter. I want her to see her mother who is strong, standing on her own two feet. I want her to be that person for herself having seen her mother. I myself have been raised by a very strong mother, who was also a single mother," she said.
As a woman, Rabbani wishes to instill strength, empowerment and courage among the generations to come.
