Our Bureau
Ahmedabad
Kemi Blake dreamt of becoming a contortionist (performance artist) and even moved from New York to Las Vegas to follow her passion and train at the prestigious Cirque du Soleil academy. Her 16-year-old daughter, Kimani, learned gymnastics and wants to be a professional dancer.
Both mother and daughter found solace and the required grounding to follow their passions amidst the drudgery of day-to-day life pressure, thanks to their exposure to yoga. This week at the EKA Arena here, the mother and daughter created history as 35-year-old Kemi won the gold medal in the Back Bend individual category while Kimani went on to clinch the bronze medal in the Junior Artistic Individual category at the World Yogasana Championships.
“Though I have been practicing yoga for many years now, I never thought of coming to compete in World Yogasana Championships here as I thought I was not good enough to compete against the Indian players. But one fellow Romanian player wrote to me asking me to come and participate, as she used to follow my Instagram page, and also some coaches from India encouraged me. And I am happy that I could win the gold medal here,” said Kemi, who insists that her life changed for the better after she started practicing yoga.
“I started yoga to improve flexibility for the performances I was training for. But as I started doing yoga regularly, it gave me purpose and stability. I started eating right, began sleeping on the floor, and my outlook towards life changed,” she told SAI Media.
Kemi then completed a one-year certification course in Yoga through Bilva Yogashala and even came to India for a month to learn the finer nuances before designing her own healing and self-discovery coaching course.
Once Kemi decided to make another trip to India for the World Championships, her daughter Kimani decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps as she didn’t want to stay home alone. Apart from the mother-daughter duo, six more US yoga athletes took part in the world yogasana championships here.
“I had learnt the basics from her and also practiced it regularly as it helps me calm down easily. But I seriously started training for the world championships three weeks ago. I am extremely happy that I could win a bronze medal here,” she added.
Both Kemi and Kimani landed in India a few weeks ahead of the competition to practice with local coaches here, and Kemi insists that the welcome they received here from even their fellow competitors made the experience extra special.
“When we landed here, our bags did not arrive in time. But the Indian team, which was training at the SAI centre here, welcomed us and even taught us a few things. Even when I was warming up before my match, one of them told me about the mistakes I was making, and that helped me,” Kemi said, adding that she hopes Yogasana makes it to the Olympics soon.
“Plenty of people practice yoga, but yogasana as a sport is completely different in a way. The focus and precision required is very different from practicing yoga for well-being, and I am willing to play any role required to see Yogasana at the Olympics,” she added.
