Strike a pose: Invest in your wellness

Banesa Molauoa Tseki and Dr Anesu Mbizvo are game changers in the fitness and wellness world, having carved their own path over the past six years. The Nest Space, which they founded, is an inclusive yoga and wellness studio in Parktown North, Joburg.

Here, they have created a sanctuary where people from different walks of life can invest in their own wellness. The space is rooted in the ethos that if it is not inclusive, it is not really wellness.

“I was working in the medical field at the time, as a doctor, but yoga had always been a personal place of healing for me. [Doing yoga], I didn’t need to compete or have a certain outcome or goal, unlike medical school, which was the opposite. Yoga felt like a safe space for me to just be,” says Mbizvo.

“It started off as physical exercise only, but then I began to tap into the spiritual side of understanding myself and my purpose. I decided to move away from medicine because I was not feeling fulfilled. I felt as though I didn’t have the time to make a deeper connection with my patients and their healing; it was more about curing diseases rather than healing people.”

Mbizvo experienced first-hand the healing power of yoga and felt that sharing that magic with others would allow her to connect more with the practice of healing. She was also inspired to take it further when she realised that she was often the only Black person in classes.

“You’re told how to get into a posture and what your body should look like but, as a person of colour, you feel as though something is wrong with you because your body looks different. We have bigger bums and flatter feet,” Mbizvo laughs. “We would do practices that were themed around passion, equality, and unity, but there weren’t any discussions about racial or gender politics, they would often shy away from social-justice issues.”

Having worked as a medical doctor in the public sector, Mbizvo understood the importance of addressing social justice within spaces of healing. She had seen the ways in which poverty, abuse, and discrimination caused a response in the body that required healing. It was evident that a wellness space that catered to all was needed.

“The idea of needing an inclusive wellness space was important because we had both studied and practised yoga in Cape Town, which, as we know, is notorious for segregation and not being conducive to people of colour living a certain lifestyle,” adds Tseki, who joined Mbizvo as a business partner a month after she had started the venture.

Tseki had experience in branding, so she brought a wealth of marketing knowledge.

“In the same way women often feel safer in an LGBTQ environment, white women often feel safest in spaces created for people of colour — when you cater to the marginalised you subconsciously end up catering to all,” adds Tseki.

Mbizvo (from Zimbabwe) and Tseki (from Lesotho) bring their own much-needed multicultural perspective to healing. In just six years, the dynamic duo have headlined major wellness events and are now collaborating with footwear brand Birkenstock in hosting the Breathe with Birk wellness event on the rooftop at 44 Stanley in Braamfontein Werf, Joburg, on 30 November. The experience — which will include a wellness talk, breathwork, and a sound-healing session — is part of the celebrations for Birkenstock’s 250th anniversary. Birkenstock has also launched the Art & Sole concept store at 44 Stanley.

“We don’t run our yoga studio like a lot of other studios,” says Tseki. “We work on a trust system and find that the people who come into the space are generally here to add value. We do not turn you away if you cannot afford to pay for a session, you can always pay later.”

The space also offers free moon ceremonies, which incorporate breathing, movement, and meditation and can be streamed live online. “What we do is very spiritual — a price tag on it does not make sense. It is not radical or evolutionary to do that,” Tseki adds.

Yoga is an umbrella term used to describe a number of common forms. Although all are centred around the idea of connecting to one’s body and inner self, different types of yoga have different wellness benefits. There are also different levels to each practice.

“The spiritual side of yoga is based on mindfulness and finding the answers to questions through stillness, within yourself. It is about connecting with your breath. This has psychological aspects that allow you to tackle things like anxiety, stress, migraines, and depression,” says Tseki.“The physical aspect of moving your body also allows for things to flow, which can result in correcting a number of ailments and restrictions within the body.”

There are also modern forms of yoga such as hot yoga and power vinyasa, which have cardio benefits, are fast paced, and can aid with weight loss. But students are encouraged to focus not on the outcome of the practice but more on being present, as benefits are often felt within the session. As with any wellness journey, yoga is a lifestyle, with diet being of importance.

“It is about intentionality — being intentional about every choice you make in your life, including food. We are big on sustainability and zero waste. It is about choosing food with packaging that won’t affect the environment or animals. It is about conscious living,” says Mbizvo. She also emphasises that being vegan does not make one more advanced than an individual who chooses to eat meat — it is also about knowing your reasons when you make such choices.

Your healing journey

Start today, start now, don’t put it off. We tend not to prioritise our wellbeing because we think we have time. — Mbizvo

Start small, you don’t have to make drastic shifts in your lifestyle. — Mbizvo

Yoga is not a trend, it is a lifestyle. — Tseki

Come as you are, you don’t need to know all the postures and movements already. — TsekiYoga is spiritual because it is healing, it is not religious. We have many Christians and Muslims in our classes. — Tseki

You don’t need to be a stay-at-home mom or have access to the most expensive brands. — Tseki