Renowned yogi Khabonina Qubeka returned from her first international yoga tour to Hong Kong on April 4 as the happiest girl in Mzansi after she was honoured as a leading professional creative.

Qubeka said she was presented with the Professional Creative of the World by Hong Kong's City University director Wilson Lam for her contribution to the art of yoga.

She said she was warmly welcomed by the students at the varsity as she introduced them to Afro yoga.

"Everyone practices different yoga. Basics are the same but we all add our taste. I add the African taste. My choreography is advantageous because I would add a bit of our dance moves. They like that I add the South African twist," said Qubeka.

After conducting her workshops, she visited yoga studios around the city.

"The use of space is amazing there, yoga studios are very small but when you are inside you wouldn't feel it," she said.

Qubeka said she also used her spare time to explore the city.

"A place like Hong Kong is like a machine, it is always busy there. People are busy at any given time, and it's like when you don't work hard, they wonder why you are in Hong Kong.

"I learnt that there is nothing that doesn't work. People there jog at midnight. You can use your phone at midnight and won't get mugged," she said.

The fitness queen said she was now looking forward to her next adventures on the continent where two tours have been confirmed. She will be in the neighbouring Botswana later this month and will be visiting Tanzania in June.

Qubeka said she will also tour local primary schools in July with the aim of exposing children to yoga.

"I want children to know yoga because it exercises the body, mind and soul. It teaches one to keep calm and deal with situations better and children go through a lot," she said.

Referring to the history of yoga, Qubeka said it was born in Africa and was taken away "because they realised that it was powerful".

"Yoga was taken away from black people because yoga is self-healing," she said.