Yoga saved my mental health

and I didn't know.

It was 2017 and I was so deep in my depression, but I couldn’t show it to anyone. I had to put a lot of extra effort into going to work, talking to clients, preparing designs for them and then going for marketing. Every day I would dread coming home, but once I was, I would get into a corner of the house and sit and cry. Sometimes I would just stare at the ceiling or the lamp. One such evening, a friend came to see me. I was not okay. I had been avoiding him for days! I reluctantly opened the door and then went back to the corner - finding some comfort in that space. He looked at me in shock. He had not realised how bad I was. He jolted me out of my daze and told me off about not doing anything about it. I said I was willing to, I hated being in that state too. He asked me to book a meditation retreat in India. And thus my journey began…

I went there with no expectations, no understanding, no hope. I did not know how to meditate. The first thing they taught us was how to sit. We did stretches every morning and evening and we learnt how to sit. In between we did a bit of meditation and learned “pranayama” which is breathwork. It was the 4th day when they taught us the whole series of powerful pranayama techniques. By this day, we had learnt how to sit without our thighs and back screaming in pain. By this day, we had learnt how to do the breathwork in detail. Now, it was just about concentrating, going deeper and within.

The power of this practice was no joke to me. I surrendered fully and the connection within felt instant. We had to continue doing this practice for 6 months twice a day for 21 mins. The deepness of the practice at the retreat and back home was quite different, but the effect was amazing nonetheless. This is where my life began to change. And now, after a number or yoga and meditation retreats, a number of yoga courses, I am a yoga teacher!

What is amazing for me, is that I found yoga without the understanding of what yoga is. I found the connection within before knowing the other aspects of it. I found concentration, self-reflection, and surrender. I experienced energies before I knew them.

So, if you think yoga is those fancy poses and flexibility and strength and weight loss and a headstand - yoga hasn’t come to you yet! Yoga is about finding yourself within. The poses, the stretches, the flexibility, and the strength are for creating the internal environment within for you to access it - like I said, we had to learn how to sit! Thus, it is important! It is absolutely important for you to find flexibility, and strength, and do the fancy poses. Because they are also means to connecting within. But if you can’t do them, that does not mean you can not do yoga. Because yoga is just that - the connection within.

Thus, (drumroll please……)

I am extremely excited yet humbled and honoured to invite you all to a small yoga retreat that I am organising at a remote beach eco-resort in Tanga. This place is extremely special because it is secluded, and has so many secret spots to meditate and practice. It has the best food I have ever had at a resort and is by the beach! I am hoping, that we can together create an environment away from the city’s hustle to connect within without network, gadgets and phones. To practice good stretches, and prepare the body to take a seat within and just be. To swim, eat, play and snorkel.

I am letting you know well in advance so you can prepare, pay in instalments if you like, and plan all your other commitments around it. There is no pre-required condition for it. You do not have to be a yogi, a flexible person, or a gym goer. If you are super fit, you will be pushed in the right amount. We will meet you where you are. Just come to be.

Do get in touch with me on my email at masuma.somji.tz@gmail.com or Instagram (yoga.with.mas) for any further queries. This is extremely special for me and I look forward to sharing this energy with you.