(21 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe – 14 June 2025
1. Wide of Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
2. Various of people practicing Yoga
3. Various of Yoga instructor helping participants
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Action Winya, Yoga instructor:
“Yoga is well known to be done high up where we see rich guys participating in the yoga classes but just by that it does not necessarily mean that those guys are more human. We have got also humans in the ghetto, we have also humans in our community, this is why we are trying to introduce it, why, because they need mental wellness”
5. Various of people practicing Yoga
6. SOUNDBITE (Shona) Edinah Makosa, Yoga participant:
“I used to be depressed a lot, ever since I took up yoga, I’m no longer stressed my body balance and strength has vastly improved I’m now a happy, stress-free person. Yoga helps me mentally and physically”
7. Various of people practicing Yoga
8. SOUNDBITE (Shona) John Mahwaya, Yoga participant:
"It’s stressful out there. Things don’t always work well but yoga is quite helpful. The moment you relieve stress you have enough sleep which is another benefit of yoga. It also reliefs back pains which are a result of stress.”
9. Various of people practicing Yoga
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Action Winya, Yoga instructor:
“With mental health there is no age. One has to grow with hundred percent mental well-being. That is, we look at the youngest that you can think of, someone who is able to do any movement, we want them here. Since we are giving back to the community for free, we want everyone to be part of this movement”
11. Various of people practicing Yoga
12. Wide of people leaving
STORYLINE:
Before sunrise on a Saturday, Socialite Bar, a lively hangout in a township on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, is already a hive of activity.
But instead of patrons nursing hangovers, a small group gathered, eyes closed, bodies still in meditative poses on a bare floor.
It’s an unlikely setting for a yoga class. In Zimbabwe, the practice is rare and mostly found in wealthy suburbs. Yet it is quietly taking root here in a beer tavern in Chitungwiza.
The classes are run by Action Winya, a yoga instructor who saw how economic hardship and social pressures were damaging the mental health of people in his hometown.
“Yoga is expensive … but we also got humans in the ghetto. They need mental wellness,” said Winya, who usually teaches in affluent areas, charging between $30 and $100 a month. That’s an impossible cost for most, especially in a country where many survive through informal jobs.
Winya now offers free weekend classes to some of those hit hardest by Zimbabwe’s economic problems.
The sessions have become a source of relief for people navigating Zimbabwe’s relentless challenges. Authorities acknowledge a growing societal crisis worsened by drug abuse, domestic violence and poverty, compounded by a shortage of public health services and therapists.
Yoga, an ancient Indian practice, has become a multibillion-dollar industry and a daily ritual for millions around the world. The United Nations over a decade ago designated June 21 as International Day of Yoga.
In Africa, other countries like Kenya and South Africa are introducing yoga to poorer communities, with the Indian government promoting its spread across the continent.
Inside the tavern in Zimbabwe, mellow music played as about a dozen participants moved through poses. They had no mats, just a cold brick floor, but plenty of determination for inner peace.
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