Rebekah is a medical doctor, yoga teacher, wellness entrepreneur and a board member of the Yoga for Healthcare Alliance. She is the founder of Pana, a platform that intersects wellbeing and culture sharing yoga, music and food from the African diaspora and beyond. After facing her own challenges with mental health, she learnt the value of slowing down and engaging with mind-body practices. Through classes, supper clubs and workshops, she creates inclusive spaces for people to nourish their wellbeing and reconnect with themselves and those around them.
Tell us about your yoga journey
Through my teens and early-twenties, I went through many cycles of burnout and poor mental health. I’ve always worked hard and put a lot of pressure on myself (like many people do), and I got to a point after 4 years of medical school where I needed a break.
I ended up on an island off the coast of Panama volunteering in a beach hostel and living with yoga teachers for two months. I started practising yoga every day and diving deeper into aspects such as chakras and the eight limbs. Slowly but surely, yoga became an integral part of my routine and wellbeing, and I decided to take the leap to do my teacher training. I’ve been teaching for about 5 years now and have always loved it.
What kind of yoga teacher would you say you are?
I like to be creative; I like to understand and learn traditions and present them in my own way. I love bringing new people into yoga and creating a space where they can feel calm. That doesn’t always mean being still and quiet, but knowing that you can just breathe and be yourself, laugh, and try new things.
Tell us about the idea behind your platform – Pana
When I started practising yoga in London studios, more often than not I was the only person of colour in the room. It was impossible not to notice. I found there were a lack of spaces dedicated for people of colour to heal and elevate their wellbeing. In recent years there has been a push for more diversity and inclusivity in wellness which is great, but the majority of spaces are not created by someone from the community they’re trying to serve. Pana was a way to tackle that problem.
Yoga has helped me so much over the years, and I really wanted to create a safe space for the black community and allies to experience the practice and hopefully some of the same benefits. Pana brings together wellbeing practices with a celebration of black culture, to help the people feel welcome and connected, while supporting cultural education through experience. Over time we’ve become a really wonderful community with events such as supper clubs, retreats and BPOC yoga club.
How are you navigating all the things you want to do whilst also working as a busy junior doctor?
I work part time. Many people don’t know you can do part-time as a junior doctor as it’s not promoted and you have to apply. I specifically sought it out as I knew it was necessary for me to ensure I protected my mental, physical and emotional health while being able to move forward with my medical career, alongside other things. It’s definitely been difficult trying to maintain balance since starting work, but knowing my boundaries and scheduling time for rest has been a great help!
Do you see any difficulties with bridging that gap between yoga and healthcare?
I’ve always found yoga and healthcare to be really complimentary, but it comes with a certain mindset. An open mind will say, ‘my ultimate goal is to be well and healthy, so let me open my eyes to the different avenues to get there’. Healthcare needs a method to be evidence-based before widely incorporating it into treatment plans for patients. It’s great to see a growing amount of research into yoga and its health benefits, as this is helping to slowly close that gap in the UK. Organisations such as the Yoga in Healthcare Alliance are also doing great work to support bringing yoga into the NHS, but it can be hard to find enough funding to support these efforts.
How do you go about recommending yoga to patients?
Rather than telling patients they should do yoga, I explore their understanding of it and how it might be helpful for them. The beauty of yoga is that there is something for everyone, whether you need stress relief, improved mobility, support for back pain or improved lung function. I remind patients that yoga doesn’t necessarily involve movement; breathwork and meditation also have great benefits. After opening that dialogue with patients, I can point them in the direction of specific techniques or classes they could try, or explore their hesitations.
It’s wonderful to be that person who gets to introduce yoga to someone. How do you go about getting new people to try it?
Through my own teaching and platform, I thought, ‘how can I reach communities who may feel yoga is not for them?’. I grew up listening to reggae so it felt very natural to incorporate this in my practice – it’s something that makes me feel calm. I created an event called Dub Garden Yoga & Picnic where we do yoga to reggae and have healthy Caribbean food after class. I teach it in the park which makes it more accessible and affordable, as well as allowing us to enjoy nature. We have attendees of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicity and ability – for many people it’s their first-ever yoga class. Many feel comfortable coming as they resonate with the food and music, and the yoga is an additional aspect they can try. It’s relaxed and fun, which I think is so important for helping people come back again.
What does a day in the life of Rebekah look like?
I enjoy having diversity across my week so many of my days look quite different. On a hospital day, I’m at work for an 8am handover from the night team, then seeing a number of patients across the day presenting with different conditions. On other days I might be doing a shoot or having meetings. Some of my favourite days are spent doing laptop work in a cafe, drinking tea and enjoying a lunchtime yoga class.
Has your own practice changed as a result of your teacher training?
When I started practising yoga, it was very vinyasa focused. I think that’s similar to many people in London as there’s a feeling of always being short of time and needing to fit in exercise where you can. The teacher training was where I discovered a love for slower styles of yoga such as yin and restorative. After a couple weeks of a regular yin practice, I discovered a new set point of calm in my body and mind which I forgot existed. It showed me the transformational power of incorporating these slower styles into my practice.
If there was something that you would recommend for wellbeing beyond practising yoga, what would it be?
Sleep – good quality sleep makes such a difference, and bad quality sleep affects everything. I try to do a meditation every night before bed and that’s really helped.
What are your favourite piece of equipment/prop to use during your practice and why?
My favourite prop is definitely a bolster! I love doing restorative poses supported by a bolster as I find it really supports a deeper level of relaxation in my practice
What’s coming up for you and Pana?
I’m really excited about a few things on the horizon. We’re heading to Kenya in November 2023 for our second retreat – exploring Africa and the Caribbean through retreats has become a wonderful offering for the community. We’ve also got events such as BPOC yoga club and Dub Garden Yoga & Picnic coming up for summer.
Find Dr Rebekah
Website – https://wearepana.com/
Instagram – @weare.pana
Personal – @rebekahzeenajade
