Tourism: Why Yoga and Safari in Serengeti are the perfect pair

Physical yoga, which is commonly practiced worldwide, involves bodily postures that are designed to improve flexibility, strength, and balance, aiming to strengthen body and mental health.

Her first retreat in Tanzania was so unforgettable that Kim had to go again last year, this time with more friends.

Staying in a luxurious hotel in Serengeti, Kim and her friends would start their morning with a yoga practice, or practice it after they had a long day on safari.

However, their most magical yoga sessions were in the middle of the wilderness, implying the fact that nature has beautiful lessons that you can apply to one’s life, like the cycle of life; she saw animal calves being born and seeing carnivorous animals feasting on grazers.

“That is the cycle of life,” she quipped. Kim says humans are naturally afraid of death, but if we realise we are all part of nature’s cycle,.

On her recent safari into Tanzania into her predator-infested national parks, she travelled with a group of Americans who had never been in the wild before; they were thrown into a situation that Kim described as ‘out of their comfort zone.’

On their way to the lodge after a long safari, their entourage got lost in the middle of Serengeti National Park, an unforeseen scenario that had everyone on the edge.

As it got darker with no help in sight on that muddy road, everyone was understandably worried; there were no road signs in sight on that muddy road, everyone was understandably worried; there were no road signs in the middle of Serengeti, so tourists depended on their guide’s expertise to get them to their hotels safely, but with one wrong turn, it took them hours longer to get to their intended destination.

To release the stress, they sang and laughed till they disembarked the jeeps.

Having confidence in the universe and looking at things on a brighter note are some of the learnings that Kim attributes to yoga practice.

While in Serengeti, her yoga practices had zebras and elephants as spectators, a unique backdrop during her sessions in the tents, with the Maasai warriors on the lookout.

On various occasions she would hear lions roaring just outside the tent as they were on their mats, changing from one body posture to the next.

“It was really thrilling,” she laughed. She truly embodies calmness in all situations, and she says yoga does that to whoever practices it; not only that, but it also helps relieve joint pains, anxiety, and so many other conditions that can be eliminated if one takes a few minutes a day on the mat.

She also visited the spectacular Ngorongoro crater, the biggest intact volcanic caldera in the world and home to a multitude of animal species known to man.

“You look to your left and your right; it’s just like forty different types of animals at one time,” she exclaimed.

“It was just amazing, really powerful,” she added.

Coming from the United States, Kim has never seen these animals in their natural habitats; for her, it was spiritual seeing the lions, elephants, and other animals roaming free and not confined to the zoos.

Even the predators and prey interacted just like nature intended them to, she noticed.

A keen observer of nature, Kim would watch the mothers protecting their newborns, keeping them from harm, and she felt blessed to observe that.

One of the highlights of her safari was witnessing a zebra just after giving birth, a chance encounter she attributes to universal intervention.

In another incident, she witnessed a showdown between a herd of water buffaloes who terrorised two lions walking nearby.

One buffalo got way over its head and kept moving towards the lions, but when it looked back, the rest of the herd was not in sight.

It quickly recognised it’s in danger and ran back to rejoin them as a gigantic elephant passed by unbothered.

That is the natural world Kim fell in love with; the sights and sounds of the wild calm her mind and body and re-energise her spirit.

From cheetahs and wild dogs to the colourful species of birds, Tanzania’s beauty was esmerizing. She added that January and February are the best times to go for a safari, with the highest possibility of seeing all these animals—animals that are normally seclusive come out of hiding.

She saw a lioness with her three cubs right next to her Jeep, while the rest of the pride was on a close watch nearby.

Of all the animals, she loved the playful foals; they would hop around and run back to their mothers for protection.

She crossed the Indian Ocean to the Zanzibar archipelago. Zanzibar is beloved for its white sand beach, which was a perfect avenue for yoga.

Kim says being by the ocean is naturally peaceful, hence a perfect backdrop for yoga, where you are inviting peace into your world and also an ideal location for meditation.

Where she was blown away by the local Zanzibari cuisine, the beans cooked with coconut milk were mouth-watering, she remembers. Zanzibar lived up to its reputation as a spice island; the food she feasted on was full of them.

After a hefty meal, she took the essential landmark tour of Stone Town, Prison Island, snorkelling, and a lot of shopping.

She was in awe of the local craft and jewellery present in the corner shops in Stone Town.

She bought several paintings that are now hanging on the walls in her house in Austin, Texas.

One of the paintings depicts African women in traditional attire dancing and playing drums, and one of the paintings is of a group of Maasai people staring at the sunset.

As she was in the middle of the vast Serengeti, Kim had fulfilled her desire to go to a place that was beyond her mind’s imagination and out of her comfort zone, and to have a group of people who would experience the same thing.

She says mental flexibility is needed to be able to go to a place you don’t know, don’t speak their language, or know the food, but being flexible helps you enjoy all the experiences, even the challenging ones.

Kim advises a yoga beginner to start with ‘hatha’ yoga, which typically involves physical postures and breathing techniques; it is not intense and builds one’s confidence as you learn more moving forward; she stresses the importance of having fun as you learn.