Mother-daughter pair of Kemi and Kimika Blake of US reveals deep India connection after clinching world yoga championships medals
Ahmedabad, June 8
Kemi Blake dreamt of becoming a contortionist and even moved from New York to Las Vegas to follow her passion and train at the prestigious Cirque du Soleil academy. Her 16-year-old daughter, Kimani, learned gymnastics and wants to be a professional dancer.
Both mother and daughter found solace and the required grounding to follow their passions amidst the drudgery of day-to-day life pressure, thanks to their exposure to yoga. This week at the EKA Arena here, the mother and daughter created history as 35-year-old Kemi won the gold medal in the Back Bend individual category while Kimani went on to clinch the bronze medal in the Junior Artistic Individual category at the World Yogasana Championships.
"Though I have been practicing yoga for many years now, I never thought of coming to compete in World Yogasana Championships here as I thought I was not good enough to compete against the Indian players. But one fellow Romanian player wrote to me asking me to come and participate, as she used to follow my Instagram page, and also some coaches from India encouraged me. And I am happy that I could win the gold medal here," said Kemi, who insists that her life changed for the better after she started practicing yoga.
"I started yoga to improve flexibility for the performances I was training for. But as I started doing yoga regularly, it gave me purpose and stability. I started eating right, began sleeping on the floor, and my outlook towards life changed," she told SAI Media.
Kemi then completed a one-year certification course in Yoga through Bilva Yogashala and even came to India for a month to learn the finer nuances before designing her own healing and self-discovery coaching course.
Once Kemi decided to make another trip to India for the World Championships, her daughter Kimani decided to follow in her mother's footsteps as she didn't want to stay home alone. Apart from the mother-daughter duo, six more US yoga athletes took part in the world yogasana championships here.
"I had learnt the basics from her and also practiced it regularly as it helps me calm down easily. But I seriously started training for the world championships three weeks ago. I am extremely happy that I could win a bronze medal here," she added.
Both Kemi and Kimani landed in India a few weeks ahead of the competition to practice with local coaches here, and Kemi insists that the welcome they received here from even their fellow competitors made the experience extra special.
"When we landed here, our bags did not arrive in time. But the Indian team, which was training at the SAI centre here, welcomed us and even taught us a few things. Even when I was warming up before my match, one of them told me about the mistakes I was making, and that helped me," Kemi said, adding that she hopes Yogasana makes it to the Olympics soon.
"Plenty of people practice yoga, but yogasana as a sport is completely different in a way. The focus and precision required is very different from practicing yoga for well-being, and I am willing to play any role required to see Yogasana at the Olympics," she added.
— ANI
Reader Comments
I'm happy they won medals, but let's be honest—this is yoga, not a competitive sport. The whole point of yoga is inner peace and self-realization, not medals and championships. Turning it into a sport with categories like "Back Bend" misses the spiritual essence. Just my two cents, but this commercialisation of yoga feels wrong.
Incredible dedication! A mother-daughter duo winning medals together at a world championship—what an achievement. And the fact that she moved from New York to Vegas for contortion training and then found yoga... yoga really does bring everyone together, no matter where you're from. Also, sleeping on the floor is so Indian! 😄
I love how the Indian yoga community supported them—from coaches to fellow competitors. This is the real India! 🧘♀️ And Kemi saying she thought she wasn't "good enough to compete against Indian players" shows how much respect they have for Indian practitioners. Yoga is truly a gift from India to the world. Hope to see more such global participation.
Nice story, but I can't help feeling that the real yoga champions—the ones who dedicated years to perfecting asanas—deserve more credit. These two trained for just three weeks and won medals? Some Indian athletes train their whole lives. The standard of competition seems questionable. Still, I'm glad they had a positive experience in India.
What a heartwarming mother-daughter bond! ❤️ Kimani saying she didn't want to stay home alone so followed her mom to India—and then won a bronze! That
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