What is Kemetic Yoga, African-Based Yoga |

Imagine an extremely advanced civilization in practices and sciences to preserve the body and mental health whose inhabitants, even without the existence of the internet, developed technologies that we still use today.

Now, imagine that they recorded life philosophies that ensured the maintenance and balance of bodies, as well as a practice of physical movements that helped in this process.

Well, the philosophy and physical movements are called Kemetic Yoga. The ancient civilization that developed all this is called Kemet. And the interesting thing: you know her, only with another name.

What does Kemet mean?

The name Kemet you know today as Egypt. Yes, Egypt of Cleopatra and the pyramids. This region is close to the Nile River, in North Africa, and the term Kemet means black land or land of black men.

Yes, Cleopatra was African and it looks like she had black skin. Her eyes weren’t blue.

You probably didn’t know this, because when the Greeks colonized African regions and enslaved the population, they sought in different ways to erase the cultural identity of these peoples.

One of the ways to seek this erasure is not to give due credit to those who have developed countless healing technologies, such as Kemetic Yoga, or to destroy advanced knowledge in different areas, such as architecture, medicine and navigation. So now you know: the right name is Kemet and Kemetic Yoga.

And how to prove all this?

This is a big challenge because many papyrus records have been destroyed.

In the 1970s, Master Yirser Ra Hotep and his master Asar Hapi, born in North America, began research to recover information regarding the practice of Kemetic Yoga, after seeing on the throne of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the image of Shu, a deity which symbolizes breath and immortality. Master Yirser Ra Hotep made successive trips to Kemet in search of evidence.

In this image, there are symbols that affirm the principles of practice similar to what is now known as yoga. In addition, there are still some documents that bring this story, and the main ones are the papyri, sacred scriptures in which scribes recorded African ancestral knowledge. Another evidence is the writings written on the walls of the Merkuts (pyramids), in the ancestral language Mdu Ntr, which today we know as hieroglyphs.

What is Kemetic Yoga?

Kemetic Yoga then brings ancient knowledge to current issues. It is an ancient African spiritual – but not religious – science that has nature as its guide to maintain balance.

It recognizes each one of us as natural beings, which is why nature becomes a guide for answers to maintain balance, harmony and truth.

In addition to philosophy of life, body practices include postures, meditation, breathing and words of power. Its hallmark is the synchronization of breathing with slowed movements to bring about a meditative state and deep self-perception through various principles, including:

Law of four-step breathing: 1. Inhale, 2. Pause, 3. Exhale, 4. Pause. Geometric progression: thoughtful development step by step until reaching a certain posture, respecting the physical and energetic geometry of the bodies.

What are the goals of Kemetic Yoga?

Among its objectives Kemeitc Yoga aims to:

the amplification of vital energy through the element shu (breath) for healing; to self-knowledge to develop skills that can be used in life to carry out projects, such as greater focus and respect for one’s own limits; to the balance and harmony of the physical, mental, emotional bodies.

The best way for you to understand what this rare practice offers here in Brazil is to take a class with one of the only 33 instructors in the country.