ROCKING YOGA WITH RAWAN: A VIKASA SUCCESS STORY
Highlighting a Graduate: Get to Know Rawan
Every year at our platform, we churn out around 200 yoga teachers, some through our Foundation 200hr Yoga Teacher Training and others through our 300hr Advanced Yoga Teacher Training. These graduates keep us inspired as they take yoga to the world in their unique ways.
From running yoga studios, offering retreats and workshops, teaching at global events and festivals, providing private yoga classes or having their own digital yoga studio platforms – our graduates are making waves and creating ripples.
One such inspiring alum is Rawan, whose story we're excited to share with you this month. Scroll down to read more about Rawan's incredible journey and how yoga continues to be her life's compass.
When did you take the Vikasa Yoga Teacher Training?
I dived into my yoga journey in January 2022, two months after quitting a six-year stint in a toxic corporate job in Egypt. I had no intention of teaching and was aiming to join the New York Film Academy when a burning urge to delve deeper into my practice took hold. I was seeking the wisdom of yoga beyond the physical practice, and destiny led me to Vikasa. As it turned out, that was Vikasa's first YTT after the pandemic, and I had to quarantine for two weeks in a strict room in Thailand before the training started. This isolation allowed me to experience the pause, sit with my thoughts, confront my identity crisis, and give in to what is – as I had no other choice or distraction.
What drew you to Vikasa in the first place? And how did the experience here shape you personally or professionally?
I stumbled upon Vikasa during a Google search. Unlike many beginners, I wasn't following along on Instagram. My teacher in Egypt advised me to research yoga teachers instead of focusing on a particular location like Bali or India.
And boy, was I blessed! The teachers at Vikasa transformed my life. My first experience with the platform was mind-blowing, setting me on a path of growth and transformation. From a person struggling with panic attacks, constant stress, and never feeling content with life achievements, to a more enlightened individual who embraces acceptance – Vikasa has played a crucial role in my transformation.
I resonated so deeply with the teachings that I returned to Vikasa the same year for my 300hr Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, and that's when I knew I had found my purpose: to help others find peace through acceptance.
What does a dedicated yoga practice mean to you – on and off the mat?
A committed yoga practice, in my opinion, means showing up with presence, no matter who I am or how I am feeling. In 2023, after a year of teaching yoga both on and off the mat, I found myself back at Vikasa twice to assist in the 200&300 YTTs. I felt a calling to serve others with the same love and understanding that I had once been served.
The more people I've encountered, the more I've believed in our oneness.
We're all driven by two emotions: Love and Fear.
Can you share how your practice supports you during challenging times – how you still show up, even when it's hard?
My practice has been my lifeline during my darkest hours. Years of practicing non-attachment, loving more, and fearing less prepared me for the greatest loss of my life – the sudden deaths of my father while I was at Vikasa and my mother a few months later. During those tumultuous months, my practice grounded me, allowing me to check in with my soul, feel my emotions without judgment, and learn to be less reactive and more compassionate.
And this unwavering presence is what keeps me going, even when I don't feel like it.
Do you have any daily rituals or habits that keep you grounded?
My daily rituals include praying/meditating five times a day, reading the Quran, and getting a daily message from it to keep me moving forward.
What are you up to now? Whether it's teaching, creating, traveling, or something else entirely!
Currently, I teach at Onati Yoga Studio in Gouna by the Red Sea on weekends and weekdays. I lead workshops in Cairo during Mental Awareness Month, plan to teach at various studios in Cairo in June to educate people about yoga, and will be teaching at the North Coast in July and August, another part of Egypt by the Mediterranean. I'm also promoting my upcoming Releasing Resilience retreat at Vikasa and working on Podcasts about yoga, psychology, and spirituality called "Life."
I'm writing my storybook, "This Too Shall Pass," and planning to move to Koh Samui soon!
Inspired to take the next step in your yoga journey?
If you're ready to evolve from student to teacher or deepen your existing yoga practice, join us at Vikasa for a Yoga Teacher Training. We offer our 200hr and 300hr training several times a year. Additionally, you can join us for a shorter 100hr Yin Yoga training or 100hr Refresh Yoga training once per year.
Check our training page here for all upcoming dates and details. If becoming a successful yoga teacher is your goal or dream – we're here to support you to make that dream a reality.
- Rawan's spiritual journey led her to enroll in the Vikasa 200hr Yoga Teacher Training in 2022, following a period of introspection post-resigning from a toxic corporate job.
- In addition to teaching yoga, Rawan's unique lifestyle incorporates sharing her insights on psychology, spirituality, and self-growth through her podcast "Life."
- During challenging times, Rawan finds solace and grounding in her daily spiritual rituals of prayer, meditation, and reading the Quran amidst her busy schedule of teaching and leading retreats.
- Travel remains an integral part of Rawan's life as she shares her teachings in venues like Onati Yoga Studio in Gouna, Cairo, North Coast, and is planning to move to Koh Samui, Thailand, in the future.
- Embracing a holistic approach to wellness, Rawan promotes a balanced lifestyle that encompasses not only yoga and mindfulness but also nourishing food-and-drink, fashion-and-beauty, home-and-garden, and maintaining meaningful relationships.
