Interviewer: Mahmoud Mansi
“All the time, we need to be reading people’s energy in order to adjust our sequences or maybe offer some wisdom or modify the way we are approaching our students. At the very end, Yoga is not a one size fits all, but a very customized & individualistic practice.”
Aia Faham
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE
Aia Faham is an active member in the community through teaching yoga, spreading awareness, supporting organizations towards employee wellness, videos and blogging, and through volunteering and public speaking.
She was featured in Women of Egypt and spoke in several conferences including TEDx & International Women Summit. Aia is a Certified Yoga Instructor and Founder of The LaLa Land. She studied Marketing at the American University in Washington D.C and Entrepreneurship at the German University in Cairo. She graduated with honors.
She started her Meditation and Yoga Journey in 2012. She attended Yoga and meditation retreats around the world. She was taught by some of the renowned Teachers. She received her Yoga Certification from India. She was the first Certified Meditation Instructor from The Middle East to receive an award from the World Peace Initiative Organization – Peace Revolution.
In Oct 2015, she launched the Initiative “The LaLa Land,” a project to organize and teach meditation & Yoga retreats in Egypt & Abroad. Aia also launched “Egypt Yoga Tour,” a 100% Egyptian Project to promote tourism in Egypt while Raising Yoga Awareness, the first of its kind in the middle east.
THE INTERVIEW
1-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: The common perception of Yoga is that we learn to be more flexible, and release the stress from the mind and body. What else does the practice of yoga add to our entities?
Aia Faham: Oh, that’s a big question & has a bigger answer, because yoga not only makes you more flexible & stronger -whether in body or mind- but it makes you a better human in all aspects of your life. Yoga is a moral identity & an ethical behavior above all, it’s a way of connecting to yourself, to the community & after all to the divine wisdom.
2-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: It is important for a Yogi Instructor to have technical and professional qualifications and skills, but besides that, what are the personal and other skills that would make the instructor more special and qualified?
Aia Faham: Having the skills & Knowledge make a great but not an exceptional Yoga Teacher. It’s the way that the teacher is sensitive to people’s energy & vibes that contributes to having an awesome Yoga Teacher… All the time, we need to be reading people’s energy in order to adjust our sequences or maybe offer some wisdom or modify the way we are approaching our students. At the very end, Yoga is not a one size fits all, but a very customized & individualistic practice.
3-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Your BA from the GUC is specialized in Entrepreneurship, then you studied Marketing & International Business from the AUC. You have studied and worked beyond the practice of Yoga, would you consider this a distraction or benefit?
Aia Faham: I would say that was the biggest asset that helped me set the foundation for my Yoga Business “The LaLa Land”. Yes, I am a yoga teacher, but this also means that, I am the founder of this yoga business, which requires me to have full understanding of Business, Marketing, finance.. etc, because yoga is just like any industry, needs a solid business foundation & understanding in order to flourish & reach the right target & segment.
So I Love calling myself a YOGIPRENEUR! Yoga Entrepreneur is a thing too 😛
4-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: As a business owner, what are the challenges you have faced during your journey with The Lala Land? How did you overcome them?
Aia Faham: Oh, Quite a lot! But the biggest challenge that I faced the hardest is Yoga having quite a lot of controversies & misperceptions… starting from the relation between yoga & religions… to the understanding that yoga is for girls than guys, or that its only for the flexible or that it’s a physical practice, or that it is only meant to be done when you have free time… etc. That’s why I started a New Yoga Show called “Om.. El Yoga show” that is meant to clear all yoga misperceptions in a light, fun & sarcastic way.
5-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: In your personal SWOT Analysis, do you see the pandemic as a “threat” or an “opportunity”?
Aia Faham: From a Yoga perspective, nothing happening in this world is not for our highest goodness, & from a marketing perspective every threat can be turned into an opportunity… so I prefer to see it that way as well, of course the Pandemic has hugely affected all the plans & programs that we were planning for 2020, but the good news is, it made us more creative in approaching people & in spreading the Yoga message through lots of digital platforms & pushed us into going digital & live… which is something that I am grateful for now.
6-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Aia we are curious to know the first job you ever had, how was the experience and what did you learn from it?
Aia Faham: After graduating, I worked in the Marketing Department of a big medical institution, because I felt heavy every day when I was waking up for work, I wanted my working day to end, & on the third day I heard the voice in my heart repeating “You don’t belong here,” So I quit on the third day & I traveled to Thailand to work with my Meditation Organization & to start my own Yoga Business … As simple & as crazy as it sounds 😀
7-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: In organizations nowadays, Employee Wellness is becoming a major trend. You have given several sessions to organizations, can you tell us more about these programs and the experience?
Aia Faham: We craft Corporate Wellness Programs that are tailor-made & customized suiting each organization’s purpose & goals for its employees. Our sessions are customized based on each organization needs & what they are looking to enhance in their employees like “Stress Management, Increasing creativity, Teamwork & Spirit… etc.”
We make our implementation plan either through a series of sessions “Yoga Practice & Wellness Workshops” or a “Weekend Escape Gateway Retreat” in one of Egypt Exotic spots in which we can dig deeply & implement a holistic lifestyle for employees to come out with best outcomes.
8-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: What advice do you have for HR in organizations in order to develop effective employee wellness programs?
Aia Faham:
- Focus on employees’ passion not just work experience, everyone is willing to give more when they love what they are doing
- Create a healthy atmosphere & work environment even with the little things like making sure the working place has enough sunlight & some greenery plants
- Create a frequent
Wellness Day or a Retreat Escape every couple of months.
in which employees come together to practice yoga, breathing exercises & meditation that is meant to skyrocket their productivity & creativity - Create a room for people to practice yoga, meditate in silence or simply to disconnect with the outer world for a couple of minutes so as to connect to their own inner world… so they can get grounded when they feel overwhelmed
- Try offering healthy snacks/super food options in the canteen that give employees more energy instead of making them feel heavy or depleted
9-HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Work – if not done in a healthy way – might cause many emotional, mental and physical problems on the long run. From an employee perspective, what tips do you have in order to have a healthy work routine?
Aia Faham:
- Even if you are sitting on a desk all day, do “CHAIR YOGA“ Have a break every 1 hr. from computer work to stretch
- Exercise & Yoga at least 30 mins daily
- Take a breath every couple of hrs. to close your eyes & take 10 deep breaths
- Drink lots of water
- Focus on doing 1 task at a time, to be more productive & consume less time “i.e. avoid multitasking”
- Never start your day by checking your phone or your emails, this is the recipe for having a super occupied brain & stressed life… Make sure that you first check into yourself with even 5 minutes of meditation when you wake up, because your brain is on theta brainwave which is one of the calmest & most receptive states of minds
THANK YOU SO MUCH AIA FOR SPREADING AWARENESS AND YOUR WORK IN DEVELOPING THE COMMUNITY THROUGH MINDFUL WELLNESS AND YOGA
