Towela is the CEO of W.H.O.A meaning Warm Heart Of Africa. She hopes to bring the warmth of the people and the heat from the land around the world spreading “the fire and the light.”
She is now working on providing yoga to underserved communities in Malawi and Manitoba. You can do her great Vinyasa and Hatha or family yoga classes in Lilongwe or online as well.
Services provided at:
- Orchid Cafe (Area 12): Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga Saturdays at 10am (8 week sessions)
- Woodlands: Family Yoga Sundays at 10 am ( 8 week sessions)
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Virtual classes: Restorative yoga with guided meditations Wednesdays at 7pm Central African Time (8 week session)
Register on my site or send me an email. Once payment is confirmed, I will send the Zoom link.
Background
Towela Mkanda was born in Lilongwe, Malawi her family moved to Canada when she was 5 years old, after her father decided to pursue a PhD at the University of Manitoba. Despite the freezing temperatures here, Towela grew to love the warm and friendly people of Manitoba. She says Manitobans have big, open, and loving hearts.
During University she was fortunate enough to have Mark and Ian Hudson as professors. Mark Hudson teaches sociology, Ian Hudson teaches Political Economy the two of them have influenced and encouraged her to combine the teachings from yoga and my formal education in order to construct a life with purpose. Purpose meaning a life that I am happy with, a life that I'm proud of, and relationships that are reciprocal.
Towela holds an advanced degree in global political economy from the University of Manitoba. Her original dream was to save the world. She still has that dream. Her plan is to open a community centre for underserved children. At this centre, children would learn how to grow fruits and veggies. They would learn how to cook and make delicious and nutritious meals. They would have a quiet space where they can study and do homework. They could enjoy recreational activities, like yoga and basketball. Towela says she absolutely envisions her community centre as a vegan space. She wants to inspire children to discover a vegan lifestyle. She wants to teach them about the meaning and benefits of going vegan. She wants to share personal stories and give the children role models to look up to. Towela believes in the power of positive persuasion. She says she wants nothing more than to spread “the fire and the light.”
Towela has been vegan for 9 years. Even as a young girl, she questioned the necessity of killing animals. Back home in Malawi, her family didn’t eat meat regularly. Meat was only eaten on special occasions. Most of the food was vegan or vegetarian. Her “Aha!” moments came from learning about factory farming. She also came to realize there was no moral difference between her dog and farm animals. Towela then read about bioamplification: the increasing concentration of toxic substances the higher up you go on the food chain. Together, these moments convinced her to change her lifestyle forever. Since going vegan, Towela says she has greater mental clarity and can't even imagine going back.
Towela volunteered for Modo yoga Winnipeg for three and a half years while I was completing her undergraduate degree, once that was completed she became a Barre instructor.
In February of 2019 Towela graduated from Modo international and received her level 1 teaching certificate. She has since specialized in Kids/Family yoga, Trauma informed yoga, Vinyasa flow, and restorative. Before yoga teacher training she felt as though completing her undergraduate degree was the most difficult task she had encountered in her life, she feels as though the levels of intensity from both experiences is comparable. Towela is very proud of the woman that she have become and attributes her grace, patience and empathy to these two formal schools and the gurus that have advised her during her journey.
An Impression
