JHARKHAND: Around four years back Rafia Naaz, 24, was confronted with a complicated question of faith and selfbelief following a ‘fatwa’ against her for practicing yoga. Drawn into an unfamiliar territory, she knew one thing for sure: both, her faith and self-belief, had to win. And a winner she was! Rafia is committed to her mission ‘Yoga Beyond Religion’ (YBR) and runs a Yoga School in Ranchi.
Rafia, who has been practising yoga right from the age of four, believes that yoga is beyond religions and must be recognised as a complete fitness sport. She has bagged more than 52 gold medals and certificates of appreciation in several national and international events. Rafia came into limelight after she shared the stage with yoga guru Baba Ramdev in Ranchi in 2015.
She runs yoga classes at three different locations in Ranchi. More than 2,500 men and women of different age groups and children attend these classes. A fatwa was issued against Rafia in November 2017 for practising yoga and she was threatened with death. She was provided security by the district administration.
She continues to get such threats through social media and on her mobile phone, but she is undeterred. “Threats to life do not scare me anymore; I am used to them,” she said. To make her community aware about the benefits of yoga, Rafia is writing a book on ‘Islamic way of yoga’ which will hit the stands very soon. “The primary objective behind Yoga Beyond Religion is to bring orphans and poor children to the mainstream so that they can be provided employment in the field of yoga,” says Rafia.
“When the whole world has embraced yoga for its benefits, why should there be opposition to it in our own country?” she asks. “Those who don’t want to chant mantras may practise yoga by taking the name of ‘Khuda.’ If still they don’t want to adopt it, they should at least not stop others who want to do it,” says the yoga teacher. Rafia’s father Md Rezauddin Khan is proud of her daughter’s dedication.
“It all started when she was at Doranda Girl’s High School in KG class where yoga was taught to senior students. After watching them, she somehow developed interest in it and wanted to join them. But, since the class was conducted only for senior students, she could not,” said Rafia’s father. After her insistence, he talked to the yoga teacher, who agreed to let her join the classes being conducted at his home, about 5-6 km from their house, says Khan.
“She grew so adamant that I had to give my consent to taking her daily for the yoga classes at 6 am every day,” said Khan. He thought Rafia would gradually lose interest after a few classes, but the more she learned yoga the more her curiosity grew, he said. During Covid-19 pandemic, Rafia is taking online classes and teaching people how to avoid blood clotting in lungs and post infection depression. She also offers yogic tips to boost immunity to those already infected by COVID.
Anybody can join her online yoga classes being conducted by her at 8 am on every alternate day by just clicking on the link shared by her on her social media platforms. “I have been watching Rafia since her childhood. Besides a master’s degree in commerce, she has done masters in yoga and naturopathy and has bagged the National Patanjali Yoga promoter award,” says Principal of Doranda Girls High School Anita Chaudhary. “Rafia has made us proud and we all believe that she has a long way to go,” she added.
FACING THE PANDEMIC
During Covid-19 pandemic, Rafia is taking online classes and teaching people how to avoid blood clotting in lungs and post infection depression. She also offers tips to boost immunity to those already infected by Covid. Anybody can join her online yoga classes being conducted by her at 8 am on every alternate day by just clicking on the link shared by her