At Devi, we’re always on the search for healing spaces to escape the bustling chaos of Male’ city. This time, we stumbled on Kō Movement Studio, which describes itself as a “Mindful Movement, Functional Strength, and Mobility Training Studio”.
The name Kō was borrowed from the Japanese 72 micro-season calendar, the origins of which trace back some thousands of years. Each Kō lasts around five days and yet seems perfectly attuned to the ‘ebb and flow’ of life. The studio ties it in with their values by suggesting that bringing awareness to nature’s constant state of change helps one draw on the beautiful process through which we, too, are ever evolving.
To find out more about their intriguing hybrid concept, and its Kō-re philosophy, so to speak, we sat down with one of the studio’s founders, the lovely and personable Dhafeena Hassan, affectionately known as Dhafy to all her clients.
What inspired you to create Kō Movement Studio?
I hit a point in my career where I was ready to pick a niche clientele. Eleven years of working as a full time Personal Trainer gave me a lot of exposure and I gained experience in efficiently prescribing exercises for individual needs.
A huge catalyst for this realization was an injury to my spine, which consequently took away my physical freedom and independence, forcing me to rebuild my strength from scratch. While I was working on my own recovery, I also undertook personal training for an 80-year-old student. Together, these experiences paved way for eureka moments and brought home how much more enjoyable I found to work within this spectrum.
I only started to wonder on the possibility of Kō about a year ago. After much brainstorming, I sought advice from my friends, family, and mentors. Then I worked out a long-term plan to transform the dream to reality - and that’s how Kō came to life.
How would you describe Kō Movement Studio’s philosophy and the way it shapes the style of teaching and selection of classes?
At Kō, our philosophy is that all humans deserve to move in the way that their bodies were meant to, without difficulty, for as long as they live. The means of achieving this is by constant repetition, achieving a gradual increase in strength for all the necessary movements of the human body.
Our approach is about encouraging people to view exercise as an opportunity; to be more mindful, curious, and compassionate towards themselves - in life and in movement.
We also deeply prioritize building a strong foundation in terms of technique and muscle engagement. This is brought about by encouraging all students to treat classes as a learning experience - whether it’s about the exercise or how their bodies respond to that exercise - during the session as well as afterwards, in their everyday activities.
What makes your space different from gyms and other yoga studios?
If you were to categorize us, Kō falls somewhere between a gym and a yoga studio. It has a lot less equipment and machinery compared to your conventional gym, but at the same time we have a lot of weights which you would not usually find in a yoga studio. It lies in that unique space.
Most classes at Kō are also a form of ‘hybrid’ training; where most of our philosophy is based around Hatha yoga, combined with the use of weights and other tools to build strength and muscle mass.
If you had to explain the primary focus of your classes, what would that be? And, what do your students love most about the experience?
The combination of effort and relaxation. You work your mind and body, but you also spend some time being still and simply breathing.
As I mentioned earlier, we focus on longevity, which means finding a balance between “this is something I am doing for today” and “moving my body this way today will help me be strong in this movement in the next few decades to come”.
In your own words, what is self-care? What meaning does it hold to you?
For me, right now, self-care is about accountability and being comfortable in the reality of the world. I think it is rooted in taking care of the mind - first and foremost. It’s about knowing and learning to trust our own instincts and having a lot of compassion towards ourselves every single day. Discovering what works for us in terms of self-soothing and having a regulated nervous system is a skill that we develop as we grow.
Self-care also means simply existing and living while being open to whatever we may face in our daily lives, and having the confidence to know that we will be able to deal with things without losing ourselves in the process.
What sort of aids do you use, if any, to elevate the healing that mindful movement can bring?
Sound plays an important role in our classes. Having some calming sounds during the session subconsciously plays with soothing the mind. The sounds also help with making my students feel a bit more comfortable and less awkward.
We also use different aromas around the studio for different occasions. For example, citrus scents are used to for more energizing and uplifting classes, while lavender is our choice for ones meant to be more relaxing and soothing.
Tell us about an activity or ritual that helps you stay grounded and focused?
The time I spend as a student is my ritual to stay grounded and focused.
I try to spend at least one hour every day engaged in some sort of movement - whether it is yoga, swimming, strength training, boxing, or surfing.
At the moment, what I really appreciate about movement is freedom. I couldn’t move the way I wanted to after my injury and over the last two years, I’ve put a lot of work into building my strength. I notice that the pains and aches make a quick comeback when I don’t move my body regularly, so I consider it an honor and privilege to have such regained freedom - I don’t take it for granted. Because of this, the time that I spend engaged in movement is also time in which I feel grounded and focused.
At DEVI, we believe everyone needs to invest in at least one daily pursuit solely benefiting our own health and well-being. As we wrap up this chat, we’d love to hear your suggestions!
Find a form of exercising that you truly enjoy doing, not just what you think you should be doing. Get a specialized coach, or a mentor, and work on it until it becomes a part of your lifestyle or something that comes naturally to you. Consistency is key, and you’ll be amazed how much that small change in approach can transform your life.
You can learn about the studio here