Osward Lifumbe Arrived as Zimbabwe's Lone Representative. He Leaves as Yogasana's Newest Ambassador

When Osward Lifumbe landed in Ahmedabad for the inaugural World Yogasana Sport Championship, he arrived with an open mind but few expectations.

A contemporary dancer, martial artist, stunt performer, theatre artist and yoga instructor from Zimbabwe, Lifumbe is no stranger to movement. His career has been built on curiosity, constantly stepping into new disciplines and allowing creativity to guide his next challenge.

Yet amid all the things he has tried, Yogasana offered something different.

Competing as Zimbabwe's lone representative at the first-ever World Yogasana Sport Championship at EKA Arena, Lifumbe came seeking experience. What he found instead was a deeper understanding of yoga itself.

"I thought yoga was just the surface," he said. "But

when I came here and watched the Indians, watched every other country do yoga, I've really come to understand that it's one thing that's not just what I thought. It's really deep. It's really deep and it brings people together. "

As more than 500 athletes from over 70 countries gathered in Gujarat for the historic championship, Lifumbe found himself becoming more than just an athlete.

He became a student again.

From Dance Floors to the Yoga Mat

Lifumbe's introduction to yoga was not through a sports federation or a competitive pathway. It came through his performing arts education at Africera Arts Trust in Zimbabwe, where yoga formed part of the curriculum alongside dance and artistic training.

Initially, yoga served as a tool for recovery.

"We would go to school from Monday to Friday, and we did yoga Monday, Wednesday and Friday," he recalled. "It was used as a refreshing course. We got to regenerate our bodies and rejuvenate our bodies through yoga. "

Over time, it became something he genuinely enjoyed.

That appreciation eventually evolved into teaching. Today, Lifumbe instructs students ranging from young adults to people in their sixties, helping them improve mobility, flexibility and overall wellbeing.

But unlike many competitors in Ahmedabad, he had never viewed yoga through a sporting lens.

"For me, yoga is like a lifestyle," he explained. "I do it to keep myself fit, to be healthy, to be flexible enough to perform the things that I want to. "

That perspective changed quickly after arriving in India.

Watching elite athletes execute complex postures and compete under strict judging criteria forced him to see Yogasana differently. It was no longer simply about flexibility or wellness. It was a discipline requiring precision, endurance and years of practice.

"When you get to a competitive stage, you're like, 'Yeah, I can try my best,'" he said. "I've never done some of those asanas because they're beyond my body limits for now. But everything is earned through practice. "

"It's not like the people who can do those things just woke up and started doing them. It was through practice. "

Beyond Religion: Finding the Real Meaning of Yoga

For Lifumbe, perhaps the biggest lesson from Ahmedabad had little to do with competition.

It had to do with perception.

Throughout his journey as a yoga instructor, he has often encountered people who associate yoga exclusively with religion or spirituality. Back home in Zimbabwe, he says many people still view yoga through that lens.

"Some of my students think yoga is more spiritual. It's only about Hinduism," he explained. "Actually hearing most people from different religions and different worlds doing it, I just see it as yoga as a practice that everyone or anyone can do. "

Coming to the World Yogasana Sport Championship challenged even some of his own assumptions.

Seeing athletes from dozens of countries and diverse faiths competing together reinforced something he had long believed personally but had never witnessed on such a scale.

"I'm a Christian," Lifumbe said. "I've always been open to yoga. I feel like everyone, any religion can do it. Despite people saying it's spiritual, you can make it your own thing. "

For him, yoga's greatest value lies in the relationship it helps build with oneself.

"It's not about just the physical body," he said. "When you do those mantras, when you meditate, you just become oneness with yourself. "

"I think for me it's the oneness side. You feel like you are important in this world. And I feel that's through yoga. "

The championship showed him that yoga can be shared across cultures without losing its roots.

Watching competitors from Uzbekistan, South Africa, India and beyond take to the same stage demonstrated what Yogasana could become as it continues expanding globally.

Where Dance Meets Yogasana at the World Yogasana Championship

If there was one category that immediately captured Lifumbe's imagination, it was Artistic Yogasana.

The format combines traditional yogic postures with choreography, expression and storytelling - a blend that felt naturally familiar to someone whose background spans dance, theatre and movement arts.

"I felt more comfortable doing artistic than anything else," he admitted.

Years spent learning different dance forms taught him not to separate movement disciplines but to connect them.

"As a dancer, you tell yourself, 'I can do anything,'" he said with a smile. "I've learned so many dance styles from my school and that taught me that you can connect anything. "

That philosophy became the foundation of how he approached Artistic Yogasana.

"If I'm learning Indian dance, I have to become it. Even ballet, if I'm doing ballet, I have to become ballet. I have to have the posture, the attitude. "

"It's the attitude that you set in your mind. "

For Lifumbe, creating artistic routines is about finding connections between movements that already exist.

"The rhythm is here, the asana is here," he explained. "If I connect the two, just find a string and tie it up, then it all goes well. "

That mindset was evident during his performance, which drew admiration from spectators throughout the arena. Inspired by India and dedicated to Lord Shiva, his artistic interpretation blended athleticism with performance, creating one of the championship's most memorable routines.

It was more than a competitive entry.

It was a tribute.

And in many ways, it reflected the spirit of the event itself: athletes from around the world embracing an Indian discipline while bringing their own identities and cultures into it.

Taking Yogasana Back to Zimbabwe after World Yogasana Championship

For Lifumbe, Ahmedabad feels less like the end of a journey and more like the beginning of one.

The championship exposed him to the possibilities of Yogasana as a global sport. More importantly, it highlighted what is still missing back home.

"I want to take back everything that I've seen, everything that I've learned, so people also have an opportunity to say, 'This is a sport. This is a sport I can do as well. '"

Zimbabwe, he believes, already has the talent.

What it lacks is exposure.

"There are people gifted in different things," he said. "There are people gifted in contortion. There are people who do gymnastics. If they came to this championship, they would do so well. "

As the lone Zimbabwean athlete at the inaugural championship, Lifumbe understands he is carrying more than just his own ambitions.

"This is the first time," he said. "I'm the first one to do this for yoga. "

His hope is that future editions of the World Yogasana Sport Championship will feature larger Zimbabwean contingents, stronger support systems and perhaps even a dedicated Yogasana federation.

"The one thing I would want is for the whole world to know that yoga is an important sport and it's also something that anyone or everyone can do," he said.

"It should be like football. It should be like cricket. People should know that yoga is part of the world, not only just part of India. "

Asked whether he would return next year, Lifumbe laughed.

"I can't guarantee," he said. "I'm a man who keeps doing so many things. "

He then rattled off a list that perfectly captured his journey so far: taekwondo, capoeira, Kyokushin karate, basketball, baseball, theatre, dance and now Yogasana.

Yet despite his many pursuits, Ahmedabad appears to have left a lasting impression.

"I would love to be here next time if it's possible," he said. "And I would love to bring friends as well. So many people that do yoga, that take it as a sport, that do it seriously. "

For the Zimbabwean who arrived hoping simply to learn something new, that may ultimately be the legacy of his first World Yogasana Sport Championship.

Not the scores, not the rankings, but the realization that yoga can belong to everyone.

"Yoga is part of the world," Lifumbe said. "Not only just part of India. "