INHABIT: Your Daily Dose of Pause with Davina Ho
“Companies have a huge responsibility particularly during this crisis to ensure the mental wellbeing of their employee. ”
We recently experienced a ZOOM yoga nidra meditation session with Davina Ho, co-founder of HASIKO and founder of INHABIT. Originally from Scotland now finding her new roots in Singapore, former financier turned meditation teacher we spoke to Davina to learn more about her vision for INHABIT and why we are seeing a huge trend in individuals switching into the wellness industry and what we can do to stay more grounded in our daily self care practice.
Curito:
Who is Davina Ho, tell us about yourself!
Davina:
I’m Eurasian, born in Scotland, and have been living in Singapore for 7 years now after moving here from London for work. I have a genius doggy called Gatsby who joins me in a lot of my yoga sessions. I currently work at a sustainable fund part-time and teach yoga and meditation for corporate clients and for healing trauma. I’m a certified iRest® meditation teacher which the US military uses for PTSD but it’s also proven helpful for alleviating the symptoms of stress, sleep, anxiety, pain and depression. I co-founded HASIKO in 2017 with a friend and now I’m in the process of bringing meditation and mindfulness to Asia through Meditation for Life with the aim to open a new style of meditation studio in 2020 called INHABIT!
Curito:
What was the tipping point for you in your life thus far? Is that what led you to create Hasiko?
Davina:
I had a crazy stressful finance life when I first moved to Singapore, constantly traveling for work and after 3 years I began to have major health issues that really showed me how burned out I was and how important self-care was. So I decided to do my pilates and yoga teacher training and created HASIKO with my Co-Founder Zi who I met during Pilates teacher training.
Curito:
What does Haisko stand for?
Davina:
HASIKO actually means new beginnings in the language of Basque (a region in Spain). We wanted a name that was unique but also represented our belief that getting up early, starting the day well with our blend of movement and meditation practice would prepare you for your day. And many of the world's most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs also know this... think Tim Cook, Indra Nooyi, and Tony Robbins. Morning routines are the key to personal wellbeing and success.
Curito:
Why do you think there has been a huge growth in the switch to a wellness career or path in the last decade. Especially those like yourself who were in high-paying demanding industries like finance, law, etc.
Davina:
I think we realized that our need for purpose, mission, and vision were not being met in these career paths and we didn’t have a true definition of what success looked like for us personally so many have left to try to find it through other career paths.
Curito:
How did you become a meditation teacher?
Davina:
I remember my first meditation course back in London more than a decade ago and it felt a bit strange! I was sitting in the classroom confused about what we were meant to be doing… I really remember that starting a practice was so difficult but I slowly managed to build up my practice to 20 minutes a day over many years!!
I can’t believe how slow it was to get there and now I look back with all the information and knowledge I have now and there are so many easier ways to get the benefits of meditation with the right tools and good teachers. My practice really accelerated during my first yoga teacher training where we trained to meditate for 2 hours. Since then I’ve done several silent meditation retreats and trained to become a certified iRest® meditation teacher which took two years of extensive study and practice.
Curito:
How do you teach meditation to beginners?
Davina:
There are so many myths about meditation and people are very confused about how to start a practice. I recommend training in a few different techniques to see what works best for you. It’s also important to have a good teacher and someone who can help if you get into trouble as this is about your psychological health!! You don’t go to a physiotherapist who’s not qualified so the same is true with your mind!
iRest is also a really easy meditation practice because it’s a yoga nidra practice (conscious sleep) done lying down or wherever you feel comfortable. It’s not about doing MORE but it’s about doing LESS. People are relieved to hear that and find that even though the practice might be 40 minutes it feels like a lot less - it took me years to get to 20 minutes and I’m now teaching people who’re getting the meditation benefits of 40 minutes on their first session!!
Yoga nidra mimics our sleep patterns but with once difference it’s done consciously, so a practice of 40 minutes can be the equivalent of 2 hours sleep at night so it’s also really good for a nap during the day whenever you’re feeling exceptionally tired or stressed. And we all need more sleep! I could go on and on about how amazing and transformative this practice is.
Curito:
Who are your mentors, what inspires you and keeps you grounded?
Davina:
While training to be an iRest meditation teacher, I met 3 women mentors and teachers who blew me away in how they meet and live life so fully and gracefully and I’m so grateful to them. When I went on my first iRest silent retreat, I was in a dark place, not managing the stress of life very well and when I saw how they could easily meet challenges and difficulties thrown their way with such compassion and grace as well as live life so authentically, I knew there was hope and that I could also get there with the right training and practice.
I also recently trained with The Practice Bali after visiting the school in Canggu for many years which teaches a form of Tantra Hatha lineage based yoga, and I’m forever grateful for these teachings in my life too.
I practice both styles each day and during this stressful period of time I’ve upped the hours of my practice to at least 2 hours each day to provide a safe space to work through the challenging emotions, we are facing together.
“People need the tools, spaces and education to manage stress and companies have a huge responsibility particularly during this crisis to ensure the mental wellbeing of their employees.”
Curito:
When you meet someone for the first time, how do you talk about mindfulness and all that you offer, what is your 2min elevator pitch and what kind of simple techniques do you leave the individual with so that they can try meditation out on their own?
Davina:
I tell them anyone can meditate - I teach some great 2 minute tools for my clients to do at their desks in the office or before a big presentation. One is alternate nostril breathing which is super easy to do, we have our breath with us everywhere we go and this practice balances the right and left hemispheres of the brain and soothes the nervous system. I also recommend that people 1) try yoga nidra 2) try to meditate after exercise (20 minutes of moderate exercise like the first 20 minutes of the HASIKO Flow has been scientifically proven to be enough) once they’ve released stress hormones such as cortisol they are able to do a 5 or 10 minute seated meditation practice much more easily 3) Breathing practices are also helpful before you meditate.
Curito:
What are some of your goals for this new decade?
Davina:
I actually have a big vision for the next decade which I began working on last year! The last decade was all about hustle, pushing yourself harder and harder so you can be, do or have better. We had CrossFit, Equinox, SoulCycle, Peloton, and meditation apps pushing us with productivity. We are so stressed and polarised that we’re either all in, working hard, working out harder, achieving more; or we suddenly pack it all in.
Not only is our Earth and its inhabitants buckling under the pressure we are putting on it, we are too. So what is this all for? Isn’t there a more sustainable way to live? Can we have it all? We need to make some serious personal and work culture changes towards our lifestyles and careers. Surely happiness is the ultimate goal of all human beings on this planet this is why for me it’s all about improving the mental well-being of humanity. My big goal is to bring silent meditation spaces into cities and companies through my brand INHABIT and teach people the tools to become mentally and emotionally healthy and resilient.
Having dealt with my own mental health challenges and seeing it often in my clients, people need the tools, spaces, and education to manage stress and companies have a huge responsibility particularly during this crisis to ensure the mental wellbeing of their employees.
Curito:
For those of us who don't live in Singapore, how can we get connected or follow Haisko and your offerings, whether it be individuals, families or corporates?
Davina:
I just put my Meditation Monday class online and plan to continue it going forward to introduce more people to iRest meditation in Asia so people can sign-up to for that on my website. It’s every Monday at 8pm with a different topic. I will also be putting on a series of online workshops on meditation in the coming months and our 28 day HASIKO morning program is already available online. I also have plans to host a 3 day silent retreat this new year in Bali but let’s see with COVID-19 how the situation is for the rest of the year!
Curito:
We wish Davina all the best in spreading INHABIT to Asia and beyond, after 2020 I think many of us will feel the need to find that “pause” in our lives! Follow Davina on IG , FB and Insight Timer.
First published on April 22, 2020
