Why Yoga Belongs in Your Daily Routine

Cissy Nansere is one of Uganda’s most popular and dynamic yogis, celebrated on Instagram for her striking poses against breathtaking backdrops. Now a certified yoga instructor, she opens up about her mental health struggles and how mastering her balancing act led her to a healthier, happier life.

A Father’s Influence

The disciplined lifestyle Cissy leads today is inherited from her father. An early riser, he exercised regularly and ate only healthy meals. “We woke up at 5 a.m. daily, and I’d prepare his gym gear,” she recalls. Since he wouldn’t take her along, she improvised workouts in their compound, many of which, she now realizes, were yoga poses. Post-exercise, she would prepare breakfast; an egg, fruit, bread, and tea. Lunch was always wholesome; matooke, rice, or posho with vegetables. Fast food was absent from their menu; she tasted pizza for the first time at 16.

Early Career Struggles

Growing up in Najjanankumbi on Entebbe Road, Cissy attended White Angels’ Primary School, walking to and from school each day. For O-Level, she went to Sir Apollo Kaggwa and Kololo Secondary School, then moved to Mbogo High School for A-Level—where she faced her most unpleasant school experience, prompting a transfer to East High School. She later graduated from Makerere University. After university, uncertainty loomed. Despite diverse interests, nothing provided the fulfillment she sought. She trained as a certified sommelier but soon left the wine industry. Modeling followed, but she quickly quit. “I couldn’t live a scripted life,” she explains. “Models surrender their opinions, clients dictate what you wear and how. I am too strong-willed for that.”

The Turning Point

In 2015, a car accident changed everything. Doctors credited her seatbelt with saving her life—but it also injured her chest, forcing her into bed rest. For an active person like Cissy, immobility was torture. “Lying on that couch day after day broke me,” she admits. Depression and anxiety set in, compounded by a failing relationship.  Once mobile, she sought solace in nightlife, drinking late to numb the pain. But the escapism only worsened her despair. “Every time I thought I had hit rock bottom, I sank deeper.”

Finding Healing Through Yoga

Around this time, she met a yoga instructor who suggested the practice for healing. She had seen yogis on Instagram showcasing its benefits and admired them, but needed that final push to begin. Starting yoga, she focused on stretches that opened her chest and shoulders. “By the end of each session, I felt calm and relaxed,” she says. She was hooked.

Yoga taught her it was not about appearance, but feeling. “It burns away the unnecessary layers until you uncover your true self,” she reflects. “I learned that who I am is enough.”

For years, she had feared loneliness, clinging to relationships out of insecurity. But yoga gave her the courage to let go of what no longer served her. Healing was gradual, panic attacks still struck at night, but she would meditate, reassuring herself: I will be okay. And she was.

Now, she switches off her phone by 9 p.m. and sleeps peacefully. “It is good to have people in your life, but realizing your own ‘enoughness’ is liberating.”

Mind and Body

Cissy emphasizes the connection between mental and physical health. “When one is cluttered, it spills into the other,” she says. “The solution? Simplify your life until you find happiness.” Some mornings, she wakes up so light and joyful she jokes, “I could float away.”  She urges her students; especially women, to reject negative self-talk. “Negative energy breeds unhappiness. Love your life as it is; improvement starts there. Bitterness will not speed up the process.”

Above all, she teaches breath control. “Breathing is proof of life. Master it, and you master your life,” she says. “Slower, deliberate breaths lead to longevity. Dogs breathe fast; their lifespans are short. The same applies to us.”

A Passion for Travel

Travel is her other love. In India, she embraced Zen culture’s simplicity. In Europe, she discovered beauty in Paris and luxury in Switzerland, Zurich, and Copenhagen. Many ask how she affords it. “Travelling is expensive, but where there is a will, there is a way,” she says. She saves 10 percent generally and 30 percent for travel, hunting for discounted advance tickets.

Travel humbled her. “Leaving my boundaries showed me how small I am in this vast world,” she reflects. Loneliness struck; like standing by the Eiffel Tower, yearning for someone to share the moment. Yet solitude also taught her self-companionship and inspiration.

Where to Find Her

Cissy teaches group classes (UGX 25,000) on Tuesdays at The Kurb, Kisementi, and private sessions (UGX 50,000) on Wednesdays at Speke Apartments, Kololo.

Invitation

If you are reading this while scrolling through another sleepless night, know this; the mat is waiting. Not for some perfect version of you, but for you exactly as you are today; broken pieces and all.

Remember: The light you are seeking is not at the bottom of a wine glass or in someone else’s approval. It is in the space between your inhale and exhale. Breathe deep, my friend. Your comeback starts now.