Bassam Kubba

Yoga Teacher, Spiritual Seeker and Refugee

Bassam grew up in Iraq. When the situation there became too dangerous, he and his family moved out of the country. He moved around the middle east, living in various countries illegally for about 7 years, doing various jobs. During that time, he was seeking legal, immigrant status but he was a low priority. At one point he learned that he would have an easier time finding asylum if he acknowledges his homosexuality, because of the threats of violence and potential death in that part of the world. Soon after, he was living in New York City.

When he was introduced to yoga, it looked like a religion to him, which conflicted with his religion of birth. Over time, he decided that the stories of India can be inspirational and they guided his inner search.

Bassam has lived through a lot of personal, internal conflicts with his sexuality, his religion and his profession. Of course, internal conflicts never end, but hopefully the intensity will subside. Now he teaches yoga, aerial yoga and acroyoga.

I hope that you enjoy the third episode of the podcast, Chats from the Mat, yoga inspired conversations with me, Brian Macrae Davis.

How to find Bassam Kubba

You can find him around New York City and at either of the Om Factory locations.

You can follow him on Instagram, @theacroflyer, and on Facebook.

I want to thank one of my personal yoga teacher sponsors, Xero Shoes; the best sandals for running, hiking, barefoot, walking. Xero Shoes make minimalist sandals that stand the tests of time and terrain and they have just released their first minimalist closed shoe. I like them because they pack easily, take up little room and are quite versatile. When I was in Hawaii, they were the only footwear I used; In town, in the rainforest or on the beach, they were perfect.

Thank you, Matt Worley for the introduction to this podcast. Matt is a yoga, SUP yoga and AcroYoga Teacher based in Newcastle in Australia.