By Kimberley Tan
In a world that often tells us to hustle harder and keep our feelings tucked away, Healing Hearts (HH) dares to ask: what if healing began with a breath, a stretch, or simply showing up – messy, tired, and fully human?
Sanctuary for the soul
BORN from the shared struggles and deep friendship between co-founders, Nur Atiqah Abdul Taib and Maryam Evetovics, Healing Hearts is more than just a pop-up yoga and movement collective – it’s a sanctuary for the soul.
Rooted in the belief that movement is medicine and healing is a full-body experience, this Kuching-based initiative has quietly been changing lives since 2023, creating safe, sacred spaces where people can move, feel, grieve, and most importantly, remember how to come home to themselves.
Who is Healing Hearts and what inspired the creation of HH?
Healing Hearts is a pop-up yoga and movement collective co-founded by myself (Nur Atiqah Abdul Taib) and my best friend Maryam (Maryam Evetovics). It began in 2023 from our shared belief that joy and healing can be accessed through intentional movement.
Both of us come from very personal experiences; I’ve battled depression and low self-worth since my teenage years, and movement was the first thing that helped me process emotions in a sustainable way.
For Maryam, yoga was her healing anchor during a difficult recovery from a sports injury and the isolation of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Our personal journeys converged in a deep conversation about mental health and the body. And from there, Healing Hearts was born.
How would you describe the core philosophy or guiding values behind Healing Hearts?
At our core, Healing Hearts believes that movement is medicine, and healing is a full-body experience. We honour the emotional body as much as the physical one. We draw from yoga philosophy, somatic healing, and community gathering to create spaces where people can feel safe, seen, and supported.
We also believe in fun, play, and activism as forms of healing, whether through acroyoga, nature walks, or community fundraisers. Everything we do centres around compassion, authenticity, and being one with yourself and nature.
What has your own personal healing journey looked like, and how has it influenced the work you do through Healing Hearts?
My healing journey has been long and non-linear. I struggled with depression and low self-worth for over a decade.
In 2018, I found myself unexpectedly drawn to contortion and flexibility training, and through that, I discovered how breathwork and focus helped me regulate overwhelming emotions. It became my form of therapy.
When I met Maryam and she introduced me to the philosophy of yoga, it felt like all the missing pieces clicked into place: movement, mindfulness, service, and ethical living. Healing Hearts is a direct reflection of that journey; it’s the space I wished existed when I needed it most.
Can you share one or two memorable or meaningful moments that stand out from your Healing Hearts gatherings or events?
One moment that has always stayed with me was when a regular attendee of our grief yoga class, a collaborative initiative with Dee Hati Grief Centre, shared that she hadn’t left her house for months after losing a loved one.
She told us that this class was one of the few reasons she found the motivation to step outside again. While her grief didn’t disappear, she learned practical tools to manage her emotions, and more importantly, she felt a sense of belonging.
Another beautiful moment was during a peace walk we co-facilitated with International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) Kuching that was also attended by Datuk Lo Khere Chiang. Seeing people of different backgrounds and titles come together in stillness and intention before a symbolic walk was incredibly powerful.
How have the people who’ve participated in Healing Hearts described their experience? What kinds of transformations or shifts have you witnessed?
We hear a lot of participants say that our classes feel like “emotional exhale” or “a space to be human again”. Some tell us they finally feel what it means to rest or even have fun in their body. Many share how being surrounded by others going through similar emotional landscapes (especially in our grief-informed sessions) makes them feel less alone.
In our AcroYoga sessions, we have a group of grown-ups rediscovering how to have fun and support each other (literally!) while experimenting how to form various shapes with their bodies. We’ve witnessed people soften, open up, be authentically themselves for the first time in years, and slowly find their way back to joy or clarity in their own time.
In a world that often feels rushed and disconnected, how does Healing Hearts create space for calm, vulnerability, and deeper conversations?
We intentionally strip away performance and pressure; we don’t use languages that take people back to societal expectations such as weight loss or aesthetics. Our classes don’t focus on achieving poses or perfection; they’re about presence. We use breath, slowness, nature metaphors, and storytelling to bring people back to themselves.
Most of our sessions are held in third spaces like parks or community halls, which naturally invite people to exhale and just be. We also open space for reflection, silence, and conversation, allowing vulnerability to feel less intimidating and more communal.
Are there any upcoming retreats, workshops, or new projects in the pipeline that people should look out for?
Yes! We’re so excited to co-host a one-day retreat called ‘Coming Home to Yourself’ with Kinder Minds Kuching on 16 August 2025, in Bau. It’s a full-day experience of grounding, mindful movement, creative expression, forest bathing, and restorative rituals designed for those who feel burnt out, emotionally stuck, or disconnected from themselves.
We’ll also continue our grief-informed yoga sessions with Dee Hati Grief Centre every week and have more community-based programmes in the works.
If anyone is interested to know more about any of these sessions, you are most welcome to check them out at linktr.ee/healingheartskch
What message would you love to leave with someone who might be hesitant to open up or seek healing?
You don’t need to be “healed” or “strong” to begin. You just need to be curious enough to take one small step. Healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken.
It’s about remembering who you are underneath all the pain, masks, and expectations. And you don’t have to do it alone. Whether it’s through movement, breath, or just showing up in community, there’s always a gentle way in.
For more information, the duo regularly updates their social media platform, Instagram, @healingheartskch.
