Popular TV personality, actress and emcee, Daphne Iking shares how she manages to discover her true self by practising yoga. She is a firm believer that this ancient Indian body of knowledge has elevated her energy to be more positive and become more accepting of any hiccups with an open heart.
As a mother, one could never escape from a brisk-pace parenting life. Raising kids require a full support of mind and soul to weather the many challenges life can bring. As a parent, you can’t clock in at 9am and clock out at 6pm. The duty just won’t end. It is a continuous task that may drain your energy and emotions. However, there are quite a few bright spots such as finding comfort in reading a bedtime story to your children at the end of the day.
Daphne Iking has carved her name in the Malaysia entertainment industry, having shot to fame in Explorace, a reality show back in 2004. She then became more prominent when she hosted The Breakfast Show on NTV7. She further received exposure when she was listed on FHM Malaysia’s 2010 Most Wanted Female.
But behind the fame, not many know the maternal side of Daphne. The mother of three young children shares some parenting tips, yoga and how her dearest daughter, Isobel helps her cling on to hope during her darkest hours.
Mother On-The-Go
“What is it like being a mother?” Daphne muses. “Well, being a working mom has its challenges. I work mainly from home, so I try and squeeze that in between chores, cooking and doing kids stuff,” she says, adding that she has a nanny who helps her when she’s out for work or attending events.
She is thankful for having such a supportive husband, Azmi Abdul Rahman or better known as Joe Lebosi who is also her manager and business partner. “He handles my schedule and does all the negotiations for the company and brand. This frees me to focus on the creative part and deliver my services as an emcee, producer, presenter or writer,” she says. She openly admires Azmi’s commitment as a father as he quit his corporate job to step in and look after the children and the household when they had no one to ask for help.
Daphne has the hugest respect for stay-at-home parents. “At home, there is always someone and something that needs your attention then and now. At least working outside you get to take a quick breather for yourself.” Having said so, Daphne still loves being a mother and loves being pregnant and bonding with the children.
Maternal Instincts
“I knew I wanted to be a mother when I was 14 years old as I took care of my newborn baby brother when my mother had to leave him (at home) for an opportunity too good to let go,” she says. For Daphne, her kids have taught her unconditional, selfless love and devotion.
Some parents believe they need to be firm with their kids but not Daphne. She tries her best to explain why she makes important decisions especially when the kids get really upset on her choices whilst still being protective and establishing the mother-daughter bond. “Isobel was so upset that she was not allowed to go to a birthday ice-skating party even though the other parents were okay to pick her up. I didn’t allow her to go as I was not in town. I explained to her upon our return and we took Isobel and her friends for ice-skating a few weeks later.”
Finding Inner Peace
Any keen follower of Daphne’s Instagram account will notice that Daphne loves practising yoga. “I love yoga and this is one activity where I am not a mother or wife nor provider.” Yoga for Daphne is a “me” time to get away from her busy and crowded life. It is a time that she has a moment of peace and be completely undisturbed. Hence, she teaches yoga to share her fondness for this spiritual meditation.
“I have screamed at my kids before, but that just made things worse and I felt so, so horrible right after and I swore never to do that again,” she shares. “So now I’m firm with my kids but try my best to use a kind tone when talking to them,” Daphne adds how yoga has helped calm her down a lot and helped her raise her family without losing her cool too much.
“Do you know what is the most challenging moment in raising my kids? To not let out my anger and work stress on them,” she says as it’s hard since she is working from home and her kids come in and out of the office frequently.
Everyone has their own dark phases in life. Thankfully, Daphne has a daughter who is the bright shining light when she finds herself stuck in a dark place. “I still remember Isobel crawling to comfort me during a really dark phase in my life. I was going through a really depressing time and had suicidal thoughts. She looked at me with such loving eyes and I thought to myself, this is so selfish of me to leave an innocent infant without a parent to look after.”
“When in doubt or in a valley, just pray. The power of prayer is absolutely amazing. Trust in God and have faith,” she concludes.
Daphne Iking
Actress, emcee and prenatal yoga instructor
