‘Holy month is my reset button’
Rania Kana’an says Ramadan is the ideal time to take stock of her life. The founder of a bicycle customising company also knows the value of eating healthily when breaking her fast, Nadeem Hanif reports
DUBAI // Rania Kana’an finds Ramadan to be the perfect time to take stock of her life and press the reset button. Ms Kana’an, 30, co- founded the Charicycles custom bicycle business with her sister Zaina in 2014.
It customises second-hand bicycles and for every five sold, the company funds one for a child in a refugee camp in Palestine.
“Ramadan is my reset button,” the Palestinian-Canadian says. “It pushes me to think about my priorities and what I want to do for the next 12 months, and the benefit is more focused energy by the end of it.”
Ms Kana’an has been fasting during Ramadan for as long as she can remember and from a young age she recognised the value of the holy month.
“When I was younger I used to do the baby fast, which is fasting until noon, but then I started to do the full fast from sunrise to sunset,” she says. “It is a time to cleanse the mind, heart and body.
“It is truly a time of reflection, of being more aware about our treatment of ourselves, other people and things in our daily lives and realising how much we have to be grateful for.”
A typical day includes about six hours of work followed by a swim at the beach just before sunset.
“I have iftar with my family, watch an episode of something on TV and then catch up with friends, or now that I am learning a language I spend my evenings doing that,” Ms Kana’an says.
Ramadan has its challenges because shorter working hours can mean not everything is done as efficiently as possible.
But it gives Ms Kana’an the chance to spend more time with her family and the slowdown in pace allows her to better balance work with other elements of her life.
“I come out more cleansed,” she says.“I also use it as a time to meditate, so at the end of the month I feel much more energised and focused.”
Despite her love of her mother’s
‘ I also use it as a time to meditate, so at the end of the month I feel much more energised and focused Rania Kana’an
cooking, she tries to be as disciplined as possible. “My mum is an excellent cook,” Ms Kana’an says.
“Although this is really challenging, I try to keep my meals light when I break my fast.
“The trick is dates and yoghurt. But something I cannot resist is cheese qatayef. I call them nuggets of heaven.
“Keeping my meals light allows me to be grateful for what I have and also allows me to function after iftar.
“Dates and yoghurt are excel- lent sources of nutrition and hydration, and allow me to go through Ramadan without suhoor, which is extremely unhealthy.”
Her advice to others fasting is to “think about what you have, how much you consume and how much you throw out”.
“It is a transformational experience when a whole month is used to tap into your spirituality and work on yourself to be a better person.”