By Ayushi Agarwal New Delhi [India], December 28 (ANI):Delegates from 11 Arab countries took part in a workshop organized by the Saudi Yoga Committee in Jeddah as part of the ‘Arab Youth Empowerment Program’ organized by the Ministry of Sports that started on December 22 and will continue until December 30, 2022.
Arab countries like UAE, Oman, Yemen, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Alegria, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania participated in the event. The program aims to introduce the Arab youth delegations to the sporting, cultural and recreational developments in the region, including yoga.
In an interview with ANI, Nouf Marwaai, the first certified yoga teacher in Saudi Arabia and a Padma Shri Awardee who is also the head of the committee said that she wants everybody to have access to this practice to enhance the quality of their life and how Yoga is needed amidst today’s World challenges that could bring a message of peace between the nations.
“First I really thank the Ministry of Sports for this opportunity to introduce our Arab brothers and sister to this beautiful art for their health & well-being physically and mentally. I think we tried to answer all the questions they need to know to start promoting yoga in their societies and to understand the benefits of practising yoga for enhancing the quality of life and fighting depression as we included scientific studies findings about yoga and quality of life and depression,” Nouf Marwaai said.
“We also explained the difference between Traditional Yoga, Yogasana Sports and Yoga Therapy definition and practice to give a wide range of options and choices suitable for each society to be implemented according to the need and preferences in different Arab Countries”, she added.
Nouf Marwaai further said, “As a person who suffered my whole childhood from a disease like Lupus (autoimmune rheumatic disease), I started practising yoga and following Yoga and Ayurveda lifestyle, my life changed. I want everyone to be able to have access to this beautiful practice to enhance the quality of life whether they are healthy or suffer chronic illness.”
The Saudi Yoga Committee since its inception in May 2021 has organized a lot of activities and initiatives to promote Yoga for health and well-being across the Kingdom that grabbed the attention of other Arab countries.
Earlier this month, the first Saudi Yoga Festival was held in Jeddah to promote Yoga in 7 days in collaboration with the University of Business and Technology with over 112 yoga practitioners registered, out of which 95 were young girls aged six years and above.
Yogasana Sports Championship was held in Jeddah, the first of its kind in the Arab World. The event witnessed active participation from people across different age groups, who performed various advance Yogasana. (ANI)
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This is a significant development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who is slowly adapting erstwhile ancient Hindu cultural heritage in the form of Yoga. It could be a lesson to those Taliban fanatics running Afghanistan now and their supporters in the West including here in the UK who think Yoga has nothing to do with their religion. May such initiatives receive maximum publicity in other Islamic countries which would heal any apparent rift among communities usually exploited by faith teachers and equally corrupt politicians
good article