Yoga to be introduced as a sport in schools in Saudi Arabia

Little ones: get ready to stretch because yoga will be introduced in schools across Saudi Arabia as a sport. So if you’re still looking to find the perfect sport for your kid, this might just be the one for them.

President of the Saudi Yoga Committee, Nouf Al-Marwaai, has said that the Ministry of Education will be introducing it as a sport in school due to its incredible benefits.

Yoga is known to increase flexibility, muscle strength and tone, and can also help with respiration as well as relaxation. In 2017, the Ministry of Commerce officially approved the teaching of yoga as a sport in Saudi Arabia.

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Nouf Al-Marwaai was the very first Saudi Yoga Acharya and was actually the person behind the push of popularising it as a sport in Arabian countries. She’s won the Padma Shri Award in 2018 because of her dedication to giving the sport a home in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia also recently hosted its first yoga wellness festival in Jeddah’s Juman Park. Nearly 1,000 people attended the event and it was organised by the Saudi Yoga Committee. Attendees got to practice the sport, enjoy live performances, watch demonstrations by local studios, and learn about the services they provide.

As part of Saudi Vision 2030, the SFA was given the task to increase the number of people in the Kingdom participating in sports and physical activities by 40 percent. The SFA is dedicated to making everyone’s lifestyle a little healthier in the most fun ways possible.

Saudi Arabia also recently scrapped social distancing in schools, it will no longer be a part of classrooms, sports, and playground activities, including all sectors: elementary, secondary, and high schools.

Get ready to stretch it out, Riyadh.

arabyogafoundation.com.