Now Saudis are free to perform Yoga; Kingdom approves ancient Indian practice as sports activity

Riyadh, November 14: Saudi Arabia is witnessing a series of economic and social reform nowadays as the rulers of Kingdom including King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman making a way of living bit liberal. Notably, Saudi Arabia with an aim to boost Yoga in Kingdom has approved the ancient Indian practice as a sports activity.

 

However, this is also can be said as a major boost to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effort of promoting Yoga across the world. The Saudi Ministry of Trade and Industry on Tuesday listed Yoga under "sports activities". However, this will now allow citizens of the Saudi Arabia to practice yoga by getting a licence from the government.

The decision was also taken to boost the new vision 2030 that focuses on the development and investing in youth. Nouf Al Marwaai is the first credited Saudi woman teaching yoga and has been recognized as the driving force behind the major development of yoga in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, which is considered as a hub of orthodox Islam also granted women with the right to drive.

Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. The United Nations declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga in 2014 after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself a yogi, called for the day to be declared as a global celebration of yoga, an ancient practice that originated in India more than 5,000 years ago, that has now become a worldwide phenomenon.

UNESCO earlier in December 2016 inscribed Yoga as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity which was one of the greatest achievement for Yoga at an international platform. Today, not only India but whole world practices Yoga and also praises it.

Interestingly, in the year 2015, shortly after the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day, the Indian diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia had organized maiden Yoga sessions in various Indian schools in the Islamic kingdom.