Yoga becomes part of the sports curriculum in Saudi Arabia schools

Riyadh, Mar 17: In a major development, Yoga has been introduced in schools of Saudi Arabia. It has introduced posture-based physical fitness, stress-relief and relaxation technique in their sports curriculum. Nouf Al-Marwaai, the president of the Saudi Yoga Committee (SYC) made the announcement and cited the mental and physical health benefit for the decision. He said that Yoga because of its multitude of health benefits will be introduced in the curriculum.

  

This came after the Ministry of Commerce in Saudi Arabia had approved the teaching and practice of yoga as a sport in the Kingdom in November 2017. It is an initiative backed by the Saudi Yoga Committee and the ministry of education. According to the government, this initiative is a sign of the kingdom’s commitment to advancing youth development through education and sport as well as the youth’s mental and physical well-being.

 

 

There was an introductory lecture highlighting the cooperation between the SYC (Saudi Yoga Committee) and the Saudi School Sports Federation. It was attended by school principals and physical education teachers, with the aim of mobilizing the strategy from the Ministry of Education and the SYC, according to a report by Arab News.

 

The lecture also deliberated on raising the level of pupils' sports participation at a local and international level along with promoting the health of young Saudis.

 

 

Khalid Jama'an Al-Zahrani, certified yoga instructor and founder of Ananda Yoga Studio told the news portal, "As I started to dive deep in yoga, I never stopped discovering its incredible benefits as is it a whole and transformative sport that leads its practitioners to a calmer and clearer mind and stronger and healthier physique."

 

"Our school system in the Kingdom has always ensured that all its activities are aimed at contributing to the development of the students, from both physical and academic aspects, and I believe that introducing yoga to the Saudi education system is a nourishing and effective move," Al-Zahrani added.

 

The first Saudi Yogacharya (certified yoga instructor), Al-Marwaai said there were many plans to expand the scope and objectives of the SYC, and that there were many areas that needed to be covered to allow the implementation of yoga in schools on a large scale.