Yoga to be introduced in Saudi Arabia schools as part of sports curriculum

After the kingdom of Saudi Arabia organised its first-ever yoga festival, yoga will now be soon introduced in schools as part of the sports curriculum because of its positive impact on mental and physical health, the president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, Nouf Al-Marwaai, said.

With the cooperation of the Ministry of Education, president Nouf Al-Marwaai said yoga would be introduced in the curriculum because of its multitude of health benefits.

On March 9, an introductory lecture was held that highlighted the cooperation between the SYC (Saudi Yoga Committee) and the Saudi School Sports Federation. 

Many of the participants were school principals and physical education teachers who were part of the lecture to with the aim of mobilizing the strategy from the Ministry of Education and the SYC reported Arab News.

Khalid Jama’an Al-Zahrani, a certified yoga instructor and founder of Ananda Yoga Studio, said, “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.

Nouf Al-Marwaai is the first Saudi Yogacharya and she said there were many plans to expand the scope and objectives of the SYC and there plans that would allow the implementation of yoga in schools on a large scale.

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