SAUDI ARABIA – INDIA Between sport and health, yoga reaches Saudi universities

The practice and teaching of yoga are part of a larger set of agreements to be signed in the coming months. The president of the Saudi Yoga Committee recalls its benefits and hopes for greater dissemination in the future. In January, the first championship related to the discipline took place in Riyadh.

Riyadh () – The most important universities in Saudi Arabia will promote the teaching and practice of yoga as part of a broader series of agreements between India and Saudi Arabia to be signed in the coming months. Saudi Yoga Committee (SYC) President Nouf Al-Marwaai made the announcement a few days ago during a forum in Riyahd titled “The role of sport in the University with the aim of promoting sport in the kingdom.” The event was promoted by the Saudi Universities Sports Federation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, as part of the projects and initiatives of the Vision 2030 program carried out by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) to “modernize” the country.

During the sessions, Al-Marwaai confirmed in his speech the efforts that are being made to introduce yoga in universities and highlighted the benefits for the health and personal well-being of students. “One of the main pillars for the success of the Vision 2030 program – he added – is to improve participation in sports activities and achieve sports excellence at a local, continental and international level.”

When referring to the practice of yoga, the expert explained that it is not just about meditation and relaxation, as some may believe, but that it “includes the practice of postures, breathing techniques, muscle control, and only afterwards meditation and relaxation.” The committee, concluded the president of SYC, “intends to discover the talents of illustrious practitioners” of the different types of yoga, “to perfect the technique and accompany them in the participation and representation of the kingdom in local and international competitions.”

In January Riyadh organized the first championship dedicated to yoga. The event was held at Juman Park, in the King Abdullah Economic City of Jeddah, and was attended by the most important personalities in the sector, both athletes and teachers. In 2021, Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India to establish a “yoga (standard) protocol” to promote yoga in the country, the first example of collaboration in this area between Riyadh and Delhi.

The silent revolution that MBS promotes to free religion from a radical vision, although its broader objective is to open the country to the international economy, continues between lights and shadows. The reforms introduced in recent years have touched the social and rights sphere, including the green light for women to drive and (controlled) access to stadiums, as well as in the field of worship. However, the arrests of senior officials and businessmen, the repression of activists and critical voices, and the Khashoggi case have cast more than one shadow over a change that is still far from the Dubai model.