Saleh Fareed

JEDDAH: Several agreements will be signed with major universities in Saudi Arabia to support and promote yoga over the next few months, according to Saudi Yoga Committee President Nouf Al-Marwaai.

The announcement was recently made in Riyadh during a forum titled “The Role of University Sports in Supporting the Kingdom’s Vision in Sports,” organized by the Saudi Universities Sports Federation in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

A number of experts and international leaders in university sports, led by the president of the International Universities Sports Federation, Leonz Eder, and Paulo Ferreira, director general of the International University Sports Federation, attended the event.

During her participation in the fourth session, titled “Development and Promotion of New Sports Games in Universities,” Al-Marwaai explained that the committee was striving hard to introduce yoga to universities, emphasizing the importance of practicing it for health and wellness.

“Yoga gives its practitioners many health benefits (for) both physical and mental well-being,” she said, adding that “one of the most important pillars of achieving Vision 2030 is to enhance participation in sports activities, and to achieve sports excellence locally, continentally, and internationally.”

She also explained that yoga is not just meditation and relaxation as some might believe, but “includes Asana posture practice, Pranayamas breathing techniques, Bandhas muscle control (and) then comes Dhayan and Yoga Nidra meditation and relaxation.”

She added that the committee “aims to discover the talents of distinguished yoga practitioners in all types of yoga in general or Yogasana sports, to hone their talents, and support them to participate and represent the Kingdom in local and international tournaments.”