Ramdev hails Saudi Arabia for listing Yoga under 'sports activities'

Lauding the Saudi Arabia's decision of listing Yoga under 'sports activities', Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday said that the move will break the myth among Muslim community.

The Saudi Ministry of Trade and Industry approved Yoga under "sports activities" and allowed Saudi citizen to practice it on issuance of licence from the government.

Taking to Twitter, Ramdev said, "This will break the myth among Muslim community and open the doors for peace and health for them."

Ramdev further said, "By declaring Yoga as a 'sports activity', Saudi Arabia has taken a historic and scientific decision beyond religions."

Nouf Marwaai, a Riyadh-based Yoga expert, who dedicated herself to promote Yoga in the Gulf region, confirmed that the Saudi Ministry has listed Yoga under its sports category.

"Yoga is a legal sport activity in Saudi Arabia now. It's in the official website of the ministry of trade and industry listed under sports activities. Licenses are available for yoga centers and studios. Saudi yoga teachers have even started preparing their own yoga studios," she said.

In an exclusive interaction with ANI, Marwaai revealed she had to face a lot of accusations and threats for even writing about yoga or yoga day.

She said, "I struggled a lot. I had to face a lot of accusations and threats. Any article that was released about yoga or yoga day, I would receive many messages and texts. I could not teach yoga officially. I also couldn't get a license in 2012 for naturopathy center, even after spending USD 1 million, just because it wasn't classified yet.