Riyadh: Yoga will soon be introduced in schools in Saudi Arabia as part of the sports curriculum due to its significance for mental and physical health, the president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, Nouf Al-Marwaai, said.

Notably, the Ministry of Commerce approved the teaching and practice of yoga as a sport in the Kingdom in November 2017.

With the cooperation of the Ministry of Education, the president said that Yoga because of its multitude of health benefits will be introduced in the curriculum.

Earlier this week, on March 9, 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 from all stages of education, with the aim of mobilizing the strategy from the Ministry of Education and the SYC, reported 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.