Nouf Marwai – The Face of Yoga in the Gulf
- Nouf Marwaai is Saudi Arabia’s first certified Yoga instructor, for whom yoga means life.
- Marwaii was instrumental in getting yoga accepted and approved in Saudi Arabia and has a wide following.
- Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Investment (MCI) officially approved the teaching of yoga as a sport in November 2017.
- “Marwaai has led thousands of yoga enthusiasts performing yoga to mark International Yoga Day at Dubai’s Zabeel Park,” – Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul.
- She has coached more than 8,000 Saudi and expat yoga enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
- She faced strong opposition from a certain people who believed that yoga was part of Hinduism.
- She also founded the Arab Yoga Foundation, the first official yoga foundation in the Gulf region.
- To increase her theoretical and practical knowledge of yoga, Marwaai first went to Australia and then India, where she mastered the art of yoga with renowned Ashtanga and Hatha (types of yoga) teachers at various authentic and illustrious yoga schools.
- She has recently been in the news after India honoured her with the prestigious Padma Shri award—the fourth biggest civilian award in India.
