Indian Muslim Girl Takes Yoga to Saudi Arabia

Mangaluru: She is the only Muslim certified yoga instructor in Jeddah. Hailing from Belvi, a small town near Moodbidri, Fatima Shaikh Abdul Majeed is making yoga popular among the people of Saudi Arabia. “However, initially, it was not easy to convince people to take up yoga. People found it difficult to accept it, although they thought it to be an out of the box idea. Later, when they realized the positive outcome of yoga in getting a healthy mind and body, they included it in their lifestyle”, said Fatima, a commerce graduate, who has been in Saudi Arabia all her life as her parents are settled there.
Remembering her first attempt at teaching yoga in her first class, she said, “It was a flop and people rejected it. But, my colleagues gave me the motivation to try again and eventually, it gave positive results.”
Fatima conducts classes only for women and says that these women get some time for themselves to open up. “From teenagers to senior citizens, now, everyone comes to my fitness studio to learn the art”, she says.
(Extracted from timesofindia.indiatimes.com)