Saudi Arabia approves yoga as a sports activity: Nouf Marwaai

News Network
November 14, 2017

The Saudi Arabian government has approved the practice of yoga as a sports activity, claimed a social media post of Nouf Marwaai, founder of the Arab Yoga Foundation in the oil-rich kingdom. 

She wrote on her Facebook wall: "Yoga literally means 'union'. A union of individual with ones wellbeing, a body to mind, emotions and soul, nation to globe has officially arrived at the sea shore of Saudi Arabia. It has crossed the boundaries of fundamentalism...ideological extremism." (The account is not verified by the social media site.)

She also wrote that since its inception in Saudi, "Yoga has observed a topsy-turvy path, with me as a medium. God gave me strength to fight all difficulties, real difficulties. God was with me as an observer and infused courage in me whenever required. Here is a day, that finally practicing yoga is no more a deviant behaviour in Saudi." 

She also thanked the Indian Government and the Consulate General for "unlimited" support. 

Yoga has been promoted in a big way by Indian Yoga gurus and with concerted efforts by the Indian government, the United Nations has also declared June 21 as 'International Yoga Day'.

In fact Islam encourages physical exercises. Hence, Muslims do not completely oppose Yoga. However, some of the practices of Yoga including “worshipping” sun (surya namaskar) are considered un-Islamic. Islam allows to worship only the Creator of the universe.

Who is Nouf Marwaai?

Nouf Marwaai is a Saudi businesswoman and entrepreneur as well as a leading practitioner and the official promoter of yoga and Ayurveda in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

An advocate of yoga with 18 years of practice since 1998, she has achieved the status of Yogacharinie Nouf Marwaai, a title awarded in Kerala, India.

She is also a practitioner of Ayurvedic Indian medicine and is clinical psychologist, lifestyle counsellor, and Ayurveda and Yoga therapist. 

In Saudi Arabia, she has started her own medical centre for yoga therapy, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine 2009.

Nouf is also the founder of the Saudi Arabia Yoga School 2008, Regional Director of Yoga Alliance International in the Gulf Region 2009, and together with Swami Vidyananda, the founder of Yoga Alliance International, India they founded the Yoga Alliance Gulf 2009. 

She is Honorary Secretary of the International Yoga Federation for Saudi Arabia and Arab Countries 2010, President of the Arab Yoga Foundation 2010, and Vice President of the Yoglimpic Committee in India 2012. 

In addition, Nouf has conducted numerous seminars and educational speeches and has taught more than 3000 students of yoga since 2005 and certified more than 70 yoga teachers between 2009 and 2014.

Among her many qualifications in Yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, Natural Medicine and Holistic Health, Nouf holds a Master’s degree in Psychotherapy and Lifestyle, Shobhit University India, New Delhi and a Diploma in Medical Yoga, Delhi, India.

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News Network
December 3,2025

arrival.jpg

Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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News Network
December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A 34-year-old fruit and vegetable trader in Mangaluru has reportedly lost ₹33.1 lakh after falling victim to an online investment scam run through a fake mobile app.

Police said the scam began in September, when the victim received a link on Facebook. Clicking it connected him to a WhatsApp number, where an unidentified person introduced a high-return investment scheme and instructed him to download an app.

To build trust, the fraudster asked him to invest ₹30,000 on September 24. The trader soon received ₹34,000 as “profit,” convincing him the scheme was genuine. Over the next two months, he transferred money in multiple instalments via Google Pay and IMPS to different scanner codes and bank accounts shared by the scammers. Between September 24 and December 3, he ended up sending a total of ₹33.1 lakh.

When he later requested a refund of his investment and promised returns, the scammers demanded additional payments, claiming he needed to pay a “service tax” first. Even after he paid a small amount, no money was returned, and the scammers continued pressuring him for more.

A case has been registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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