Bahrain has its eyes set on forming a national yoga team, as advocates of the Indian-origin practice hope to spread awareness and encourage more participation under the umbrella of the newly-formed Bahrain Yoga Committee (BYC).
Set up in November last year, BYC is an independent legal entity under the umbrella of the Bahrain Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, within the kingdom’s General Sports Authority.
“Our main mandate is to regulate the practice of yoga within Bahrain, and we are hoping to involve yoga schools, practitioners as well as enthusiasts, in the committee as we move forward towards establishing a stronger infrastructure for it in the kingdom,” BYC president Fatima Al Mansoori told the GDN.
“We are also hoping to conduct more research, building on previous studies I have done in the field, to highlight the effectiveness of yoga and its use in different areas.
“For example, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, I had collaborated with Arabian Gulf University and the Health Ministry to teach mindfulness at schools. We would like to explore the link between yoga, mindfulness and mental health in future Bahrain-specific studies as well.”
In the coming weeks, BYC hopes to launch its membership campaign, with three tiers targeted at yoga centres, teachers and individual enthusiasts.
In order to support the self-sustaining committee and its events and health initiatives, there will be a nominal fee charged for membership within the committee.
Ms Alsenan
Another key goal for the committee is to ‘develop, train and prepare elite athletes, instructors and referees to represent the kingdom in regional and international championships’.
“There is a lot of interest and awareness already within Bahrain about yoga, so our next step towards having a national yoga team would be to conduct training camps where coaches, referees and professional yoga athletes can train towards international competitions, which can be quite different from day-to-day yoga practice,” Ms Al Mansoori added.
“This would build up the framework necessary for us to build a national yoga team – we envision each studio having their own team.”
While yoga or yogasana competitions have been around for centuries, the modern-day format of the sport came into existence in 1989 with the first Yogasana World Championship held in Pondicherry, India.
Yogasana was formally recognised as a sport in 2020, with the National Yoga Sports Federation being the official governing body for the sport in India, and the Asian Yogasan Sport Federation (AYSF) governing it in the continent, including Bahrain.
Competitions are generally held in three major events – artistic, rhythmic and traditional.
Ms Al Mansoori
Artistic yogasana is similar to artistic gymnastics, where athletes perform 10 postures from a predetermined list for three minutes while synchronising to music. It is held in individual as well as pair categories.
Traditional yogasana requires participants to hold their postures for 15 seconds or 30 seconds each, depending on the asana, with emphasis on balance and stability while rhythmic yogasana is conducted in pairs and groups of five, with a focus on synchronisation.
The BYC, which became an official affiliated unit within AYSF in December last year, is also currently comprising legal affairs and public relations head Jawaher Alsenan, logistics head Abdulrahman Alqallaf and secretary Jameela AlDewani.
Its next event participation will be on Thursday on Bahrain Sports Day, followed by Global Wellness Day (June 11), International Yoga Day (June 21), and World Meditation Day (December 21).
Last week, BYC and the Bahraini-Bosnian Friendship and Business Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), setting a framework for co-operation, idea exchange and information related to the market, publishing relevant periodicals and publications, in addition to encouraging commercial and investment opportunities, and facilitating joint projects. Ms Al Mansoori, representing BYC, signed the MoU with the association’s chairman Jawad Yousef Al Hawaj.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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