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Join on Telegram When Moroccan Yoga teacher Zineb first took a yoga class she hated it. In Paris at the time, Zineb felt confident that yoga was “definitely not for [her].” However, a chance visit to Thailand with a friend following a knee injury brought Yoga back into Zineb’s life, this time for good.
Now reflecting on her experiences nearly four years later, Zineb recalls that by her third yoga class in Thailand, something just clicked – she found stillness in her final resting pose and she wanted to dig deeper. And so, she did. After returning to her home in Casablanca, Morocco, Zineb continued to practice yoga daily, eventually receiving her yoga teaching certification in September 2020.
In an interview with Morocco World News, Zineb enthusiastically described the ways in which yoga, and yoga coaching, has positively affected her life. The practice has helped her find stillness in her daily life, improve strength and flexibility, relieve pain, and gain greater self confidence. Now using her experiences to teach and help others, Zineb is one of the many yoga coaches that have established themselves in Morocco in recent years, representing both the cause and effect of yoga’s relatively new rise in popularity within the country.
Yoga, which has its roots in ancient India, is a physical and spiritual discipline “which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body… an art and science of healthy living.” Yoga is a low impact exercise, combining both effort and comfort to strengthen and, if done correctly, even heal the body. With movements that are both challenging and accommodating to all skill levels, yoga has become an increasingly attractive form of exercise for many Moroccans.
Marrakesh-based yoga instructor Siham, who has been teaching in Morocco since 2014, explained that in her approximately 10 years of experience with yoga in Morocco, there has been a dramatic increase both in the number of people studying yoga and the number of instructors teaching it.
This growth was extremely evident during the June 21 celebrations of International Yoga Day, which saw hundreds of yoga coaches from across the country organize various free yoga sessions. Most of these events were held in partnership with the Indian Embassy.
Despite COVID restrictions during the first months of the pandemic in Morocco, paid in-person classes continued to attract many Moroccans. Still, many more Moroccans turned to free online classes to make their first steps in the expanding world of Moroccan yoga enthusiasts. Such a turnout would not have been possible a mere ten years ago.
Siham notes that the encouraging trend in Morocco is influenced by yoga’s rising popularity around the globe, especially the way in which social media has highlighted its benefits, techniques, and attractiveness to Moroccans at home. Siham also believes that the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions have further fueled Moroccans’ growing interest in the discipline, as she has experienced an increase in interest and – more tellingly – active participation in her yoga classes over the last year.
This increase in participation makes perfect sense when considering the many benefits of yoga on the body and mind. While yoga’s physical benefits – such as greater strength, flexibility, and balance – cannot be ignored, there is so much more to the discipline.
It helps rejuvenate the mind, improve concentration and awareness, and strengthens one’s connection with one’s body and the surrounding world. Such benefits, and the improved ability to find inner stillness that they bring, are becoming increasingly essential in an ever more chaotic world.
For yoga coach Karim, yoga’s ability to teach others how to connect with themselves – physically, mentally, and spiritually – has been the most rewarding aspect of his career. Karim stated that practicing yoga has helped him become a better person and father to his children. As a yoga teacher, he went on to explain, he enjoys sharing his knowledge with others so that they may learn to connect with themselves by recognizing and managing their talents.
With an impactful career teaching yoga in fitness centers, retreats, and as a volunteer with the Art of Healing, Karim has had ample experience helping a wide demographic of students do just that. To Karim, however, the positive benefits of yoga go even beyond individual improvement or enjoyment. After all, people need to have inner peace in order to live peaceful lives and improve their community, and yoga is one way for a broad range of people to find that level of peace and connection.
Barriers to yoga’s acceptance in Morocco
Of course, yoga’s rise in popularity has not been without its road bumps. The greatest barrier yoga has experienced in Morocco was its perceived ties to Hinduism. While the practice has historical roots in Hinu teachings, modern practice has shaped yoga into an independent discipline, separate from any specific religion. This proved to be an important factor for the predominately Muslim Morrocan population.
Karim noted that the ability to separate yoga from religion was a major turning point in yoga’s increased popularity throughout Morocco. The more Moroccans realized the practice of yoga was, at its core, about connecting to and strengthening oneself in a way which is compatible with one’s religious beliefs, the more they opened up to the discipline, welcoming it in their hearts and lives.
For Siham, yoga is a powerful tool in strengthening one’s relationship with God, both regardless of religion and as a muslim. As she exultantly discusses the benefits of yoga, Siham asked “How will [someone] connect with God; how will [someone] pray, if [they] are in pain?” It goes without saying that Siham’s question is rhetorical, a ploy to point to what she sees as the most essential role of yoga in a world where depression and anxiety are common, almost normalized.
To her, yoga allows to relieve pain and balm the wounds of the soul that are not visible to the naked eye. As she put it,Yoga is all about “helping people feel good, to be able to concentrate, and to be able to pray.” In this sense, Yoga does not detract from many Moroccan’s religious beliefs; instead, it strengthens their ability to exercise their faith by training themselves to be strong enough – both physically and mentally – to come to grips with the kinds of soul-sapping afflictions the world can – and will – throw in their paths.
An additional barrier that yoga faces in Morocco is the misconception that it is a soft exercise only suited for women. To this day, yoga classes in Morocco are predominantly made up of women, with few men participating in the practice. For instance, Zineb noted that in her first year of coaching less than 5% of her students were men, a common trend throughout most of Morocco.
Thankfully this trend – which is common worldwide and is likely due to the popular conception of yoga as meditation with a few simple stretches, an oversimplification that minimizes the mental and physical challenges and rewards associated with the practice of yoga – is slowly beginning to shift. For example, Karim observed that beginning in 2020, the number of men joining his workshops has been increasing significantly.
As yoga continues to grow in popularity in Morocco – mainly due to the enthusiastic testimonies of students and teachers – one can expect to see greater and greater diversity in the age and gender of yoga practitioners. After all, the need to connect to oneself, heal and strengthen one’s body, and find inner peace in a depressingly busy world are concerns that supersede all demographic barriers.
As Zineb explains, regardless of one’s expectations or hopes when deciding on whether to pick up yoga, with an open mind and supportive teachers there are practices that will meet one’s needs. While yoga may have been a little slow taking root in Morocco, now that it is here it will continue to grow while strengthening the individuals, families, and communities of those who participate in the practice.
