It all started when I was watching an English movie during my school days. It was a movie wherein the actress performed several yoga postures. I was very much attracted to it, and the journey begins there; Mariam Almeshal recollects her journey with Yoga.

I started reading about Yoga… browsing old books and magazines... all with one purpose - to learn Yoga. "My mother used to share with me several articles about Yoga that appeared in all the old magazines. This encouraged me more to learn Yoga," Mariam Almeshal, one of the active yoga enthusiasts in Kuwait, said.

Mariam started searching online on how to do the postures and meditations, where Yoga was not that popular in Kuwait. Later she was able to find yoga training at one of the gyms in Kuwait. She also attended online classes to learn Yoga. During its course, Yoga became a trend in Kuwait, and she was able to join a lot of courses from multiple trainers.

I remember my first visit to India in 2015 to attend a one-week yoga course in a place called the "School of Yoga" in Bangalore. I stayed there for a week and it was an amazing experience for me. I dreamed of becoming a teacher in my childhood, and my first visit to Bangalore for a yoga workshop refined my vision to become a Yoga teacher, Mariam Almeshal said.

Now I am helping many of my relatives and friends, including many other nationalities, to learn the beauty of Yoga. I am still a learner in Yoga and attend many online yoga courses, Mariam said.

Mariam Almeshal performing Yoga at Kuwait beach

Yoga made me to enjoy an amazing journey of my life. This holistic path of Yoga rearranges our lives in ways we cannot explain, says Mariam. It helps me to be more flexible not only with my body but also with my mind. It helps me to relax when I communicate with an angry or irritated person. I can keep myself calm and help an angry person to regain his calm. My friends are really amazed to see this in me. "I feel like I am surrounded with more grace, flexibility and depth," says Mariam.

Even though Mariam is busy with her job schedule, she never forgets to practice Yoga at least 3 to 4 days in a week. In some weeks, it will be part of her daily routine.

Now there are many Indian groups who are practising Yoga in Kuwait. Sometimes they invite Mariam Almeshal for their special functions and events. Mariam is all the happier to perform Yoga among likeminded people. This year Indian Embassy had invited her more than once to perform Yoga at the Embassy auditorium as part of their Yoga Day celebrations. "I was very much happy to perform Yoga there," Mariam said. I love Yoga and was ready to do at Embassy. For International Yoga Day, she recalls several days of practice at the Indian Embassy.

Mariam Almeshal performing Yoga at Indian Embassy auditorium (Extreme left)

My advice to everyone is to give it a try. You cannot judge anything without trying or knowing it. First, Give Yoga a try and know what it is about. Yoga is beyond everything. Once you start doing it you will know the true essence of Yoga. I wish all governments would encourage everyone to learn Yoga for the betterment of everyone's life, Mariam said.

I love my visits to India. In the year 2019 also, I visited Bangalore for another yoga workshop. That was for a short duration only. "Now I am waiting for this Corona to be over so that I can make a long trip to India," Mariam is optimistic.