Yoga for Gaza paramedics raises controversy
A social club in Gaza has organized a one-time event to give a yoga session for paramedics who suffered psychological trauma during the latest Israel escalation.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Positive Energy Club organized a one-day yoga event for paramedics at the beach in the Gaza Strip on the International Day of Yoga, on June 21, aiming to minimize the consequences of the recent Israeli war on mental health. But the event has raised wide-scale criticism in the conservative enclave.
Yoga, which is a physical activity that contributes to emotional balance and mental comfort, is not very popular in the Gaza Strip or in Islamic societies due to its Buddhist roots.
In 2019, the Positive Energy Club was established by a group of Palestinian youths in Gaza City with the aim to provide relaxation exercises to citizens.
Tahrir Murtaja, head of the Positive Energy Club’s board, told Al-Monitor that the club and the Indian Embassy in Ramallah “decided to hold a yoga event aiming to release the emotional distress resulting from the war, given the role of yoga in relieving stress and releasing traumas that Gazans have been subjected to.”
