Our Bureau
New Delhi
President Droupadi Murmu on Monday honored H.E. Shaikha Ali Jaber Al-Sabah with the prestigious Padma Shri award for her contributions to promoting Yoga globally. Al-Sabah is the founder of Daratma for Yoga Education — Kuwait’s first officially licensed yoga studio.
Al-Sabah was grateful on receiving India’s fourth highest civilian award for her work in the field of yoga spanning decades. She said that she loved India and had visited the country often earlier.
“I’m honoured to be here in Delhi to receive the Padmashri Award. I was very surprised and very honoured because I feel like all the work that I’ve done to serve the yoga community, especially in Kuwait and the GCC was recognised, so I’m very grateful for that and thankful,” she said.
Al-Sabah’ tryst with yoga started in 2001 which was followed by establishing Daratma in 2014. It a yoga and wellness studio offering education to individuals seeking harmony, balance, and awareness. The studio’s name is deeply symbolic: “Dar” — an Arabic and Quranic term meaning “home” or “dwelling” — and “Atma” — Sanskrit for the “immortal soul” — together reflecting the essence of her mission.
Divulging on her childhood yoga learnings, Al-Sabah said she learnt yoga from her grandfather and father, eventually practicing it actively after her first delivery. She reminisced, “”I learned about yoga from my late grandfather. He used to be a yoga practitioner and into alternative therapies, and my father as well, it was always in the periphery.”
She continued, “However, once I gave birth to my firstborn, I was introduced to yoga, and I felt that the health benefits for my body and my mind were immense, and it’s just a lifelong learning experience. You never stop. You’re always a student of yoga.”
Al-Sabah has expanded her work beyond the boundaries of Kuwait with the organization of Reiki Jin Kei Do master training sessions and conducting consciousness training at the Monroe Institute in the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she actively distributed educational supplies to underprivileged children in Kuwait, further highlighting her commitment to community welfare.
In a post on X, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said, “President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Shri in the field of Yoga to H.E. Shka. Shaikha Ali Jaber Al-Sabah. She is a keen yoga practitioner. She is the founder of Daratma for Yoga Education, Kuwait’s first officially licensed yoga studio. She has been working for bridging cultural gaps and bringing people together through her charitable activities.”
