The Iranian yoga team at the Asian Yoga Sports Championships, September 2018 (S. Mahinsha/The Hindu)


Thirty people have been arrested in northern Iran for practicing yoga.

The suspects were detained inside a home in Gorgan, in what activists say is a far-from-unusual incident, albeit one that is rarely acknowledged by officials.

The Assistant Prosecutor of Golestan Province, Masoud Soleimani, said the 30 men and women in “inappropriate clothing” were seized, with the host to be prosecuted for allowing unlicensed yoga:

A person posted an ad on social media about teaching yoga to women and men at his home that led to the discovery of a series of contacts.

This individual did not have a license for a sports club and held his yoga classes in a private residence where women and men wore inappropriate clothing and engaged in indecent activities.

A women’s rights activist explained to the Center for Human Rights in Iran that authorities rarely issue permits for people to practice yoga, so devotees work out in secret.

Yoga is increasing in popularity in Iran, but leaders see as a violation of Shia Islamic morals.

The suspicion is compounded by the Supreme Leader’s accusation of an “invasion” of Western culture, denouncing activities such as listening to, playing, or singing particular music or watching the wrong films.

A source who has practiced yoga for more than eight years spoke of a raid on a class with the arrest of the instructor and the students.

We realized that those who view yoga with suspicion don’t only do so because men and women mix to participate in a physical activity but also because of the way of thinking toward life that’s discussed during these sessions.

They don’t understand that this is the people’s right and a matter of private choice.

Journalist Behnam Gholipour wrote with fake praise for the regime, “Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi has conquered new heights with the arrest of 30 yoga practitioners in Gorgan for taking part in a group sport.”