Saudi sisters unlock mindful movement

Saudi sisters Yusr and Yara Al-Otaibi are co-founders of Rolly, a brand that aims to create safe spaces and products for individuals to integrate movement into their daily lives. (Supplied)
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Updated 16 September 2023
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Saudi sisters unlock mindful movement

  • Yusr and Yara Al-Otaibi’s wellness brand hopes to create joy, comfort through sustainable practices, ‘global perspective’

RIYADH: As the global fitness industry slowly gets back on its feet following the pandemic, brands are finding leverage through community engagement and mindfulness.

Rolly, a Saudi brand established in 2021, focuses on creating fitness experiences and products while platforming sustainable practices through a “global perspective,” Yusr Al-Otaibi, co-founder of the brand, told Arab News.

Her sister, co-founder Yara Al-Otaibi, said: “In Saudi Arabia it’s really important to set a standard because we no longer settle for the minimum or the normal. We really want the best in terms of our brand, or products, or initiatives.”




Rolly looks to create safe spaces and products for individuals to integrate movement into their daily lives. (Supplied)

Saudis are no strangers to sedentary lifestyles. Days are outlined by long car rides through scorching sun-stroked streets. Only in the colder months can joggers and cyclists be found roaming Riyadh’s Wadi Hanifa or Jeddah’s Corniche. While there are no recent statistics on the topic, according to the 2021 Household Sports Practice Survey by the General Authority for Statistics, 29.7 percent of people are involved in moderate physical activity.

Rolly looks to create safe spaces and products for individuals to integrate movement into their daily lives.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Rolly, a Saudi brand established in 2021, focuses on creating fitness experiences and products.

• Rolly Experiences are curated wellness and fitness events that include mindfulness activities.

Yusr said: “We started with a question: Why weren’t there sustainable products that look fun and are also high performance? We took the challenge.”

After suffering a knee injury, cutting into her active lifestyle and gym routine, Yara found conventional yoga mats caused more pain than support. An idea resulted from the two sisters’ need for products and spaces that are comfortable, safe, and help all types of movement.

Yusr said: “We found a gap in the Saudi market, and the Middle East as a whole, and we’re hoping through this we can spread awareness of the importance of movement while taking care of the Earth.”




Rolly looks to create safe spaces and products for individuals to integrate movement into their daily lives. (Supplied)

After three years of testing alongside physiotherapists, the sisters’ first product saw the light of day. Their plastic-free and anti-humidity yoga mat is constructed using rubber and a top layer of vegan leather. The wide structure was designed by Yara to ensure that it is suitable for most body types and fitness exercises.

They have also developed a mat carrier, made of local fabrics, to promote the idea that safe spaces to practice can also be portable.

Yusr explained: “I think through the product design, perhaps Rolly opened the door for a new category of products in the Kingdom in terms of fitness that are approached by both male and female, or whether you’re a yogi, or a physiotherapist or pilates trainer, or a high school girl who loves movement.”

We found a gap in the Saudi market, and the Middle East as a whole, and we’re hoping through this we can spread awareness of the importance of movement while taking care of the Earth.

Yusr Al-Otaibi, Rolly co-founder

Their company is built under the three core values of sustainability, performance, and creativity.

Yara said: “As entrepreneurs we do really believe that businesses that don’t have a social, environmental, or an economic responsibility in Saudi Arabia will not flourish.

“We focus on these three aspects that are (components of) international sustainability … It’s not only the fact that we have products that are sustainable; socially, we are encouraging people to move, which has a sustainability aspect as well.”




Rolly looks to create safe spaces and products for individuals to integrate movement into their daily lives. (Supplied)

By working with Friends of Rolly — who are local instructors — fitness talent, investors, local businesses and studios get to boost their exposure.

The Jeddah-based brand this year began Rolly Experiences, which the sisters explained is at the “core of what Rolly does.” Their curated events captivate the senses of their clients, whether it is the weight of the mat they stand on, the music, or the environment they are placed in.

Mindfulness techniques are incorporated to engage mind as well as body.

Rolly has been able to promote mindfulness and fitness through experimental events, using lights to help encourage curiosity from onlookers.

Yusr said: “People are excited now to know what’s next because our experiences move from one location to another.

“The trainers are people who also fuse different types of sports together and these things are very exciting. It’s very heartwarming to see and know there is a demand for it.”

The sisters’ most recent event, called “Shells by the Beach,” which was run in collaboration with local studios and instructors, focused on locating and tuning into inner fluidity.

Yusr said: “We wanted it to be by the beach so the participants could feel and visualize the waves and recreate that feeling inside them. Human bodies are made up of 70 percent water so it made sense to be there.”

While they are currently based in Jeddah, they plan to expand into other parts of the region in the near future.

Yusr added: “The ultimate goal is to redefine the idea of fitness experiences in the country.

“People are interested in Pilates and yoga, and so on, but they also want a fresh perspective on making it something new: a very high-performance, high-quality experience.”

 


Saudi Arabia ‘categorically rejects’ Israel’s plan to seize Gaza territory

Updated 08 May 2025
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Saudi Arabia ‘categorically rejects’ Israel’s plan to seize Gaza territory

  • Israeli authorities on Monday approved plans to take over territory and forcibly displace population
  • Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemns Israel’s violations of international law

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “categorically rejected” plans by Israel to expand its military operations in Gaza and seize control of the territory.

The ministry also “strongly condemned the continued Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law.”

Israeli authorities on Monday approved a new ground operation to take over parts of Gaza, forcibly displace Palestinians into the south of the territory, and control the distribution of humanitarian aid. The Israeli army is calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

The announcement sparked widespread international condemnation. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said it stood firmly opposed to any attempted expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and stressed the importance of holding Israel accountable for failures to comply with international resolutions.

The Kingdom continues to have “unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, in line with international legitimacy, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital,” the ministry added.


Saudi project destroys 600 more Houthi landmines and other explosives in Yemen

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi project destroys 600 more Houthi landmines and other explosives in Yemen

  • The devices, cleared from various parts of the war-torn country in recent months, were safely detonated on Wednesday
  • Project Masam has removed nearly 500,000 mines across Yemen since its launch in 2018

RIYADH: Members of the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance, also known as Project Masam, safely detonated 600 mines, unexploded ordnance and other explosive devices on Wednesday.

The project’s engineers had demined and removed the devices over the past few months from various parts of Yemen, including the town of Beihan and the districts of Usaylan and Ain in Shabwah governorate.

Hussein Al-Aqili, commander of the project’s survey team, said they carried out the destruction operation in the Thahba area of Ain district on Wednesday as part of their ongoing mission to clear mines and other remnants of war in Yemen, and save civilian lives.

The project has cleared nearly 500,000 mines from the country since its work there began in 2018.

Last week, Ousama Algosaibi, the managing director of Masam, warned that the Houthis continue to exploit periods of truce to plant more mines across Yemen.

“We are in a constant race with the Houthi militias; we clear mines from one side while they plant more on the other,” he said during an interview with Al-Ekhbariya TV.


Saudi ambassador meets Bahrain King’s media affairs adviser

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi ambassador meets Bahrain King’s media affairs adviser

Saudi Ambassador to Bahrain Naif bin Bandar Al-Sudairi was received by Nabeel bin Yacoub Al-Hamer, media affairs adviser to the King of Bahrain, in Manama on Wednesday.

The adviser expressed his pride in the solid fraternal relations and deep-rooted historical ties that bind the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He also wished Al-Sudairi continued success in his duties, which will further support and strengthen the fraternal ties, mutual coordination, and close cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in various fields, and particularly in the media.


 


Saudi commission expands music access for people with disabilities

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi commission expands music access for people with disabilities

  • Push for accessible arts programming reflects wider goals for social development

MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission has launched a national initiative to expand access to music education for people with disabilities, marking a key step toward their greater inclusion in the Kingdom’s cultural landscape.

Focused on Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar, the program trains instructors to teach students with physical and cognitive disabilities.

It supports the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to elevate quality of life and ensure opportunities for all segments of society.

Music education expert Issa Al-Qarbi praised the initiative as a transformative step in supporting individuals with disabilities.

“Music is a highly effective medium for stimulating brain activity, developing motor and social skills, and enhancing overall psychological well-being,” he said.

The initiative includes adapting teaching methods, specialized curricula and fully accessible learning environments aligned with the requirements of the Mowaamah certification, a program which provides support to increase participation among disabled individuals in the labor market.

In designing the program, the commission partnered with international experts in music on the curricula and programs that align with global best practices.

The existing models were reviewed using the standards set by the National Association for Music Education.

The commission’s goal is to empower students to express themselves through music, boost their self-confidence and enhance their social, cognitive and motor skills.

The students will receive extended training that prepares them for group performances while supporting their artistic, cognitive and social development. Sessions with parents and community members are also being planned to raise awareness and encourage family engagement.

Al-Qarbi said that long-term sustainability and lasting impacts could be ensured by closer partnerships between the education and healthcare sectors.

He praised the initiative as a regional model, opening the door to further research and innovation.

He said that teaching music to individuals with disabilities went beyond technical skills, nurturing essential personal qualities such as patience, discipline and social engagement, which in turn positively influenced many areas of their lives.


Saudi surgeons separate Egyptian child from parasitic twin

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi surgeons separate Egyptian child from parasitic twin

  • Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah says operation is one of the most delicate carried out by his team
  • Procedure takes 8 hours and involves multidisciplinary team of 26 consultants

RIYADH: A medical team from the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program successfully completed a surgical procedure on Wednesday to separate an Egyptian child from a parasitic twin.

The operation on 8-month-old Mohammed Abdulrahman Juma at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh took eight hours and was split into six stages. It involved a multidisciplinary team of 26 consultants, including specialists in anesthesia, neurosurgery, pediatrics and plastic surgery.

A parasitic twin, also known as a vestigial twin, is an identical twin that stopped developing during gestation and is physically attached to a fully developed twin. Because it did not fully develop, it cannot survive on its own and often dies in the womb or during birth.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who heads the surgical team and is an advisor at the royal court and supervisor general of Saudi aid agency KSrelief, said the twins were joined at the back, lower chest, abdomen and pelvis. The parasitic twin lacked a head and essential organs, including a heart and kidneys.

Al-Rabeeah described the operation as one of the most delicate his team has been involved with, and thanked his colleagues for their efficiency and skill during the surgery, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Mohammed and his parents flew to Saudi Arabia in March after King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman issued directives for medics in the Kingdom to help the child.

The operation on Wednesday was the 63rd separation procedure carried out under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, which has reviewed 149 cases of patients from 27 countries since its inception in 1990.