Lana Nazer, founder and CEO of Karama Yoga Studio in Jeddah, has pioneered yoga in Saudi Arabia. In 2023, she made headlines by teaching the largest yoga class ever held in the kingdom, drawing a crowd of 1,000 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jeddah.

When she established Karama in 2016, yoga was largely unknown in Saudi Arabia and restricted to Western expatriates. Driven by her belief in yoga’s life-enhancing qualities, she set about changing this. “I wanted to be a trendsetter and create a studio that was 100% Saudi with Saudi instructors that used Saudi materials,” Lana tells SceneNowSaudi. “My goal was for everyone in Saudi to try yoga at least once.”Key to this has been making yoga accessible and demystifying the practice. Karama was one of the first studios in the Kingdom to teach yoga in Arabic, and holds a free yoga class every Friday, where prospective students are introduced to proper posture and learn about yoga’s history.

Lana’s studio teaches her own unique method, Karama. Karama draws from classical yoga traditions developed by ancient Indian yogis, such as Ashtanga and Vinyasa, but blends them with modern science. The result is what any lover of yoga would recognize: the practice’s signature blend of total mental relaxation and serenity, along with the endorphin-ridden satisfaction of a full-body workout.Karama is also unique for being Saudi Arabia’s first infrared studio, the yoga world’s latest hottest trend. Infrared light from specialised panels mimics the sun’s warmth, gently penetrating the skin to relax deep tissue and boost circulation without heating the surrounding air. Exercising in the infrared has been shown to offer numerous benefits, from weight loss and detoxification to boosting the immune system. As Lana explains, “They come in, they’re pissed. They come out, they’re super happy.”Lana’s yoga journey began as early as it can get - while she was still in the womb. Her mother (who is also an aficionado) practised yoga during her pregnancy. However, it wasn’t until Lana moved from Saudi Arabia to Vancouver, a global centre for yoga, for university that she began to seriously immerse herself in the practice. Later, while working in Philadelphia in a job she hated, she decided to turn her passion into a profession, earning a yoga teacher training qualification in her free time and fully immersing herself in the yoga tradition.Nine months later, Lana quit her job and moved back to Saudi Arabia, where she began teaching small classes at a studio in her home. Soon after, she was able to establish Karama at its current location in Jeddah, and the rest is history. “At first, I only had five clients - my mom, my grandma, and my three best friends,” Lana proudly notes. “Within the first month of opening the studio, I had 1,000 clients, and now I have over 10,000 clients.”The success of Karama can be attributed to its meticulous attention to detail and its dedication to creating a holistic experience that prioritises the client. “Everyone associates luxury with price, but I mean luxury in terms of the experience,” Lana explains “You want to be in a place that uses the highest quality products, that smells and looks good, where the staff are well-trained and presentable.” The studio offers a diverse range of classes for all levels and ages, including specialised sessions for seniors and pregnant women.