Ancient practice of yoga now a growth industry

Yoga is an ancient discipline, but it seems to get hotter all the time.

Nearly 10% of U.S. adults and 3% of children participated in yoga in 2012, up from 5% of adults and 2% of children a decade earlier, says a new survey from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease and Prevention.

Another survey, from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, says more than 24 million U.S. adults practiced yoga in 2013, up from 17 million in 2008. That makes it roughly as popular as golf.

Other signs that yoga is a growth industry:

• The Wall Street Journal recently reported that some yoga classes are so overcrowded that peace-seeking yogis are getting into fights over mat space.

• Lululemon, best known for its flattering yoga pants for women, has started opening stores just for men.

• Yoga Journal, a print and online magazine, is celebrating its 40th anniversary and "business is booming," with a growing print readership of 2.1 million and more than 5 million online page views a month, says editor in chief Carin Gorrell.

"I think the growth of yoga is just starting," says Teresa Anne Power, a lawyer turned children's yoga teacher from Pacific Palisades, Calif. She says her book ABC Yoga for Kids sells better today than when it was released in 2009. Schools "buy it the bundle," she says, and have largely gotten past the misunderstanding that teaching yoga involves teaching religion.

Yoga originated in India at least 5,000 years ago, according to the American Yoga Association. The forms typically practiced in the United States, combining standard stretches and poses with breathing techniques, first caught on in the 1960s. But, until recently, many people had probably never heard of a downward dog (that's a yoga pose, for the still unenlightened).

So why the growth now?

"Number one is accessibility," Gorrell says. It used to be you did yoga at a yoga studio. It wasn't available in your gym. There weren't that many DVDs. Now it's offered in pretty much every gym on a regular basis. It's everywhere."

Indeed, fitness professionals ranked yoga among top-ten trends for 2014 and 2015 in surveys for the American College of Sports Medicine.

But yoga is seen as more than a fitness tool. It's increasingly seen as therapy for the body and mind, Gorrell says.

Case in point: since 2012, Medicare has covered cardiac rehabilitation programs that include yoga. The programs also include a vegetarian diet and meditation.

"I've always thought that it's not a matter of if we are going to include yoga and mindfulness techniques in health care, it's always been when, and the when has arrived," says M. Mala Cunningham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia who founded a program to certify yoga instructors and medical professionals to use such techniques with cardiac patients.

Still, yoga is considered a "complementary" health practice by the NIH. That means that it is not backed by the same depth of research as standard interventions. The NIH's Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says that yoga – like any exercise – "might improve quality of life; reduce stress; lower heart rate and blood pressure; help relieve anxiety, depression, and insomnia; and improve overall physical fitness, strength, and flexibility." The center also says "a carefully adapted set of yoga poses" may ease lower back pain. Studies of yoga for asthma suggest no benefit; studies in arthritis patients have had mixed results.

"Yoga clearly has some benefits, but it is not a magic fitness routine," says Timothy Caulfield, a professor of health law and science policy at the University of Alberta and a critic of unproven health practices. He describes yoga as "a light resistance workout," with an added focus on mindfulness. He says it is not much of a calorie burner and won't get your heart pumping as much as a good jog.

Caulfield is the author of an upcoming book called Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? He says there's no doubt that the culture surrounding yoga – including celebrity endorsements and those flattering pants – explains much of the appeal.

He also says that if the yoga mystique gets some previously sedentary people off their couches, "I'm all for it."

Thinking of trying your first yoga class?

If you expect a gentle stretching class, you may be in for a surprise, says Mindy Caplan, a yoga teacher in Albuquerque.

"There's so much more to it than that," she says. Some yoga classes go at a fast pace, as participants "flow" from pose to pose and work up a sweat, she says. Others focus on long, meditative poses and relaxation techniques.

You may need to try a few classes to find one right for you, she says.

Some tips:

• Look for a beginner's class, even if you think of yourself as fit.

• If you have health problems – such as chronic knee or back pain -- tell the instructor.

• Let the instructor know if you prefer not to be touched. Yoga instructors typically adjust students' positions.

• Speak up if a position does not feel right.