Yoga unites people, blurs boundaries

Celebrations big and small marked people’s calendar in the US on the International Yoga Day on June 21 which was welcomed warmly by health and wellness enthusiasts. No doubts yoga mats and yoga pants were on high demand, while gyms and health clubs had their yoga instructors offer special demonstrations; the social media posts dominated the thoughts on stress busting yoga asanas. Certainly, Indian immigrants in the US had reasons to celebrate as it is acknowledged everywhere that yogis from this region gifted it to the world.

Since the UN declaration on International Yoga Day, its practice in the US is spreading quickly. Call it Modi magic or otherwise, the number of people doing yoga in the US has been growing and is projected to be around 55 million in 2020 according to a study. The yoga industry in the US is attractive especially for its revenue potential projected to amount to around $ 11.6 billion by 2020. Annual practitioner spending on yoga classes, clothing, equipment, and accessories are the market attraction.

Yoga Alliance, a Virginia-based non-profit association promoting and supporting the diversity and integrity of the teaching of yoga shows 90,400 registered yoga teachers and 6,200 registered yoga schools in its registry.

Interestingly most immigrants who had heard enough about the practice of yoga for wellbeing all along, started the practice only after moving to the US. “As a child I knew that practicing yoga cleanses the body and mind, but I never felt compelled to learn it. We went through schools, colleges, got jobs and had a family — all without doing any yoga,” said Aravind Krishnan, a software professional from New Jersey.

“Today, since there is a need to improve the efficacy of my life and reduce stressful lifestyle, I practice yoga under the guidance of a western teacher in the local gym that I regularly go to,” he added.

It is becoming a welcome trend in the US to align yoga practice in the gym with exercise routine. The sun salutations, the down ward dog pose and triangle posture are famous words one would recall being said in the gym classes. “The well packaged yoga programme invites people saying that to lose your weight, shed that extra pounds, tone your body, burn your fat, kick the stress of your life, join the yoga programme. 

In reality it has so happened that focus here seem to be more on physical exercise than the intended purpose of the yoga which is internal introspection and realisation of the self,” said Gita Aggarwal a yoga teacher and nutrition consultant trained under Rishikesh Yoga Peet.  “There has also been a birth of a lot of creative versions of tradional yoga such as goat yoga, beer yoga, laughter yoga, aerial yoga and hot yoga which don’t sync well with a traditional yoga practitioner,” she added.

“No doubt the physical benefits of losing weight and staying fit are the by products of doing yoga but they are not the end. The beauty of practice of yoga that when practiced, the asanas prepare the body and mind to be led to the end goal. Detaching the self and becoming a liberated happens inadvertently when one practices the asanas,” said Vijay Kumar a software engineer and preacher, Vihangam Yoga center. Clarity of mind and purity of thought is easily achieved through yoga practice which is the need of the turbulent times of modern living.

The role of organisations like Isha yoga, Art of Living, SKY meditation centers, cannot be ruled out in spreading the awareness on right practice yoga in the US. Regular classes and workshops are being held where the intense practice of yoga and meditation are offered meticulously. Many people attend these classes mostly held during the week ends. These institutions also train interested individuals to set up their own teaching studio and help spread the knowledge said Rajshree Kotekar a volunteer at Isha foundation.

Consulate General of India, New York in partnership with over 30 organizations joined together to organise the 5th year of International Day of Yoga in New Jersey. This is part of efforts to spread awareness on the best yoga practices and it intended implications. Series of workshops and lectures mark the day with participants over 2,500 registering days before the event said Rajashree, who is also the spokesperson of the event. The yoga day celebrations have seen a steady welcome in the last five years, she added.

Nitin Vyas, from World Vegan Vision, a supporting organisation of the yoga festival said, “This year, the world’s oldest yoga practitioner and Padmashree awardee Tao Porchon Lynch will participate at the festival.  Various yoga sessions be held in the open from morning to evening.”

Most important feature of the 2019 celebrations is that Indian government has released a yoga protocol for the practitioners worldwide. This will have 20-minute practice series that explains asana and the importance of breath coordination. In an environment where yoga training is not monitored or regulated these protocol documents help spread a unified approach to the practice of yoga.

Besides the consulate supported programme local townships and community organisations have come up with workshops and demonstrations of yoga practice to celebrate the international yoga day sprits. With the popularity of yoga spreading across the world, one can say with confidence that the practice has been erasing geographical boundaries one asana at a time.