The practice of yoga can be dated all the way back to when the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Hindu text, was completed in 200 CE. As of lately, it seems as though yoga studios have been popping up on every corner of communities and that we all know someone who considers himself/herself a “yogi.” The practice and exercise of yoga includes the combination of physical postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and a unique mindset and attitude. The yoga that we all usually hear about in the United States is Hatha. This certain kind of yoga emphasizes those physical postures, breathing, and silent meditation. According to the Yoga in America study, 20.4 million people in the United States practice yoga now. This is a 29 percent increase since 2008. Of the 20.4 million people, 82 percent of them are women and 38 percent have only practiced yoga for a year or less. This practice has truly exploded in our society, so much so that its profit margin and revenue has increased 5 percent to 8.3 billion dollars since 2011. The Yoga in America study also researched why people decided to start the practice, other than the fact that is a new trend. The top five reasons for starting yoga were to gain …show more content…
Other studies can claim that yoga can decrease stress, improve quality of life, and have long term benefits such as lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Research also suggests that yoga can help with sleep deprivation, depression, and anxiety. According to a NCCIH study that contained 90 people with constant lower back pain, participants that practiced yoga saw a significant improvement in their health. Changes in their health included less pain and depression after just 6 months. in another NCCIH study, 313 participants with recurring back pain claimed that yoga classes every week for 12 weeks helped better than the usual medical