Yoga Journal Study: 20 Million Americans Practice Yoga

Yoga Journal’s latest Yoga in America survey, conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys, shows that 8.7 percent of Americans are practicing yoga—that’s 20.4 million Americans, up from 15.8 million in 2004. Yoga is no longer considered esoteric or strange by outsiders; we have Martha Stewart Yoga, Jane Fonda Yoga, and JC Penney’s yoga studios. In this survey, even 44 percent of those who don’t currently practice yoga said they aspire to.
Yoga Attracting New Students
As the Huffington Post pointed out, more than a third of those practicing, 38.4 percent, have practiced for less than a year, and 44 percent considered themselves beginners, showing that new yogis are replacing those that drop out. Only 32.7 percent had practiced more than three years, and only 15.6 percent considered themselves experts. Is yoga a fad for most Americans, or is it here to stay?
Americans are now spending more than 10.3 billion dollars a year on classes and equipment. The majority of practitioners are women—82.2 percent—and between the ages of 18 and 44—62.8 percent. The motivations of the yoga participants were also questioned. A total of 78 percent said they were motivated by the desire to improve flexibility. Other factors were stress relief, general health, and fitness.
Veteran Yoga Practitioners Reap Biggest Benefits
Interestingly, many of the studies quoted by Yoga U have shown that length of time practicing yoga affects the health outcome for the practitioner. At Ohio state university, where they did blood tests on yogis to quantify chemical markers of inflammation, they found that individual yoga sessions had no discernible change. But long time practitioners of yoga had very definite changes which led researchers to conclude that regular practice of yoga could substantially improve the yogis’ physical response to stress, minimizing the inflammation response. Many other studies have called for longer-term studies in this area.
In another article that Yoga U reported on, researchers at St. Peters University in New Jersey studied exercise adherence (commitment to continue) and self-efficacy (feeling that you can do it) in yoga students. The researchers suggested that yoga would be a more successful exercise treatment for the overweight, the out of condition, or participants with diseases like osteoarthritis because yoga can be taught as a gentle practice where achieving even a partial pose can feel like success.
As the popularity of yoga increases, new yoga students must choose between a plethora of videos, books, teachers, and types of yoga. To what extent will the new yogis’ tendency to continue practice depend upon propinquity—that is, the chance encounter of one teacher, video, or system that suits them? If the long-time practitioners had been interviewed for more details, would we have learned something about them—what system they practice, what motivates them, what inspires them—to inform our own teaching of yoga?
American Yoga: How Many People Practice In The United States?, Huffington Post
Also, read...
Book Review: Yoga for Times of Change
Practices and Meditations for Moving Through Stress, Anxiety, Grief & Life’s Transitions
The Changing Yoga Profession
Oct 22 –
Related courses
The Way of the Gentle Warrior: Standing Poses for Strength and Endurance Building
Mondays, March 20-April 24, 2023 –
With Julie Gudmestad and Hope Fyfield
Unlocking the Past: A Yogic Perspective on Healing Intergenerational Trauma
Tuesday, April 18 & Thursday, April 20, 2023 –
With Arielle Schwartz
Recent articles
Categories
Upcoming courses
The Way of the Gentle Warrior: Standing Poses for Strength and Endurance Building
Mondays, March 20-April 24, 2023 –
With Julie Gudmestad and Hope Fyfield
Unlocking the Past: A Yogic Perspective on Healing Intergenerational Trauma
Tuesday, April 18 & Thursday, April 20, 2023 –
With Arielle Schwartz
Yoga Freebies
Yoga for
every body
How to Avoid the Top 3 Pitfalls of Forward Bends
With Julie Gudmedstad
Recent articles
Almost there...
Sorry, we couldn't find anything...
Yoga & Wellness Tips
Mindful Breathing: Savor Your Precious Breath
If we at Threes have learned anything at all during our years of practice,…
Mar 17 –
Yoga Practice Tips
3 Yoga Practices to Rewind the Clock on Brain Aging
A growing amount of research suggests yoga can boost the size and function of…
Mar 15 –
Pose Library
Practice Shoulder Clock Pose: Yoga Warmup at the Wall
Using the wall to support shoulder openers to stretch and strengthen our arms, chest,…
Mar 14 –