Yoga has become a core component of the industrial happiness complex. But is the moon of Yoga waxing or waning? We sent our AI bots on a trawl of the internet to find out.
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There are currently 27,000 yoga studios in the USA,, Canada, UK, EU, Japan and Russia. 300,000 yoga teachers registered with Yoga associations.
Our AI Bots estimate that worldwide 300 million can be considered to practice some form of Yoga
Women aged between 30 and 49 years old are the demographic sector that practice yoga the most.
28% of yoga practitioners are male.
10% of yogis experience muscular or nerve pain following a yoga session.
Statistics calculate the size of the Global yoga industry market to be over $88 billion, including accessories.Despite Yoga’s origins in Hindu spirituality, it is not considered a religion but a lifestyle practice. This means that many Yoga practitioners subscribe to one of the world’s leading religions or agnostic/atheist systems, and Yoga sits comfortably with their religious -or non religious – beliefs. Yoga bridges the gap between lifestyle and belief. Compared to the world’s major belief systems, Yoga is a minion
- Christianity 2.382 billion
- Islam 1.907 billion
- Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.193 billion
- Hinduism 1.161 billion.
In the industrialised nations, the percentage of people who identify with a particular region is falling dramatically. In 1950 90% in the US considered themselves Christians. This is now just under 60% and predicted to fall below 50% by 2030. Secular lifestyle is now dominating belief systems.
Yoga predates all the major world religions. The type of yoga practiced in iIndian homeland had a spiritual underpinning which is largely lost in the modern secular environment.
A yoga lifestyle is promoted as the ultimate health practice, a portal into physical and mental well-being. More extreme types of Yoga have been introduced as a form of exercise more suitable for the gymnasium.
And the benefits for elderly people are hard to measure, given the human body’s frailty after a certain age and arthritic joints which should not be stressed or over-exterted. With most yoga teachers under the age of 40, very little emphasis is placed on yoga for the elderly in the classes directed at the greater paying audience, Specialist training has to be undertaken to address both the physical and psychological demands of the over-sixties, especially newbies.
In some respects, Yoga has become an aspect of consumer capitalism. People consume yoga rather than practice it as a spiritual exercise. Yoga studios have mointo the retail environment now next to convenience stores, coffee shops and clothing stores.
Sign on a Yoga Studio: Inquire within
Yoga has accessorised with clothing and bi-products such as mats, blocks and straps, often made in countries where the daily wage is less than $5 a day. With ever increasing interest and demand for Yoga teachers, Yoga seemed a good business to be in.
Without actually being in business – that was far too vulgar. No – in a lifestyle enhancement program.
Yoga studios suffered a setback in the Pandemic. Back in March 2020 yoga studios had to close down as instructed by the government. Google reported a huge surge in searches for online Yoga. A handful of online charismatic teachers have dominated the algorithms, their YouTube videos monetarised. “Yoga with Adriene” has become an internet sensation, ranking highly in google search analytics.
Even before the lockdowns, Yoga studios had peaked in popularity. A high street studio requires commercial leases and legal liability, heating and electricity, and business rates. The economics of a class means that after paying a teacher and all the overheads there is no money left to pay the owner. Or the owner has to teach all the lessons which limit the hours the studio can operate.
Teachers often end up working for minimum wage, after taking into account the travel. Some never even recoup their the cost of training.
Many Yoga studios teach students to be teachers of Yoga as students have a fairy dust belief that becoming a Yoga teacher can get them out of their boring corporate jobs. Whereas, in reality, owning a Yoga studio can be a gruelling job, requiring investment and heaps of marketing, as well as adapting to the ever-changing Yoga fads.
Yoga studios in the retail environment are increasingly finding it hard to survive. Online has grown, and has all the conveniences of home but lacks the immediacy and space of a studio. A hybrid Yoga studio/ garden office is a popular compromise, although these require a substantial outlay and commitment, not to mention compliance with zoning bylaws for business use.
As in all walks of life, some will fail and others will succeed. Those who succeed have both charisma and passion.
Charisma is the intangible that makes people want to follow you,
to be around you, to be influenced by you. Roger Dawson
