Where Is Yoga the Most Popular in the World?

Yoga is a single of the most well-liked types of workout in the planet, and it is come to be a worldwide phenomenon more than the previous couple decades. While some countries’ recognition for yoga nonetheless remains relatively modest, there are these exactly where it is an integral component of daily life. Yoga has come to be increasingly well-liked in current years, with over 36 million people practicing it in the U.S. alone. According to the International Yoga Federation, about 300 million folks practice globally! Are you curious about exactly where yoga is the most well-liked in the planet? Read on to learn yoga’s recognition by nation.

Yoga participation in foreign nations

The ancient practice of yoga originated in India in the 5th century B.C.E., and has due to the fact spread all through the planet. It was initial imported into Europe and the US about the finish of the nineteenth century, when it was brought by Indian practitioners emigrating to new nations. You can now uncover meditation and hatha yoga classes worldwide, and the US alone now has more than 6,000 studios in cities large and modest. Furthermore, thousands of folks travel to yoga retreats about the planet to take their capabilities to yet another level and to qualify as certified yoga teachers. Bali, Ibiza, Thailand, and of course India itself, all have big yoga tourism industries and they are expanding larger each and every year.

Popularity of yoga vs. other physical workout

Yoga is a practice that has come to be increasingly well-liked in the United States, as effectively as the complete planet. In reality, it is the second most well-liked workout in the U.S., specifically amongst females. So what’s the appeal? You can do yoga anyplace, and it is not like operating exactly where you have to take the time to develop up endurance to run a mile. Yoga is comparatively straightforward to understand, and there are a wide assortment of yoga classes to opt for from. You can practice with a group or merely practice on your personal. As can be noticed from the trends in the graph beneath sourced from Google trends, yoga is the second most searched sort of fitness in the planet today. The graphic shows yoga’s worldwide recognition from 2004 to 2020 compared to operating, dancing, and cycling.

Yoga recognition by nation

Yoga has been practiced for millennia, but it is only in current decades that it is definitely come to be well-liked across the western planet. In reality, it is grown in recognition so a great deal that now just about each and every town and city in the U.S. has a nearby yoga studio that you can attend for a weekly class. The identical goes for Europe. With more and more folks discovering the rewards of yoga for each thoughts and body, the quantity of folks practicing has skyrocketed in the previous ten years.

Did you know that statistics show that yoga is more well-liked in the Canada than the United States or India? But exactly where specifically does yoga uncover the most fans, and what types are most well-liked in diverse nations?

Here are the best 20 yoga nations according to Google trends:

Where is yoga the most well-liked in the USA?

The cities with the highest quantity of yoga studios in the USA are San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. After all, these 3 cities are the 3 biggest in the nation, as effectively as some of the most populous in the planet. Their higher concentration of yoga studios is for a assortment of causes, which incorporate each the higher expense of living in these cities and the higher proportion of pros in the workforce. A huge quantity of studios does not necessarily equate to the recognition of yoga in the area.

Here are the best 10 U.S. yoga states according to Google trends:

Here are the best 10 U.S. yoga cities according to Google trends:

Countries exactly where yoga is banned

While numerous know that yoga is an ancient kind of physical and mental workout, numerous are shocked to understand that not absolutely everyone is a fan of the ancient practice. In some nations, it has been banned altogether, or at least in specific public areas. The most prevalent explanation for banning yoga is since it comes from India, and there are fears that it could spread Hindu religion.

Muslims in various nations, like Indonesia, and Malaysia are officially banned from carrying out yoga by a fatwa, or religious decree. These Muslim-majority nations see yoga practice as a kind of Hinduism and think that it is an improper kind of worship, contrary to the spiritual principles of Islam.

Russia announced an outright ban on yoga in 2015, which is referred to as a “pseudoscience” that “can erode people’s health and spiritual development.” The statement was issued by the Russian Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy in response to a draft bill that would have yoga and other “esoteric” practices integrated in a list of activities deemed “harmful to health.”

Several western churches and schools have also banned yoga due to the false belief that it is a religious practice.