Things You Might Not Have Known About Yoga

Yoga is a fascinating subject when you get into it. Many people practice yoga but are not aware of its interesting history or facts.

Here we touch on just a few.

• Yoga is over 5,000 years old and originates in India.
• Sanskrit is the official language of yoga. The word ‘yoga’ means ‘union’.
• Yoga was originally a form of healing.
• Yoga has 66 recognised poses.
• In the US over $5 billion is spent on yoga each year.
• There has been a big increase in the number of people practicing yoga in the last 4 years. Up 50% in the US alone.
• Indeed over 15% of Americans have practiced yoga in the last 6 months.
• Around 75% of yogis are women and 25% men.

• Yoga is actually more a breathing exercise than anything else.
• The oldest yoga teacher is said to be 85 years old.
• The largest yoga class ever held involved over 100,000 people. Imagine that!
• Yoga is most commonly practiced by people between 30 and 49 years of age.
• For every 30 minutes of yoga you should allow 5 minutes of complete rest.
• Ancient yogi belief is that we only have a limited number of breaths in our life – sos the slower you breathe, the longer you live.
• Early yoga mats were grass or animal skin. Mats have evolved a lot since those days. There are some terrific designs that really enhance your yoga practice. Some of the best yoga mats also have lines on them to help you with your poses.
• It’s not just yoga mats – these days there are lots of different products you can use to get the very best from your yoga sessions. Like yoga cushions, yoga balls and yoga blocks. There are even yoga mats for kids!