How Yoga Developed Into a Popular Exercise

Over the course of the past century, yoga has evolved from an ancient spiritual practice to a popular form of exercise with a myriad of health benefits.

History of Yoga

Yoga is a spiritual practice that began in India an estimated 5,000 years ago. In traditional Indian yoga, the poses that the western world typically thinks of as "yoga" are just one part of an eight-fold spiritual path, the goal of which is to create harmony among the mind, spirit and body.

Bringing Yoga to the United States

In the late nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries, Indian philosophers began bringing yoga's spiritual teachings to the United States. A 1924 quota on Indian immigration temporarily stymied the influx of yogic teachings to America.

Early Yoga Studios

Yoga studios began opening on the west coast and in New York in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of these studios were founded by Europeans and Westerners who had learned yoga in India. Among these was Richard Hittleman, who created a television series called Yoga for Health and placed more of an emphasis on the physical benefits of yoga rather than its spiritual teachings.

Gaining in Popularity

After the quota on Indian immigration was removed in 1965, the 1960s and 1970s saw a wave of yoga teachers arriving in the United States and founding new yoga schools. By the 1970s, yoga was being widely taught as both a spiritual practice and a form of exercise.

Yoga in America Today

Today, an estimated 16.5 people in the United States practice yoga, benefitting from its many rewards such as increased strength and flexibility and reduced stress levels.