By Sejal Shah | Posted: June 12, 2018
The 2016 Yoga in America Study conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance shows that the number of US yoga practitioners has increased to more than 36 million, up from 20.4 million in 2012, while annual practitioner spending on yoga classes, clothing, equipment, and accessories rose to $16 billion, up from $10 billion over the past four years. “Yoga is a thriving, growing industry,” says Carin Gorrell, editor in chief of Yoga Journal.
These are indeed encouraging figures. Of course, widespread growth has both advantages and disadvantages, and this is the same in the case of yoga. The great thing about yoga’s increasing popularity is that the health and wellness created by practicing yoga is becoming more available and accessible in the US and worldwide. The dark side of this could be that yoga may lose its authenticity, real purpose, and spirit.
According to Yoga Alliance Executive Director and COO Barbara Dobberthien, the top five reasons for starting yoga are as follows: flexibility (61%), stress relief (56%), general fitness (49%), improving overall health (49%), and physical fitness (44%).
These stats indicate that the majority of people are aligning their yoga practice with their physical health and fitness. The practice of yoga certainly builds both fitness and general health. All of the stretching, twisting, and balancing in yoga is very beneficial, and certainly makes our body healthier and more vibrant, but is that the real purpose and potential of yoga?
The practice of yoga has been known for centuries to produce benefits not just in the areas of health and mental clarity, but also in the areas of peace of mind and spiritual progress. In ancient times, yoga was actually practiced primarily for the spiritual and mental benefits it promises, more than the physical.
Join the #EveryDayYogaDay campaign and celebrate International Day of Yoga
June 21st is the International Day of Yoga. Every June, we at Art of Living celebrate with “Yoga Month”.This year our theme is #EveryDayYogaDay.
Yoga brings harmony to the body, breath, and mind. “EveryDayYogaDay” is a campaign to bring you closer to the practice of Yoga. Yoga, in this sense, doesn’t refer to just physical asanas (yoga postures), but to a promise to live a happy and committed life, and to be the light of love everyone looks up to.
I encourage you to take this as an opportunity to broaden your understanding and deepen your practice of yoga. The practice of yoga promises you so many benefits. #PromiseToYoga is also a great opportunity to learn more about the rich philosophies and perspectives that form the traditional basis of this ancient holistic way of living.
The following 12 beautiful quotes on yoga by the world renowned spiritual leader and yoga expert Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar help bring our understanding of yoga back to its original purpose--a deeply transformative mental and spiritual practice that happens to have amazing physical benefits, too.
Top 12 quotes on Yoga by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
1) “Like a flower bud, human life has the potential to blossom fully. Blossoming of human potential to fullness is Yoga.”
2) “The wave uniting with its depth is yoga.”
3) “Yoga is a study of life, study of your body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, and ego; study of your inner faculties.”
4) “Withdraw your senses from the object to its source, then the union happens, then the Yoga happens.”
5) “Peace is our very nature, and Yoga leads you to inner peace.”
6) “The purpose of Yoga is to stop suffering even before it arises.”
7) “Yoga is not just weight loss program, it is a science to make you feel lighter. You lose mental stuff of anger, jealousy, hatred, greed, etc.”
8) “One of the rules of Yoga is to cultivate the practice of being happy.”
9) “Yoga is not just an exercise, it is how skillfully you communicate and how skillfully you can act in any given situation.”
10) “The wisdom of Yoga transforms one from craving for freedom to recognition of unboundedness, from limited ownership to oneness with the Whole.”
11) “Yoga empowers you to feel the way you want to feel at any time, instead of being a victim of your own feelings. It makes you independent.”
12) “The source of joy is deep within. Events are impermanent. Keeping the mind like a clean mirror and being unfazed by events is Yoga.”
Journal your thoughts and experiences
I invite and encourage you to pick up your favorite quote from these. Meditate and think about it for a month while you are on the mat for your yoga practice, or even off the mat. Journal your thoughts and experiences around the quote you’ve chosen—what does it mean to you, how it is relevant to your practice, how you are incorporating it in your practice and life, and how it is helping you?
Likewise, if you find that this practice resonates with you, pick up one more quote for the next month and continue with your journal. You will see that by end of the year your yoga practice and experience has reached an altogether more profound level.
Share with us and inspire our readers
We all want to make an impact in this world, and one of the easiest ways you can make your mark and inspire others is to share your journey. We’d love to share your own yoga journal with our millions of yoga readers:
1) Write your thoughts in 600-800 words, and send it to us at blog@us.artofliving.org for a chance to be published on The Art of Living blog.
2) Share how your practice grows from day to day on social media by tagging your posts with #EveryDayYogaDay and @ArtofLivingIDY.
Join a Sri Sri Yoga Foundation Program near you and Celebrate #IDYWithSriSri
This year, to mark the global celebration of International Day of Yoga, Art of Living and Sri Sri School of Yoga will be offering Sri Sri Yoga Foundation Program all over the world. This program will be offered at more than 20 locations in the USA. It requires prior registration to join. Find a program near you, click here.
Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @ArtofLivingIDY to get the latest updates about International Day of Yoga celebrations near you.
By Sejal Shah, E-YRT 500 Sri Sri Yoga Teacher, YACEP, Art of Living Teacher, NYU Post Graduate Medical School approved Yoga-CME retreat facilitator, Mind-Body Wellness Writer, Homeopath. She can be followed on
