Americans Embrace Ancient Practice of Yoga

March 26, 2005 — -- Kids are doing it in the Northeast. Soldiers are doing it in Iraq. Even some dogs in California are doing it.

It's yoga, the ancient practice that's taken the United States by storm, and it is becoming more accessible as more people try to stretch their way to serenity.

"There are currently 16.5 million people who practice yoga [in the United States]," said Lynn Lehmkuhl, an editor at Yoga Journal magazine. "And since 2002, that's been literally an increase of 43 percent, which is phenomenal."

And the practice is transforming from its origins to fit the needs of more Americans.

"It just grew naturally as more and more people discovered that you could be into yoga and you don't have to be Indian, you don't have to be Hindu, you don't have to change your diet to feel all these fantastic benefits," said Cyndy Lee, an instructor at Om Yoga Center in New York.

A Tight Butt and a Calm Mind

Practioners say the benefits of yoga are both mental and physical.

"You can get a tight butt, an open heart and a calm mind all in an hour and a half," Lee said.

Today's yoga comes in many different forms. There is yoga for expectant mothers, and baby yoga once your bundle of joy arrives.

Yoga is practiced by soldiers in Iraq, and in jail where it helps prisoners deal with stress.

There's Bikram yoga, where the temperature is turned up to make you sweat, and yoga for Christians.

Lehmkuhl says yoga is different than other workouts, especially for stressed-out Americans.

"Even for the most competitive people, it's a great relief and release to do something that's truly for you, and you're not in competition with anybody or anything," she said.

Celebrity Yoga

That appeals to high-powered celebrity yogis like Madonna, Sting and Gwyneth Paltrow.

But perhaps the person who has become the face of yoga in the United States is supermodel Christy Turlington.

Turlington, 36, says she began practicing yoga when she was 18 years old. "I would say it's given me a kind of focus and direction in my life, a sense of, I can do anything," she said.

Yoga has become a lifestyle for Turlington. She has two yoga-based clothing lines, called Nuala and Mahanuala, and has written a book, "Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice."

Helping Cope with Grief and Aging

Turlington said that yoga helped her cope when her father was dying of lung cancer.

"I feel like without that connection to myself and really where I was going emotionally every day, it would have been a much harder thing to go through," she said.

And Lee of Om Yoga says that her practice helped her get through menopause.

"I'm 51 now, so I've gone through a lot of different changes in my body," Lee said. "And you know hormones, oy vey, all of that. And yoga has helped me to just sort of be steady."

It appears this 5,000-year-old "trend" may stick around a little longer.

"People who embrace it fully and really spend the time to learn about it and to know about the background and to sort of incorporate more than just the physical part into their lives, I don't think they ever let it go. I think it's there forever," said Turlington.