Characteristics of Yoga Practitioners, Motivators, and Yoga Techniques of Choice: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

BackgroundThe characteristics of yoga practitioners and factors motivating people to practice yoga have been studied in the US and in Australia. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of yoga users in India, the factors that motivate them to practice yoga, and the yoga techniques of choice.Materials and methodsThe study was a one-time, cross-sectional survey based on convenience sampling. Inclusion criteria were (a) a minimum of 1 week experience of yoga and (b) at least 10 years of age. 14,250 people received the survey. After excluding those who did not meet the inclusion criteria or filled in the survey incompletely or incorrectly, 5,157 respondents were included in the study.ResultsOut of 5,157 respondents, there were more males (67.3%), aged between 21 and 44 years (33.7% of the sample surveyed), educated up to high school (62.5%), students (39.3%), and those who had between 1 and 12 months of experience in yoga (54.4%). The first most common reason to practice yoga for all respondents was physical fitness. Three of the remaining reasons to practice yoga differed significantly with age: (i) yoga for disease management (χ2 = 17.62, p < 0.005), (ii) yoga as a hobby (χ2 = 10.87, p < 0.05), and (iii) yoga based on the guru’s (teacher’s) instructions (χ2 = 20.05, p < 0.001). The yoga technique of choice [i.e., (i) asanas (χ2 = 23.17, p < 0.001), (ii) pranayama (χ2 = 19.87, p < 0.001), or (iii) meditation (χ2 = 9.64, p < 0.05)] differed significantly across age groups.ConclusionIn India, a yoga practitioner was more likely to be male, between 21 and 44 years of age, high school educated, and a student. The reasons to practice yoga and the yoga technique of choice differed significantly with age.

Self-Perceived Health Status and Yoga-Related Perceptions among Yoga Practitioner

“…8 According to various reports in the literature, the most common place to practice yoga is yoga studios. 3,7,17 Similarly, 62.6% of the respondents in our study stated that they practiced in yoga studios. Ross et al (2013) 8 also reported that more yoga contact time (overall duration and/or frequency of practice) was associated with higher likelihood of belief in the health benefits of yoga.…”

“…8 Ross et al (2013) 20 also reported that yoga practitioners were mostly female (84.2%) and well-educated, with 90% holding an undergraduate or higher degree. However, a group of yoga practitioners aged 21-44 years in a study conducted in India by Telles et al (2017) 3 was predominantly male (67.3%) with high school education (62.5%).…”

“…2 The philosophy and practice of yoga are based on physical postures, breath control, concentration and meditation, relaxation, ethical principles, spirituality, inner consciousness, and return to the essential. 3,4 Yoga originated in Aryan people living on Indus Valley and evolved into a variety of forms and schools. 5 By the end of the 1930s, women had also started to practice yoga, and it was at this time that yoga became a global phenomenon and commonly practiced form of exercise.…”

Leisure Motivation and Satisfaction: A Text Mining of Yoga Centres, Yoga Consumers, and Their Interactions

“…According to Penman, Cohen, Stevens, and Jackson [26], for Australian yogis, 61% of the time was spent practicing asana and vinyasa, with the other 39% was spared to the gentler practices of relaxation, pranayama, and meditation. Telles, Sharma, Singh, and Balkrishna [27] later found that the choice of yoga technique differs among nations and between age groups. Whichever their choice, it is reasonable to believe that the style of yoga a yogi adheres to is highly associated with his or her motivation of yoga practice.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Yoga in Rural and Urban India, KAPY 2017: A Nationwide Cluster Sample Survey

“…Telles et al, in a cross-sectional survey, had studied the characteristics of yoga practitioners in India in a manner similar to studies previously undertaken in the U.S.A. and Australia. Based on the response to the survey, it was found that yoga practitioners in India are predominantly males, with the chief reason to practice yoga being physical fitness [11] and not disease prevention. However, evidence suggests that yoga plays a pivotal role in changing the physiology of the body.…”