20 per cent rise in Yoga practitioners: ASSOCHAM survey

The number of yoga practitioners has risen by about 20 per cent in the urban areas in the country, with women outnumbering men, but there is a dearth of trainers, a survey by industry body ASSOCHAM has found.
The Centre and state governments should begin three year bachelor's degree courses in yoga as there is scope to create employment in this field, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said.
"The popularity of Yoga in India has been growing by leaps and bounds, thereby giving a rise to the number of people who are practicing it owing to its positive impact on mind and body," secretary general of ASSOCHAM D S Rawat said after releasing the survey.

"However, there is a dearth of trainers and the governments both at the Centre and state should introduce a dedicated three-year bachelor degree course in yoga to enable more and more youth in the country to become competent yoga trainers, thereby spurring entrepreneurship and job generation," Rawat said.
The ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation interacted with around 500 people with an equal number of men and women in the age group of 20-45 years during the past fortnight for the survey.
The survey was conducted in 10 cities - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai.

Interestingly, over half of the total respondents (275) said they practiced Yoga and have experienced its significant positive results.

Around 20 per cent of them said they have recently started practising Yoga and are likely to continue doing it considering the immense benefits of this ancient form of exercise.
About 40 per cent said they do not follow any health regime.
Majority of the respondents said they would prefer doing Yoga over joining a gym as one does not have to spend much compared to gym fees, but only needs one to wear traditional loose clothes and a yoga mat.
Others said they hit the gym to stay fit adding that they too consider that Yoga is better and would try it in the due course to enhance performance.

Of the total 250 female respondents, 175 said they either practice yoga or hit the gym to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
About 60 per cent of them said they religiously practice yoga to stay fit while rest said they preferred gym over any other health regime.