6 Facts About Yoga You Might Not Know

Yoga has become insanely popular. With all of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits it provides us, it’s easy to understand why! Despite its wide reach, there is still a lot about the practice of yoga that people don’t know. Here are a few facts about it that may surprise you!

Yogis wrote the first book ever

The Rig Veda is the first of the Vedas. Vedas are ancient texts and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. It contains thousands of hymns and mantras. It’s been dated back to 1500 BC or earlier. Many believe it to be the oldest known text in the world!

Millions now practice yoga

It’s hard to know exactly how many people around the world practice yoga. Some do it religiously, while others do it occasionally. A study done in 2016 found that more than 36 million people practice yoga in the US alone.

The Beatles can be credited for popularizing it

The Beatles were widely influential in making yoga popular in the Western world. George Harrison infused his love of yoga and Eastern spirituality in many of his songs. The Beatles also supported many famous yogis. Their fans too notice and yoga studios start popping up everywhere!

Ancient yogis believed people had a limited number of breaths

This is why breathing is so vital to yoga. Breath control is a vital part of yoga, and now you know why!

Teaching yoga is a popular career choice now

The number of registered yoga teachers continues to rise every year. In 2016 alone, there were 52,746 registered yoga instructors with Yoga Alliance. There are also double that number enrolled in training courses, on their way to becoming certified yoga instructors.

Technology and yoga go hand in hand

It may surprise some people, but yoga and technology go together well. In fact, yoga has been credited as being the most successful byproduct of globalization. Technology has made it possible for people all over the world to access yoga!