IT'S NOT THAT long ago that yoga in the west was a fringe activity for those into alternative lifestyles. But according to a survey by Yoga Journal, in 2005 about 16.5 million American adults - or 7.5 per cent of the population - practised some form of yoga - an increase of 5.6 per cent on 2003 and 43 per cent on 2002. And they spent US$2.95 billion on yoga classes, products and retreats in 2004.
In Hong Kong, the number of studios has risen from fewer than six in 2002 to more than 50 last year.
'It wasn't the thing for your average western male,' says Robert Taylor, a 37-year-old business owner who took it up four years ago on the advice of his physiotherapist. 'I was struggling with stiffness from old sporting injuries. It was just an option at my gym at first. The ratio of men to women was about one to 10.'
It's different now, Taylor says. 'There's plenty of choice. People hear about what you're doing and are very curious. We all want to feel better, younger and more energetic, so just about anyone is keen to give it a go.'
Asia Yoga Conference director Paveena Atipatha says the four-day event in Hong Kong will benefit the growing number of practitioners in the region. 'Although yoga's popularity has boomed dramatically in the west in the past decade, its growth is still in its early stages here,' Aipatha says. 'It's a forum for the world's best teachers to come together in Asia to help shape the growth of yoga here.'
What is it that lures so many people to yoga? Five experts attending the conference explain what does it for them: