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Practitioners call for body to monitor teaching standards
Yoga practitioners are calling on the government to set up an overseeing body to set standards for yoga amid fears that unqualified or insufficiently skilled teachers could put many of the discipline's growing number of adherents at risk of injury.
They say that while yoga can help reduce stress and prevent aches and pains, if taught incorrectly it can lead to back problems, elevate high blood pressure and even exacerbate vertigo.
And a physiotherapist who regularly treats people with yoga injuries says teachers need a specialised knowledge of anatomy to instruct their students safely in the complex and often difficult postures.
Yoga's soaring popularity is shown by the experience of one yoga teaching chain which has expanded from 300 to more than 30,000 students in little more than five years.
But the government says recognised yoga organisations should introduce  their own standards,  as other sports bodies do.
'Previously, yoga was being taught by a guru and he had a few disciples,' said Ramesh Ahuja, 60,  who runs a Kowloon-based yoga centre with his wife, Sangeeta.  'Now, anybody learning for a few months can start as a guru and invent their own methods.'
The husband and wife, who run the Life Management Yoga Centre,  a non-profit traditional  yoga school, were both trained at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai,  one of the world's oldest  yoga centres.
They say that while they are pleased with yoga's popularity, they are concerned about the lack of teacher certification and safety practices.
Mrs Ahuja, 47, said she and her staff would offer their services free to the government  if they wanted help training teachers or preparing a uniform curriculum for schools and social agencies, such as shelters for  victims of domestic violence.
Mr Ahuja said even one injury  a year was not acceptable. '[Yoga] should be practised at a safe level, slowly and progressively. Accidents are not acceptable.'
Their concerns were echoed by the director of The Yoga Institute, Hansaji Yogendra, 61,  who said the problem of a lack of yoga standards was worldwide.
'Yoga has become so popular that everywhere is facing this problem - where is the authenticity?' said Mrs Yogendra, who is visiting Hong Kong.
Mrs Yogendra, whose yoga centre first opened its doors in 1918, said all governments should set standards of practice and instruction. She is already working with the Indian government and other yoga centres in the country to help define standards there.
The chairman of the non-profit Hong Kong Yoga Society, Fong Fai, said he would also like the government to get involved in setting standards.
He wants the city to set up a society, chaired by a yoga veteran, to assist yoga organisations in providing 'real', safe yoga.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department  said it was not 'the authority to recognise or formalise the yoga streams in Hong Kong'.
'We rely on [national sports associations] or recognised sports organisations to train and qualify instructors of their respective disciplines,' a spokesman said.
Many  say interest in yoga is still growing.
Pure Yoga started out in 2002 with just one studio, two yoga teachers and 300 students. Six years later, it has five studios, 100 teachers and nearly 30,000 students, said Maggie Leung, a spokeswoman for Pure International.
To get a job at   Pure Yoga, teachers are interviewed and asked to conduct one or more test classes in front of a hiring team. Their resumes are also vetted - with the company particularly interested in  where the person was certified.
'We look for yoga teachers who have acquired certification from recognised yoga masters for  that particular type of yoga he or she teaches,' said Paveena Atipatha,  director of yoga at Pure Yoga.
'We also ensure any training they've taken is recognised by Yoga Alliance,  an international governing board for yoga teachers and training programmes.'



Government told to flex its muscles to keep yoga safe