When I began practicing yoga in 1999, I must confess, it was out of sheer vanity. I was approaching a rather important birthday — ahem —and I noticed the women my age in the media who had retained their youthful figures and faces attributed their good looks and vigor to the practice of yoga. 

Surprisingly, being raised in the South by my father, a Southern Baptist minister, and my mother, who was maybe more dogmatic than my dad, did not dissuade me from exploring this mysterious Eastern practice that would eventually change my life for the better and set me on a path of service not too dissimilar from that of my parents.

Spreading the healing effects of yoga is now my life’s mission, and though I have chosen to make this mission my career, I would venture to say even for the lay people of yoga, its practitioners, their voice is no less voluble than my own. It is simply what happens. People who embark upon the path of yoga innately begin to change, and this transformation sparks within them the desire to share with anyone and everyone the profound effect of their practice on their lives. Many Houstonians adhere to their yoga practice due to the physical benefits it offers, and currently yoga is used as supplementary therapy for diverse   conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, asthma and AIDS. The scope of medical issues where yoga is used as a complementary therapy continues to grow. More doctors today are prescribing yoga and meditation to clients and insurance companies are already paying for yoga. 

Becky Newberry, a Houston yogi whose practice spans more than a decade, illuminates some of the physical benefits she has reaped: “So many times I am told in class ‘A healthy spine is a healthy life,’ and the older I get, the more I recognize the truth and power of that statement,” she said. “I see my friends having back surgeries, walking with pain and suffering diminished physical activities. Because of my yoga practice, I have the strength to carry and play with my grandbabies, to travel, to live my life to the fullest — without pain or injuries.” 

Christy Turlington, one of the original Super Models, as well as one of the earliest celebrity proponents of yoga in the United States, asserts that though there are a plethora of physical benefits, “Yoga is a spiritual practice. I look at it as a lifestyle, a way of living that connects me to me. You know the word ‘yoga’ means union. It’s like everything in yoga yokes or unites you to something higher, the highest part of yourself.”

Newberry agrees, “I feel God when I do yoga. The yoga room becomes my temple, where I feel God speak to me. He tells me he has given me this one body and  it is up to me to take care of it. To take life one breath at a time, to breathe through adversity and to honor my body. I feel the unity of mind, body and spirit, the essence of yoga. Nowhere else do I feel so connected to God, my body and the Universe. When I don't do yoga, I don't feel right. My body aches and my thoughts are scattered. Yoga brings me back to the peaceful place I want to live and gives me strength to handle whatever comes my way.”

Whatever the impetus, whether physical or spiritual, and regardless of the economic recession, the Yoga Business Academy reports that currently one in 10 people practices yoga and their median household income is $82,200; 44 percent have household incomes of $75,000 or more, 24 percent have more than $100,000.

In my personal experience, as a yoga teacher, I have seen countless numbers of white-collar business people park their $85,000+ cars, turn off their cell phones (though reluctantly) and walk into yoga rooms in a courageous effort to transform their minds, bodies and spirits without the use of pharmaceuticals. The transformation is powerful. In their yoga practice, they begin to experience a sense of calm that they have not felt in years or even decades which then compels them to reevaluate their priorities and their purpose in life.

In a recent Huffington Post article, Max Strom, contributor and yoga teacher, offers his take on the rising popularity of yoga: “Because of its message of healing, unity and a simpler life, yoga may be one of the great rays of hope for our future. Why? Because worldwide, yoga is being embraced primarily by college-educated, upper-middle-class thinkers and businesspeople in  positions of power — the very strata of society that has the power to make the changes this world so desperately needs.”

It’s true. Yoga Journal’s statistics from 2011 report 71.4 of those who practice yoga are college educated and 27 percent of them have postgraduate degrees. And, these are the people who effect change both in the corporate climates and the economic climates. Yoga is becoming mainstream in big business today. Google offices now have yoga programs for employees. Additionally, in both 2010 and 2011, studies were conducted by Harvard School of Business and the International Journal of Yoga which reported a significant increase in job satisfaction, goal orientation, effective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors in corporations which offered yoga in the workplace.

From an economic standpoint, consider these statistics from Yoga Business Academy and Yoga Journal:
• The percentage of people who practice yoga increases on an average of 20-25 percent every year
• Spending on yoga products has increased by 87 percent in the past five years.
• Six billion dollars was spent on yoga products alone in 2010. 
• A search for “Yoga” returns 61,974 results on Amazon.
• Companies looking to associate their products or services with a wellness lifestyle tend to turn to yoga imagery.
• With the overall growth of the wellness industry, new training programs are being created to support practitioners in demand.

Yoga continues to grow in popularity in Houston. This month, in fact, the Bayou City will host the third annual Texas Yoga Conference February 17-19 at the University of Houston. 

Jennifer Buergermeister, the founder and president of the Texas Yoga Association and founder of the Texas Yoga Conference said, “Last year’s conference embraced over 1,000 yoga participants and welcomed high-profile sponsors, including Luna Bars, Manduka, Smart Water, Kulae, Body Mind & Soul, Wisdom & Co., Snap Kitchen, Shining Shakti, I Love Yoga, Breathe the Cure, Lululemon Athletica. We anticipate 1,250-1,500 participants in 2012.”

These numbers don’t lie. The blow of the yoga flow both on people and their pocketbooks will undoubtedly continue to be felt throughout ages yet to come. One of the great hopes in all this is that with the upsurge in yoga, there will also be an upsurge in those embarking on self-examination.

Cheryl Alexander is a free-lance journalist and long-time yoga instructor in Houston.