general

The latest Yoga in America study, hot off the press, makes for interesting reading. Although the number practising yoga has stayed roughly the same, people are spending far more on their yoga lifestyle.

So much so that the market for yoga classes, products, holidays and clothing has virtually doubled in the last three years.

The 2008 study indicates that seven per cent of US adults (or 15.8 million people), practice yoga. In the previous study, that number was 16.5 million.

Of the people who don't practice, nearly eight per cent, or 18.3m Americans, are "very" or "extremely" interested in yoga - three times more than in 2004. Four per cent of those who do yoga say they'll try it in the next year.

Amazingly, that makes for a potential yoga community of almost a fifth of the entire population in the USA.

So who are all these people? Many yoga fans have higher-than-average incomes, explaining the meteoric rise of the markets for yoga products, holidays and clothing - almost 45 per cent have household incomes of over $75,000 (£38,000) or more. A quarter have incomes of more than $100,000 (£50.000).

For almost half of the US yoga population, health was the main reason for starting, and continuing, yoga - remarkable when you consider that in 2003, health was the main motivation for only six per cent of fans.

Unsurprisingly, the evidence suggests that yoga fans are mostly young and female. Of the 5,000 yoga practitioners questioned, 72 per cent are women, 80 per cent are between 18 and 54 years old, and 70 per cent are college educated.

Data for the survey was collected by the Harris Interactive Service Bureau, on behalf of Yoga Journal. Colorado firm RRC Associates analysed the figures. Over 5,000 American respondents were surveyed.

The world economy is taking a nose dive. But is the yoga world immune from the doom and gloom? Latest circulation figures for best-selling yoga magazine, Yoga Journal, would suggest the answer could be 'yes'.

The top US title saw a 5.8 increase in circulation from July to December 2007 from the same period the previous year - not a huge leap, but a significantly greater one than other magazines in the same publishing group. These include Self, Shape, Health and Natural Health.

The first two issues of 2008 were record-breaking in the number of advertising pages the magazine carried, and the amount of revenue they generated.

So why is Yoga Journal bucking the trend? Interestingly, the title's publisher, Bill Harper, puts it down to yoga practitioners' commitment to their practice.

He says: "Yoga practitioners are devoted both to their practice and to our magazine. Our advertising and circulation keep increasing because, recession or not, people will give up many thing, but keep their yoga practice going.

"We are not a discretionary magazine, but an integral part of people's health and wellness programme."

Harper could well have hit the nail on the head: serious yoga practitioners don't just dabble with yoga, as a gym-goer would pop to the health club a couple of times a week. It's an integral part of their lifestyle, from the food they eat to the job they chose.

And there's no doubt the readers are out there and growing by the year: Yoga Journal, which was founded in 1975, has tripled its paid circulation since 2000, to 360,000.

www.yogajournal.com

Yoga clothing and lifestyle company Manuka Life has created what it claims is the first ever scented yoga range, Inhale Manuka.

A tea tree fragrance has been embedded into each piece of clothing, using a patented scent formula. Every time the clothes are washed, the scent is refreshed.

Maunka Life founder Leonie Ellyatt says the scent works as an anti-fungal device, keeping skin fresh and clean, as well as providing an uplifting fragrance.

She says: "We really wanted to create something that truly enhanced your yoga practice. Scent is our most powerful sense, so we have been very keen to create a range that used essential oils to complement yoga.

"We've used tea tree first because it has many therapeutic benefits. It's from my homeland, Australia, too - so there is a special spiritual connection for me."

The range comes in to different styles of trousers and tops - as well as two different colour schemes - and has been tried and tested by yoga practitioners.

Inhale Manuka will be available from March 2008. Prices range from £32 to £48.

www.manukalife.com

Other stories about Manuka:

Clothing road test part one - Manuka

Manuka and Claire Missingham join forces

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is giving a series of talks in English cities this May. The UK events are part of a packed 2008 schedule of readings and lectures in Germany, the USA, France and Australia.

The Dalai Lama will give a public talk at London's Royal Albert Hall on the afternoon of May 22, followed by a talk in Nottingham on May 24 and 25 and teachings in the same city on May 26 and 28. There will also be a public talk in Oxford on May 30.

Themes for the events include Briging Meaning to Our Lives, Caring for our World, and Universal Responsibility in the Modern World.

The Dalai Lama gives teachings and public talks throughout the year - in India, they are free, while tickets are required elsewhere.

The talks include a 15 day schedule at the Main Temple in Dharamsala, India, to coincide with the first month of the Tibetan calendar (in February or March).

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.

He was born in July 1935 to a farming family in northern Tibet and, at the age of two, was recognised as the reincarnataion of the 13th Dalai Lama.

He was forced to escape from Tibet following the Chinese army's suppression of the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa in 1959. The Dalai Lama has since lived in Dharamsala, northern India.

For ticket information see:

www.dalailama.com/page.60.htm

Reading list - books by the Dalai Lama:

The Art of Happiness - a Handbook for Living

How to see Yourself as you Really Are

The Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom

Yoga in the Midlands will receive a boost this Spring with the opening of a new studio in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

The Pancavacktra Yoga Academy will be the first dedicated yoga centre in this part of the UK.

Seven regular classes a week will cover a wide range of yoga syles, including hatha, classical, sunpower, gentle and flow. There will also be workshops with guest teachers.

Under new ownership, The Pancavacktra Yoga Academy - situated next to the Grail Court Hotel - replaces The Camelot Centre, which has been a popular yoga venue for the last five years.

The studio is set to open in its new guise this April.

For more information contact Mike or Marie at dovelandsyoga@btinternet.com