"Gone are the days of the loin clothed yogi meditating alone on a mountaintop, unless of course said loin cloth is made of wickable polyester blend, fits your body like a glove and retails for $100 a pop and the yogi in question has worldwide appearances and a DVD series purchasable on Amazon.com. Oh, and don't forget to check their Twitter feed.”
-Justin Hakuta, Huffington Post
"Many American practitioners associate the [yoga] practice with something pure and serene, she says. But when they think of Hinduism, Sheetal Shah, senior director at the Hindu American foundation says, they think of “multiple gods, with multiple heads and multiple arms. Colorful [and] ritualistic.“”
-Margot Adler, NPR
“The word yoga itself means "union": of the individual consciousness or soul with the Universal Consciousness or Spirit. Though many people think of yoga only as physical exercises — the asanas or postures that have gained widespread popularity in recent decades — these are actually only the most superficial aspect of this profound science of unfolding the infinite potentials of the human mind and soul.”
-The Self-Realization Fellowship
FACT: Yoga in the West generates $7 billion in revenue according to a recent IBIS World report, with nearly 16 million or 7 percent of U.S. adults practicing and another 18 million or 8 percent of non-practicing adults stating they are extremely interested in trying it.
