Issue 8.5 - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia

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40 | Bhavan Australia | Nov 2010 The Rise and Rise of Yoga in Australia Yoga participation in Australia has grown in recent years to be the 13th most popular physical activity not including walking, according to figures from the Australian Sports Commission. 1 Yoga, practised by 2.9% of the population, was ahead of Australian Rules football (2.7%), dancing (2.4%), fishing (2.1%) and martial arts (1.8%). However, yoga participation may be higher when therapeutic use is considered; between 7% and 12%, according to a national study of the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies 2 . In another national survey, yoga and meditation were seen by Australian General Practitioners (GPs) to be similar in both safety and effectiveness to massage, acupuncture and hypnosis, with only massage and acupuncture receiving higher rates of referral or suggestion by GPs 3 . No studies were found on participation in yoga as a spiritual path or lifestyle. In 2006, researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne and University of Queensland conducted the world’s largest survey of yoga with nearly 4000 Australians completing the half-hour online questionnaire 4 . Previously, little was known about the practice of yoga in Australia, whether as a physical activity, a form of therapy, a spiritual path or a lifestyle.
The survey aimed to determine the way in which yoga was practised in Australia, including: demographic and socio-economic characteristics of practitioners the traditions, styles and techniques practised reasons for practice; spiritual path, personal development, health or fitness related lifestyle choices and physical exercise co-factors health and medical conditions and the perceived benefits of practice characteristics of experiences of yoga teaching, affiliations and insurances frequency and reporting of yoga-related injuries subjective experience (Flow state) in yoga Some of the results are as highlighted. Younger and Sexier The Yoga in Australia survey found that the ‘typical’ yoga practitioner was a 41 year old female (85% of survey respondents were female) who had practised regularly 1-2 times a week (56% of respondents) for about five years, was likely to be tertiary educated (81%) and to have a household income over $50,000 (76%). Interestingly, about one in seven survey respondents were employed in a healthcare occupation, most commonly nursing, massage and psychology, suggesting acceptance of yoga amongst healthcare professionals. However, the average age of yoga practitioners has fallen overseas 5 and may be doing the same in Australia, driven by the uptake of stronger, more dynamic forms of yoga, like Ashtanga, Bikram (in a heated room), Power Yoga and Yoga Synergy; appealing not only to younger people but also more to men. Iyengar, Satyananda, the Krishnamacharya tradition (Viniyoga), and other forms of contemporary classical yoga are also very popular in Australia. The survey found that respondents devoted 61% of their typical practice session to asana (postures) and vinyasa (sequences of postures), with the remaining time devoted to the gentler, more reflective activities of pranayama (breathing techniques), meditation and relaxation. More than meets the Eye The reasons most commonly given for starting yoga were “health and fitness” or “flexibility and muscle tone” (both about 71%), rising to over 80% as reasons for continuing, confirming that yoga is primarily seen and practised as a physical discipline. However, “to reduce stress or anxiety” was also given by 58% of respondents as a reason for starting yoga, increasing to 79% as a reason for continuing, nearly as common a motivation for continuing practice as the physical reasons. Nov 2010 | Bhavan Australia | 41
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