Veggie Blog

Starting an exercise habit is easy. Keeping it going for years is the hard part. Older articles on yoga for business people claimed that executives who practice mind-body exercises stay with them longer than those who go to the gym. I could not find published results of such a study, so I will not repeat the claim as fact. What we can say is more practical: there are good reasons to make yoga part of your routine, and simple ways to stay with it.

How much activity do you need?

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans say that adults should do at least 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, plus muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week. The first edition counted only bouts of at least 10 minutes, but the second edition removed that requirement to encourage people to move more often throughout the day. That is good news for a busy schedule: a five-minute stretch counts as part of a more active day. Yoga alone does not meet the aerobic target, so most people will want to add walking or another activity. The National Institute on Aging lists yoga as one example of balance exercise, which also matters for staying independent as you age.

Does yoga help people take up other healthy habits?

There is some evidence. NCCIH reports a 2021 study of 60 women with obesity who were assigned to 12 yoga sessions or a waiting list. The effect of yoga on their body mass index depended on changes in physical activity and in daily fruit and vegetable intake, so the benefit seemed to come partly through other habits. A 2018 survey of 1,820 young adults found that regular yoga was associated with better eating and activity habits, and the people who answered said yoga made them more mindful and encouraged them to be more active. These studies show an association, not proof that yoga causes healthier living, but they fit the common experience that one good habit can pull others along.

How can you build the habit?

These ideas are general advice for forming habits, not findings from a yoga study. Start small: ten minutes a few times a week is better than an hour you never find time for. Attach it to something you already do, such as stretching after you brush your teeth or doing a few poses before your first coffee. Put it in your calendar like a meeting. Keep a mat or a chair in view. Try a class if you like company, since having someone expecting you makes it harder to skip. Vary it, too: a gentle morning routine such as the one in our beginner’s guide on some days, and a longer session on a weekend.

What if you miss a week?

Just begin again. The point of the guidelines is that the total across a week and a year matters more than any single session, so do not wait for the perfect Monday. If you stopped because of an injury or illness, return gradually and talk to a doctor if you are unsure. Remember the basics of safe practice from NCCIH: learn from a qualified instructor, avoid extreme poses while you are new, and tell your teacher about any health condition.

Where do you go from here?

If you are new, read about what yoga is and try the basic yoga postures. When you want to build your fitness more widely, see lifetime fitness for a plan that lasts. A habit that you enjoy is one you keep, so choose what suits you and let it grow.

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, is one of the most well respected and well known yogis of the modern era. Elements of his teaching have been spread around the world through the work of his students BKS Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi and AG Mohan. TKV Desikachar is Krishnamacharya’s son, who lived and studied with the great master all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya’s yoga. The core of this teaching is that practices must be continually adapted to the individuals changing needs to achieve the maximum beneficial effect.
In The Heart of Yoga, Desikachar offers a distillation of his father’s system as well as his own practical approach which he describes as “a program for the spine at every level – physical, mental and spiritual.” He discusses poses and counterposes, conscious breathing, meditation and philosophy and shows how the yoga student may develop a practice tailored to his or her current state of health, age, occupation and lifestyle.
Included in this book is Desikachar’s complete translation of and commentary on the Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali and thirty-two poems composed by his father that capture the essence of his teachings. This trade paperback book has 242 pages.
A structural engineer by training, T K V Desikachar lived and studied with his father until Krishnamacharya’s death in 1989. He has devoted his life to yoga instruction for people of all backgrounds and all levels of ability and currently teaches at the school founded in his father’s memory in Madras, as well as in Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Book: The Heart of Yoga by T. K. V. Desikachar
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Yoga is everywhere in city life: studios on the corner, mats on commuter trains, clothes designed for the class, and posts about retreats. For many people it has become a lifestyle, with its own look. Behind the fashion, the practice itself is simple and old. Here is a look at why it caught on, and what you can realistically expect from it.

How popular has yoga become?

According to a national survey cited by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the percentage of U.S. adults who practiced yoga increased from 5.0 percent in 2002 to 15.8 percent in 2022. In 2017, 8.4 percent of children aged 4 to 17 practiced it. The NCCIH notes that most research on yoga in the United States has been done on predominantly female, non-Hispanic white, well-educated people with relatively high incomes, so results may not apply to everyone.

Why do people like it?

The NCCIH reports that in 2012 survey data, 94 percent of yoga practitioners did it for wellness-related reasons, and 17.5 percent did it to treat a specific health condition. The NCCIH adds that in one survey, people aged 40 to 54 were more likely to be motivated by muscle strength or weight loss, while those aged 55 or older were more likely to be motivated by age-related chronic health issues. City life gives plenty of reasons: long hours at a desk, stress, poor sleep and too little movement. Yoga combines gentle exercise, breathing and quiet time in a way that many people can fit into a busy week. Our post on what is yoga? gives a short introduction.

What does the research support?

Studies suggest that yoga may help relieve stress and improve mental and emotional health, sleep and balance. For depression, the NCCIH says that yoga can be a helpful addition to treatment, and a 2020 review of 7 studies of people diagnosed with major depression concluded that yoga may have small additional benefits when used with other treatment. That is a long way from the claim that yoga is better than a prescribed medicine. On stress in general, the NCCIH cites a 2020 review of 12 studies with 672 healthy adults that found beneficial effects of yoga on perceived stress in all of them, and a 2018 review of 14 studies in which most found improvements in resilience or general mental well-being. If you take medicine for depression or anxiety, do not stop it because you started yoga, and talk to your doctor before making any change.

Do you need special clothes and gear?

No. A mat or a non-slip surface and comfortable clothes that let you move are enough. Fashion and accessories can be fun, but they do not make the practice more effective. Choose clothing you can stretch and sweat in; our guide to choosing fitness apparel covers what to look for.

How do you fit it into a busy day?

Start with a short routine in the morning or evening. Even a few simple poses and some slow breathing can be a break. A beginner routine such as a gentle morning yoga routine takes little time, and how to start yoga safely explains the precautions to take if you have a health condition. Learn from a qualified instructor if you can, and avoid extreme practices such as headstands and forceful breathing until you have had guidance. Read more in the NCCIH review of yoga.

Yoga for Modern City Life: Yoga is now a Lifestyle

Yoga, even as it furthers its storefront-by-storefront takeover of American leisure hours, remains a punchline, a shorthand summing-up of a certain way of life. One of the charms of Poser, Claire Dederer’s memoir of motherhood and marriage structured around her love affair with yoga, is that–as her title hints–she gets the joke, and tells it very well herself. She knows, to the molecule, the subculture she swims within–the “liberal enclave” of late ’90s North Seattle, with its self-policed, guilt-laced dictates about the proper ways to parent, work, play, and wed (and divorce)–and she’s well aware of every knee-jerk response you might bring to a story about yoga (she had them too). She’s sharp and funny, shifting expertly between earthy put-downs and the earnest openness that yoga leads her to. And she’s wisest, and most fascinating, when she’s plotting the differences between her mother’s generation, breaking out from the traditions of young marriage and motherhood in sloppy, self-invented ways, and her own, responding to the chaos of their parents’ marriages and their own youth with the anxiously seamless embrace of attachment parenting. Readers will inevitably be reminded of another witty, navel-gazing, West-meets-East memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, but Dederer’s more domestic journey is her very much her own.

Book: Yoga Poser by Claire Dederer
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The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga presents yoga as more than exercise. The book description emphasizes its spiritual and reflective side, combining postures with breathing, meditation, and ideas about personal growth. For readers who feel that modern yoga can sometimes become all workout and no meaning, that angle may be the main attraction.

What makes this book different?

Instead of focusing only on flexibility or strength, the book frames yoga through the “Seven Spiritual Laws.” The description says readers will find meditation techniques, mantras, breathing exercises, and yoga poses, all presented as part of a larger path toward harmony and self-understanding. That makes it read more like a philosophy-and-practice guide than a pose encyclopedia.

Do you need to be experienced?

Not necessarily. The description says the book is for newcomers as well as experienced practitioners. A beginner may not use every spiritual idea right away, but a curious reader can still appreciate the gentle explanation of how yoga can include attention, breathing, and values, not just movement.

Is spiritual yoga the same as religion?

Not always. Many readers approach spiritual books on yoga as a way to think about mindfulness, self-awareness, and intention rather than formal religion. The NCCIH overview of yoga explains that yoga usually combines physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation. Its mindfulness and meditation summary is also helpful for readers who want a practical definition of what these practices can look like in everyday life.

How should you read it?

This is best read as an invitation to explore the inner side of yoga at your own pace. You do not need to accept every spiritual claim literally to benefit from the slower, more reflective approach it encourages. Read for inspiration, move gently, and adapt the physical side of any practice to your own health needs.

Related on Veggie-Blog: What Is Yoga? and Where Did Yoga Come From? Its Meaning, Early Texts and What Scholars Can Say.

Book: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga by Deepak Chopra and David Simon
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