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The Why Factor: Yoga

Yoga

24/03/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - The Why Factor, Yoga

Valley Fontaine asks why do we do yoga, and how has it become so popular?

Valley Fontaine asks why we do yoga and how has it become so popular. Millions of us do yoga every day; but there’s controversy about whether we’re doing it for the right reasons.

Yoga is an ancient practice that includes meditation, exercise and spirituality. It’s said to date back thousands of years and originate in the east. But why do millions of us do it every day and how has it become so popular over time? 

There is controversy about different types of yoga and whether they ring true to the original purpose of the practice. So when we do yoga, are we doing it for the right reasons?

Valley Fontaine hears from the director of a 98-year-old yoga institute in India, a religious studies professor in the US, an instructor who teaches yoga for you and your dog, founders of a yoga festival in the UK, and the 2016 women’s yoga champion. 

(Image: Woman in Yoga pose near Indian temple.  Credit: Pikoso.kz/Shutterstock)

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