A Growing Profession: 70,000 Yoga Teachers Estimated

Yoga teaching has become one of the fastest growing professions in North America. As many as 30 million people practice yoga in the United States alone. NAMASTA, the North American Studio Alliance, the organization for mind-body professionals, now estimates that there are 70,000 yoga teachers in North America.

Up until now, no organization had published a figure on the number of yoga teachers. Says Bernard Slede, President of the North American Studio Alliance (NAMASTA): "Teachers have gotten training without needing to register with a body comparable to the American Bar Association or the Board of Accountants."

The Yoga phenomenon has grown dramatically over the past few years. For instance, sociologist Paul Ray estimated that there were 28M people who practiced yoga at the end of 2003. Also, Yoga studios have become a hot area for the commercial real estate market. And the word "yoga" turns up 4,444 books on Amazon.com.

NAMASTA determined the figure of 70,000 based on both an estimate of the number of teachers who received training and readership surveys by the major yoga publications. The estimate includes people who might no longer be teaching and teachers who have received different levels of training.

NAMASTA is a member-supported community organization that helps professionals in the United States and Canada pursue their career. Its growth has paralleled that of yoga and the mind-body movement. "We provide yoga teachers and mind-body professionals with what they need to realize their dream and make a difference in their students' lives" says Bernard Slede.

Members of the organization access health care benefits, yoga insurance and massage insurance, reduced rates on yoga, massage and Pilates supplies and other benefits. Annalisa Cunningham, who wrote several authoritative books on yoga, says that "NAMASTA is an organization I recommend to any mind-body professional who wants support along with time saving tools for building a successful business."

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As you need additional information or want to become a member, contact NAMASTA:
- call 1 877 NAMASTA Toll-Free
- e-mail e-mail protected from spam bots
- or visit http://www.namasta.com for more industry statistics