Sumit Sharma, founder of yogsadhna.in
Twenty-eight-year old Sumit Sharma was fast climbing the corporate ladder when, two years back, he decided to quit his job as operations manager of an e-commerce company.
He was 23 when he started practicing yoga to keep him fit. His interest grew to an extent that he enrolled in a certificate course and then a degree course in yoga. And five years on, he is a professional yoga trainer.
“Yoga helps me remain fit and is better paying than my corporate job. What else do you need?," says Sumit, founder of Yogsadhana.in, that offer online Yoga classes.
An increasing number of upwardly mobile young Indians are joining yoga brigade-- for them yoga is a hot new career. According to an ASSOCHAM study, demand for Yoga trainers is increasing by 30-35 per cent every year.
Be it a gymnasium, or a multinational company, hospital, hotel, schools everyone wants a yoga trainer. Yoga holidays too are gaining popularity among fitness enthusiasts.
Seema teaches yoga at Atmantan, a wellness resort in Pune
"Yoga is most effective in treating stress-related disorders. Interestingly, Yoga is the most popular with 30-40 age group and with those above 50," says Seema, a 25-year-old yoga trainer at Atmantan, a wellness resort in Pune. “The younger age group take up Yoga to tackle joint problems, sleep disorder, back pain, while the elderly do so to deal with diabetes, hypertension, cardiac issues."
Amit Sharma, a Delhi-based yoga trainer
Seema used to fall sick often. After she completed graduation, her father asked her to enroll in a diploma programme in yoga to improve her health.
"By the end of my diploma, my health improved dramatically. I had the glowing skin and the dark circles around my eyes vanished. I decided to make yoga my way of life, and source of my livelihood,” says Seema.
Agrees Amit Sharma, a freelance yoga instructor, “What is adding to the popularity of yoga is the fact that yoga is suitable for people in every age group and doesn’t require any infrastructure."
"My most clients are 20-40 age group. At times, I innovate a bit to suit their taste. For example, I arranged an aqua yoga class this International Yoga Day”, he says.
While most young yoga trainers like to experiment with the ancient practice, there are many who believe it should be practiced in its pure form to get the maximum benefit out of it. “I generally ask my younger students to start with Kriya, which help them relieve the excess stress from the body and the mind. Then we move on to hatha yoga, pranayam and meditation," says Seema