American imports of yoga products have doubled in the past five years, making it one of the fastest growing segments of the sports apparel industry. This wont come as a surprise for anybody whos tracked the meteoric rise of companies like LuluLemon Athletica, whose stock is up more than 30 times from its 2009 lows. Still, its hard to look at the import data for this industry and not come away impressed with the explosive growth.

According to ImportGenius.com databases, which monitors every shipment coming into the U.S. by ocean, shipments containing the term yoga increased 44% in 2012 over 2011. In just a year, the average weight per shipment increased nearly 9 times.

Source: http://importgenius.com/pulse/of/yoga

Meanwhile, since 2008, the number of shipments imported into the U.S. containing the term yoga increased by 140% while the average weight per shipment was up more than ten times. It appears the industry is consolidating with larger shipments as big companies take the yoga phenomenon into the mainstream. Well be monitoring the trend closely to see if the growth continues in 2013.

The ImportGenius.com database of 75 million shipping manifests--one for every shipment entering the U.S. by ocean in the last 7 years--reveals other surprising facts about this burgeoning new industry.

For example, despite the practices South Asian origins, the vast majority of American yoga imports originate in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Those regions account for more than 70% of all ocean-borne yoga exports to the U.S. Exports from China in 2012 were 44% of total U.S. imports. It seems India has largely missed the boat on a business that it should naturally dominate, accounting for less than 1 percent of imports since 2006.

And next time your yoga friends stress their practices non-attachment to material outcomes, you may want to remind them that we imported more than 435,614,091 pounds of yoga-related products in the last year alone. So much for ascetic minimalism.

Lululemon Athletica, a leading retailer for yoga products, is a testament to yogas recent big boom. Recent reports and third quarter results show their revenue increased by 37% from last year. We can attribute this growth to 405 more shipments having been received in the U.S. in the past year compared to 2011. The weight of these shipments increased by more than 2.3 million pounds, and yoga mats, yoga clothes and running gear for sweaty workouts make up a bulk of what filled those containers.

Combining a tradition that goes back thousands of years with a level of fanaticism rarely seen in practitioners of any other sport plus clear health benefits from the practice, we cant see any reason why this trend will slow any time soon.

Go here to see the original:
America's Yoga Imports Are Soaring

About 1,200 Boca Raton High School students do a "yoga wave" on their school's football field. Videographer/Carline Jean

BOCA RATON

Calling their gathering "the biggest school yoga session ever," more than 1,200 Boca Raton High School students filled their football field on Thursday to stretch, touch their toes and reach for the sky in a wave beginning at the 50-yard line.

The wave, designed to foster school spirit and show the value of the ancient practice, started midfield, spread to the end zones and returned to the center. Stefanie Gross, a guidance counselor and school yoga teacher, called out the poses, a series of eight movements that included push-ups, backbends, standing straight and resting seated on the ground.

The wave attracted two celebrities who rallied participants to perfect their Downward Dogs: Ben Nemtin and Dave Lingwood of "The Buried Life," which was on MTV for two seasons. The stars will use videos and interviews from the wave on their Facebook page and possibly for a future show.

Gross said the show creators were helping her fulfill her goal of getting yoga programs into every American high school.

"Yoga has nothing to do with religion. It's a way to move," Gross said. "For students who are stressed, it's a way to breathe and relax."

Boca High has offered a yoga elective for four years. There were 35 students in the first class; this year, there are 150 in three classes.

At the same time, interest in yoga is expanding across the country. A 2012 survey by Yoga Journal reported 8.7 percent of Americans practice yoga, up from 6.9 percent in 2008. Most practitioners are youthful, ranging in age from 18 to 44, the survey showed, while 82 percent are women.

Junior Eryka Botelho said many Boca High students thought yoga was just for girls until the yoga class made a YouTube video that showed the class included football players who talked about its benefits. Several students said the wave also changed their perceptions.

More here:
Video: See the Boca 'yoga wave'

Now, Im all for trying new forms of yoga, whether thats anti-gravity yoga in a suspended hammock, Bikram, tantrum, hell, even laughter yoga. But face yoga? Isnt that taking things a step too far?

Yet Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham are said to be fans. And if it keeps them looking fresh-faced and peachy, then Im willing to try it.

After all, it makes sense. Both classical and contemporary forms of yoga stretch and relax the limbs, torso and back, while the face tends to get forgotten about. There are 43 muscles in the face, only some of which are used on a daily basis. But just as under-used triceps leave us with bingo wings, weak facial muscles can cause frown lines and store built-up tension.

How to anti-age your hands

So thats why British yoga expert Danielle Collins created the skin firming technique in 2005, by devising 18 facial moves designed to strengthen the facial muscles and smooth fine lines.

Think of it as a form of natural Botox. But instead of having toxins injected into your face, youre giving yourself an anti-aging facelift through self-massage and manipulation.

One of Danielles protgs, Julia Anastasiou, a holistic therapist and consultant facialist who specialises in yoga and meditation, teaches me the moves.

The owl exercises the forehead and smoothes horizontal lines by challenging the muscles above your brows, explains Julia.

Eat yourself young with these 5 anti-ageing superfoods

Copying Julia, I curl my forefingers and thumbs in to two C shapes, resting my forefingers above my eyebrows and thumbs on my cheekbone, as if adjusting a snorkelling mask. Then I press gently and raise my eyebrows while smoothing my fingers down over my forehead for two seconds, which I repeat three times.

See more here:
Anti-ageing face yoga