“About 5,450 yoga studios have come up in New York City and several of them have a Mysuru connection as their founders learnt yoga here,” said yoga guru Shashi Kumar, founder of Mystic School.
An average of 1,500 foreign nationals visit Mysuru per year to discover yoga, and the number has seen an upward swing since 2000. “In India, yoga has given employment to at least 2.5 lakh people,” he told The Hindu . Mysuru, Dharamshala, Rishikesh and Goa are the key centres with potential for promoting yoga tourism and boosting economy.
Of the 30-plus major yoga studios here, at least 12 have earned name internationally and attract aficionados in big numbers from abroad between October and March. Enthusiasts from major Indian cities and software professionals also visit Mysuru.
Mr. Kumar suggested that the Government of India must give tourist visa for six months to one year under a special provision, if the applicant is keen to learn yoga, so that he/she can travel and learn the discipline. “If a six-month visa can be given for someone coming for a heart surgery, why not the similar gesture for a yoga enthusiast?” asked Mr. Kumar.
Yoga enthusiasts visit India either on tourist visa or study visa and take up short-term and long-term courses on yoga such as Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and Pranayama. Foreigners clutching yoga mats is a common sight in the upmarket Gokulam, the hub of many well-known institutions such as Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute and Mystic Yoga School.
Session at palace
The Department of AYUSH, which is holding a mega yoga session in front of Mysuru palace on Sunday to mark International Yoga Day, has asked yoga institutions to send their students for the 33-minute yoga demonstration. The event is likely to see a mix of locals and foreign students participating.
