More U.S. children doing yoga

The popularity of yoga is booming in the United States — among children. More than 8 percent of youngsters ages 4 to 17 — or 4.9 million — practiced yoga last year, up from about 3 percent in 2012, according to federal survey data published recently. That’s a lot of child’s poses. The report from the National Center for Health Statistics doesn’t distinguish between kids who tried yoga just once in the previous 12 months and those who turned into yogis. Nor does it explain why they’re practicing the ancient discipline of exercise, breathing and meditation. But the upward trend fits with a complementary Center for Health Statistics report that found the percentage of adults who did yoga during the previous year jumped from 10 percent in 2012 to 14 percent in 2017. “We didn’t ask why or how or where,” said co-author Lindsey I. Black, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But we do have anecdotal evidence that children are exposed to yoga in schools, gyms, studios and through apps and the internet.” Virginia Caton, owner of Downward Dog Dance, Yoga & Wellness studio in Richmond, Va., can attest to that, having seen steady growth in the number of schools and preschools that hire her to offer classes. The federal health survey is conducted face-to-face in the homes of a representative sample of citizens. Parents or other guardians supply the information on children.