TURNING TO THE EAST: The guru and students are all American at a yoga workshop in Chicago; and (below) yoga teacher Bharat Thakur with his students in London

A block's walk from the subway at Astor Place, downtown Manhattan, a red neon sign screams "Om" in Devanagari script. Sandwiched between two giant hoardings of Krunch, a typical American gym, the door at the top of the building opens to an exotic world of the modern-day ascetic. There are figurines of Indian deities along with CDs of Indian classical music while the scent of incense hangs in the air and close-circuit televisions continuously chant ancient Sanskrit hymns. Beyond is a large meditation hall and numerous rooms strewn with exercise mats. Welcome to Jivamukthi (or Jeevamookti, as its residents would say), where fit Caucasian bodies clad in divergent exercise gear seek their daily fix of yoga. This is the largest yoga centre in Manhattan catering to an average of 350 students a day.

On the west coast, in Bell View, Seattle, Aadil Palkiwala, a Parsi, teaches hatha yoga in the traditional way to his students-many of whom are techies from software giant Microsoft. Ida Unger, a Jew, manages her Yoga Garden Studios in Santa Monica, California. Up northwest, 63-year-old Lynn Kingston runs Vistara Yoga, a studio in pristine settings in Massachusetts. And across the Atlantic, Darryl O'Keffee in London teaches yoga at the Harrow Fitness First Centre. Indian gurus frequently fly across to hold yoga workshops, while yoga conferences and conventions are a regular feature the world over drawing a large number of delegates from far off places-just as business conventions do.

Yoga-a philosophical meditation of Hindu origin aiming at a confluence of body and spirit through a series of physical poses called asanas-has found itself a big market abroad. An estimated 12 million Americans practise yoga-now, more often than not, divorced from religion. There are about 450 yoga centres in the US alone, 50 or more in Canada and 145 across Europe, south-east Asia and Australia, according to an online listing by Yoga Directory. And this does not include the numerous fitness centres that offer yoga in one form or another. With a host of celebrities taking to yoga, its popularity has skyrocketed. Yoga's A-list includes actors Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore and singers Sting, Madonna and Geri Halliwell, among others.

ASANAS AHOY: Yoga symbols (top) are a rage; centres like Jivamukthi (centre) cater to hundreds of clients while many others (below) are propelled by the concept of "power yoga"

Jivamukthi is run by David Life and Sharon Gannon, who came together in 1982 and studied Ashtanga yoga with guru Patabhi Jois before opening their centre. The couple have gained quite a following. What started as a small centre is now a huge studio choc-a-bloc with students and teachers. Palkiwala, who has been teaching yoga in the US for the past 22 years, has seen it evolve from an exotic art practised by those who swear by organic food to its present popular form. "When I started teaching in 1980, people didn't know what they were doing-we had to train them. Today they are all big-name teachers. In those days, it was an exclusive community. Today, yoga is done by everybody." The 43-year-old instructor, a former Mumbai resident, has teamed up with wife Mirra who teaches the art of meditation at their Bell View, Seattle, studio. Believers in the purist form of the practice, they have scant regard for power yoga-a line that stresses on the physical aspect and aims at attaining an attractive "yoga butt" as endorsed by models and actors.

The importance of power yoga, however, in propagating the practice cannot be dismissed. With celebrity endorsements the media had picked it up and in the past two to three years the popularity of yoga in the West has risen manifold. In the UK, music icons Madonna and Halliwell have contributed greatly to the interest. Former Spice Girl Halliwell's transformation in the past year from a plump redhead to a slim blonde is credited to yoga and Katy Appleton, her private yoga instructor. "Yoga has helped Geri to become more calm and composed and, of course, it has given her an enviable figure," says Appleton of her pupil. A professional ballet dancer with the English National Ballet, Appleton later took to practising and teaching yoga full-time. "When I was a professional dancer I used yoga to stretch, relax and meditate."

But who better than Indian gurus to give enthusiasts a dose of the "real thing". When the avant garde guru Bharat Thakur held a workshop in London recently, he made sure he gave an introduction to what yoga was, stressing its holistic approach rather than focus on physical exercise. Thakur, who regularly tours Europe, explains, "I promised my guru that I would teach yoga to people. We want the world to recognise what yoga is. We are not trying to convert people or preach religious beliefs."

The growing popularity of yoga has helped in overcoming the initial resistance to its spiritual side. Says Palkiwala: "I am a Parsi, but I don't feel there is a conflict at all. Yoga is a way of self-discovery and awareness. What we do with it is entirely for ourselves. It is not a religion. Instead it is about cleaning ourselves. We recite only the Gayatri mantra which talks about light and not about God. It is the most neutral of all mantras." Others such as Darryl O'Keffee started out by seeking the spiritual. But with the fitness boom in the UK demanding physical as well as mental health, O'Keffee now takes classes at the Harrow Fitness First Centre. "In the new order, people are moving away from traditional spirituality to new age spiritualism. It is only when people realise they have found something they love that they continue with yoga classes," he says. "Yoga has taken over as the modern stress buster."

NEW-AGE GURUS: Sharon Gannon and David Life

All said and done, it is still hard to shed the Indian wraps that surround yoga. Software engineer Mark Cray who attends O'Keffee's class, listens to Gurbani in the background. "It helps make strenuous asanas much easier," he says. Yoga T-shirts and even mats come with Indian motifs, and yoga centres are often dotted with idols of Indian deities and some Indian faces. In fact, the rising interest in yoga has created niche markets for yoga accessories as well as books on it. Publications are much in demand in London. Says Andrew Shields, editor, Body & Mind section of Time Out magazine: "Yoga is mainly seen as a method to relax, reduce stress, and provide a sense of control, which is exactly what a lot of people need today. It is useful for people in their everyday life." The London-based magazine with a young and active urban readership has seen the yoga section constantly growing. Shields believes the interest in yoga is not a mere fad. "At the moment the interest curve on yoga is on its way up. It is fashionable to join something like this (yoga classes) but this is something that is here to stay as well," he adds.

Simon Armstrong, who works at the body, mind and spirit section at Waterstone's bookshop in Piccadilly Circus-the largest bookshop in Europe-observes, "Readers' interest in books on yoga has increased dramatically over the past few years and the interest is still growing."

Enthused by its popularity, business-savvy tour operators have begun to weave yoga into tourism packages. Western Caribbean Transport has come up with a week-long cruise for a community of yoga enthusiasts. For $1,099 (Rs 54,000) per person, the tour company promises to line up yoga teachers so that the community members get personalised coaching. All this is packaged with the regular entertainment-dancing and Italian-inspired spa cuisine against a backdrop of Italian art and design. In Europe, yoga holiday packages or yoga summer retreats are the rage, even in Crete, Spain, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Russia.

In the US, yoga is big business too. Institutes across the country are raking in the moolah and there has been an explosion in the number of teachers that often many have to go without work. Most yoga institutes are reluctant to part with numbers, but insiders estimate that a small-to-medium size institute in New York city-where rentals are astronomical-hold about 25 classes a week and a few yoga teachers earn upwards of $50,000 a year. Most teachers work part-time and they are paid $40 for each class. The students pay $20 or more for a class-the fee comes down if it is part of a package.

In Britain, most local education authorities run yoga classes. Besides the traditional areas of religion and spirituality, yoga is making a difference in several fields like fitness, health, medicine, psychology, leisure and tourism. "People understand it and can see the difference it makes in their lives," says Peter Stomford, a stock-trader in London.

The British Iyengar Yoga Teachers Association today has about 1,500 members. Each teacher takes an average of three classes a week with 15 to 20 students per class. There is a thriving community of Iyengar followers, anywhere between 65,000 and 90,000. The British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) governs the yoga movement in Britain. Founded in 1965 by a British Indian Army officer Wilfred Clarke, the BWY has a popular training programme for aspiring yoga teachers with about 2,000 qualified teachers.

As the stream of ideas flowing from the East gains greater acceptance, it is no longer uncommon for the doctor in the West to recommend yoga to his patient and for the insurance company to be willing to pay for it. Psychotherapists too advise yoga to help reduce stress. Though yoga is still wrapped in an oriental air of spiritual mysticism, most medical authorities agree that the physiological impact of yoga is more than obvious.

Dr Robin Monro, a bio-physicist formerly working with Kings College, London, has been studying the progress of yoga in Britain since the 1970s. "The scepticism is gone," he says. "The physiological impact of yoga has been scientifically proven and widely recognised. With new techniques such as brain scanning, one can clearly study the effect yoga has on the body." In 1983, Monro founded the Yoga Therapeutic Centre in London which is now part of the Royal Homoeopathic Hospital at Great Ormond Street. With a staff of 20 including 12 yoga therapists, the centre is a busy place. "General practitioners constantly refer patients to us as yoga therapy is now available under the National Health Scheme."

There are several dedicated yoga centres that help patients with asthma or even cancer cope with their illness. Jo Garside, head of Mulberry Centre for Cancer Patients in the West Middlesex hospital, UK, says: "Yoga helps patients deal with the dreadful stress caused by cancer. We know yoga cannot cure cancer but it certainly helps improve the quality of their lives."

Ultimately that chase for beautiful bods, mental peace, relaxation ... all boils down to a search for an improved quality of life and one that is stress-free. And, yoga, with its heady combination of the spiritual and the physical, has become 21st century's most popular stress buster.