"The nation had become obsessed, and yoga became a billion-dollar industry. Once considered a fad, by 2005 yoga had become embedded in America's pop culture. The practice has come a long way from its hippie days in the States and has seen more than one incarnation. Today 15.8 million Americans practice yoga, and as more and more of us have stepped onto the mat, the ancient Eastern discipline of hatha yoga has become increasingly American. American yoga masters have emerged to found their own styles of yoga, drawing from the knowledge they gained while studying with their Indian gurus, to meet our evolving cultural needs and develop all-inclusive approaches.
Timeline: Yoga in America
"1893 — Swami Vivekananda addresses the World Parliament of Religions at the Chicago World's Fair.
1920 — Yogananda arrives in the United States and addresses the International Congress of Religious Liberals held in Boston on October 6. His talk, 'The Science of Religion,' is later expanded and published as a book.
1947 — Indra Devi opens a yoga studio in Hollywood, attracting movie stars, including Gloria Swanson, Robert Ryan, and Jennifer Jones; she becomes known as 'the First Lady of Yoga.'
1955 — Walt and Magana Baptiste open their yoga center in San Francisco.
1958 — Swami Vishnu-devananda arrives in the United States.
1959 — Swami Vishnu-devananda establishes the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Montreal, Canada, as well as the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center.
1961 — Hittleman's Yoga for Health TV program airs on KTTV, in Los Angeles.
1966 — Yogi Amrit Desai founds the Yoga Society of Pennsylvania, later to become the Kripalu Yoga Fellowship.
1966 — Swami Satchidananda founds the Integral Yoga Institute and opens his ashram in Yogaville, Virginia.
1966 — The international bestseller Light on Yoga, by B. K. S. Iyengar, is published.
1969 — Yogi Bhajan arrives in Los Angeles and establishes the Healthy, Happy, Holy, Organization (3HO), along with his method of Kundalini yoga.
1973 — B. K.S. Iyengar arrives in the United States.
1973 — Bikram Choudhury lands in Los Angeles and founds the Bikram Yoga College of India.
1975 — Pattabhi Jois makes his first teaching debut in the United States.
1975 — Yoga Journal publishes its first issue.
1984 — David Life and Sharon Gannon found Jivamukti yoga."
