International Yoga Day: Know how Uttarakhand building wealth on this ancient practice

More than 300 yoga schools and training centres thrive in Rishikesh, where the young and old learn and impart yoga not only in India but also abroad.

Rishikesh:Rishikesh is a small but picturesque city in Uttarakhand. It has marked a separate identity in the world as a pilgrimage site and as an international capital of yoga. Yoga seekers from all over the world come here to learn yoga. In the last few years, yoga has evolved as a form of business across the world.

More than 300 yoga schools and training centres thrive in Rishikesh, where the young and old learn and impart yoga not only in India but also abroad.

Yoga Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is the founder of Yoga Center in Rishikesh. Maharishi Yogi teaches yoga to a large number of foreigners in his 84 cottages near Ram Jhula. He brought laurels to India and took the ancient yoga philosophy to a global level.

There are several institutes in Rishikesh that impart yoga techniques and provide certificates. Today Yoga has emerged as a means of employment among the youth.

International Yoga Festival is celebrated every year from 1-7 March. Thousands of foreign tourists participate in this festival that lasts for seven days. Apart from this, on June 21 is observed as the International Yoga Day.

Yoga professional camps in Rishikesh charge somewhere between Rs 100-200 per hour for general training. Besides, many professional courses are also conducted for 15 to 45 days and charged somewhere between Rs 40,000 to Rs 1,50,000.

Every year a large number of yoga seekers including foreign tourists reach Rishikesh. Because of their presence, locals here get good business. Even in normal days, a good crowd of foreign tourists can be seen, but on important occasions like Yoga Day, hotels and transportation tools in the city are booked much in advance.