Most people know yoga as a kind of exercise. To practise yoga, you put your body into different positions. The correct breathing is also important. However, yoga is really about more than just exercise. Yoga cannot just help people to be healthier but also help connect people to each other and to nature.

The history of yoga goes back at least 5,000 years. It was first developed in Northern India. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, yoga was introduced to the Western world. By the 1960s yoga had become a very popular form of exercise in the United States and Europe.

Yoga is good for the mind and body. Regular practice of yoga helps people to improve their balance and stamina(耐力). Although you won’t really breathe like you might when playing football or running. It does help to keep your heart healthy and you can lose weight. It also improves concentration and helps people to sleep better, so it’s great for anyone who is under pressure at work or in their studies.

There are lots of different types of yoga, so you can choose what is best for you. Hatha Yoga is often good for beginners, because you hold each position for a few breaths. In Vinyasa Yoga you change position much more quickly and you might get out of breath. It’s quite challenging if you haven’t done much yoga before. Bikram Yoga is sometimes called “hot yoga”, because the room must be heated to around 40 degrees. Or what about “Aeroyoga”, where you do yoga while you are hanging from the ceiling? It’s supposed to be very good for your back.

Whatever kind of yoga you choose, there are surely some health benefits, and you should have fun too.

The popularity of online fitness (健身) increased greatly. The number of people using fitness apps has risen rapidly. 【小题1】 Even though people exercise separately at home, they often do it together through the Internet. Online fitness allows people to exercise at any time and anywhere without going to a gym (体育馆) or a fitness center.

According to a report from Douyin, the number of fitness videos in 2021 increased by 134 percent, while followers of fitness trainers went up by 208 percent compared with the year before. 【小题2】 These trainers do a great job in both teaching and leading people to exercise more.

In the past, TV exercise programs were popular, but now online fitness videos have made exercising even more popular because they are easy to learn. 【小题3】 He started an online fitness course to teach people how to exercise at home, and now his fans call him the “personal trainer champion (冠军)”.

A report from Jingdong in 2022 showed that sales of yoga (瑜伽) and dance products have grown rapidly since March. 【小题4】

The Chinese government has also organized online competitions. 【小题5】