Gaga about yoga

Yoga classes become the new runways as yogic fashions make their way into Indian stores.

There was a time when you could call any yoga institute asking them what they advise you to wear to class, and you'd be recommended a salwar kameez. They might have even added, "It's the most decent choice."

These days, institutes prefer the moniker "studio" and the "decent" salwar kameez is falling out of favour. If you're taking up yoga, be prepared for an onslaught of fashionable paraphernalia vying for a share of your wallet. Funny, considering that the tenets of yoga imply a certain degree of temperance.

But when you see the girl in your class strike the perfect sirshasana (head stand) on her personalised hot pink yoga mat, wearing the perfect yoga trainers (while you stand barefoot), vanity, whilst seemingly un-yogic, may get the better of you.

Yoga is becoming every lifestyle marketer's favourite dangling carrot. With pop-culture ambassadors like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, and its integration with high fashion "" Christy Turlington designs yoga apparel for Puma and Stella Mccartney for Adidas "" yoga classes have become the new runway.

"It's nice to feel attractive while you work hard at keeping in shape," says Aarti Mehta, a student of power yoga (a deviation from traditional yoga that incorporates strength training). Neetu Watumull, proprietor, The Yoga Studio in south Mumbai says with a laugh that eight out of 10 times it is a power yoga student who is a fashionista.

"The nature of the class tends to attract younger, more exuberant audiences," she says. "It's easier to correct your alignment when you're wearing fitted gear," says Mehta, adding, "besides, it lets you show off the results."

Nike probably has the widest range among sportswear brands, with yoga apparel, of course, and the Calmia range of yoga footwear: feather-weight with flexible soles and cloth toes. Practitioners still recommend going barefoot.

At Rs 3,000 a pair, few would disagree. Osho World Galleria in New Delhi sells the characteristic maroon Osho robes that they recommend for all forms of meditation, available between Rs 750-2,000. But while these may be great for seated asanas and breathing exercises, head stands in them? I wouldn't advise it.

Yoga fashion is extending its sway to the middle classes as well. Urban Yoga, from Indus League clothing (in which Pantaloon Retail has a stake) is a brand dedicated to yoga, with a range of pants (Rs 799) and T-shirts (Rs 399) for men and women that come with whimsical messages like "Dying to get to shavasana" and "For Nirvana enquire within".

Amusingly, the fashion label set the precedent for opening a chain of yoga studios (and not the other way round); the first two are in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Owning a distinctive looking mat is still the easiest way to stand out in class. If distinction is not a factor, perhaps hygiene is? Mats provided in classes are shared, so it's always recommended that you carry your own.

Adidas does an uncomplicated black one for Rs 850, as does Reebok in grey. Nike does a snazzier version in fun colours, but at Rs 1,900, that's a premium you pay for whimsy.

Dhoop, a store in Mumbai's Bandra, stocks yoga mats made out of river grass and bamboo fibre and Yamini, a textile design store with branches in cities across India, has summery cotton mats with carry straps for convenience.

A client, shares a store manager, just bought six for her summer home, explaining that most house-guests these days are practitioners of meditation or yoga and that it is nice to be able to provide them with mats.

"Iyengar yoga is the only practise that needs more than a mat, using props like towels, ropes, belts and bolsters," explains Watumull. Nike sells the ropes, and Reebok the belts.

Osho World Galleria has special wooden chairs for seated asanas that are available in different colours including red, white, bright yellow for Rs 3,500. And if you're a DIY kind of person, Reebok sells a yoga set at Rs 2,490 that includes a mat, a foam head pillow for posture alignment, a belt and a self-help booklet to get you started.

Occasionally you'll come across yoginis who go the extra mile, and source globally, or order online. After all, there are only so many brands available locally! There's no limit to the free-wheeling associations online marketers will create to push their product. A website advertises yogic jewellery based on certain yogic patterns and symbols.

"Besides adorning your outside self, you may experience a strange peace within," is their pitch. Or the website that sells chakra-based coloured clothing with matching, ahem, underwear, green to inspire compassion, orange for kindness, aqua for motivation...you get the idea.

My parting advice would be to drag out the good old chikankari salwar kameez from the back of the closet... if everybody else has forgotten about it, that'll be the one that stands out!