Prevalence, frequency, and predictors of yoga use
874 participants responded to the question regarding the lifetime prevalence of yoga use. 19.6% of respondents reported using yoga in their lifetimes. This represents about 7.5 million Polish adults. Women made up the majority (53.0%) of this group. In the current sample, 26.3% of women reported ever practicing yoga compared to 11.9% of men. Participants who practiced yoga were more likely to be female (p < .001, Φ = .18), aged 18–24 and 25–34 (p < .001, Φ = .15), living in large towns and cities (p < .001, Φ = .15), employed (compared to those who are retired; p < .001, Φ = .15), and having a higher education (p < .001, Φ = .20). Other comparative sociodemographic characteristics of participants who have and haven’t used yoga are presented in Table 2.
Table 2
Practice of yoga in a lifetime by selected user characteristics.
Characteristics | % | χ2 | Φ | p |
Yes | No |
Population | | 19.6 | 80.4 | | | |
Gender | Female | 26.3a | 73.7a | 28.8 | .18 | < .001 |
Male | 11.9b | 88.1b |
Age | 18–24 | 27.5a | 72.5a | 19.5 | .15 | < .001 |
25–34 | 27.3a | 72.7a |
35–44 | 22.7a,b | 77.3a,b |
45–54 | 17.3a,b | 82.7a,b |
55 and older | 13.1b | 86.9b |
Residence | Rural | 14.3a | 85.7a | 18.9 | .15 | < .001 |
Small town | 17.9a,b | 82.1a,b |
Medium town | 17.7a,b | 82.3a,b |
Large town | 26.6b | 73.4b |
Large city | 30.0b | 70.0b |
Education | Primary | 11.4a | 88.6a | 33.5 | .20 | < .001 |
Secondary | 13.4a | 86.6a |
Higher | 28.6b | 71.4b |
Professional status | Employed | 23.4a | 76.6a | 19.0 | .15 | < .001 |
Unemployed | 10.8a,b | 89.2a,b |
Retired | 11.7b | 88.3b |
Student | 31.8a,b | 68.2a,b |
Other | 13.0a,b | 87.0a,b |
Marital status | Single | 18.8a | 81.2a | 7.71 | .09 | .05 |
Married | 18.1a | 81.9a |
Cohabitating | 27.7a | 72.3a |
Other | 12.1a | 87.9a |
Living with children | Yes | 22.2a | 77.8a | 1.84 | .05 | .18 |
No | 18.3a | 81.7a |
Children | Yes | 18.2a | 81.8a | 1.92 | − .05 | .17 |
No | 22.1a | 77.9a |
Note: Each subscript letter denotes a subset of categories whose column proportions do not differ significantly from each other at the .05 level. Boldface indicates statistical significance (p < 0.05). |
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Next, logistic regression was performed to analyze the effects of gender, age, residence, employment status, education, relationship status, having children, and living with children under 18 on choosing to practice yoga at least once in their lifetime. The regression model was statistically significant χ2 (20) = 104.57, p < .001, and it explained 18.0% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in lifetime practice. The model correctly classified 82.5% of cases with a specificity of 18.7% and a sensitivity of 98.0%.
The predictors of yoga practice in a lifetime were gender (female; β = 1.11; p < 0.001; exp(β) = 3.03 [2.04–4.51]), age (aged 55 and older; β = 1.10; p < 0.05; exp(β) = 3.01 [1.21–7.52]), residence (large towns; β = -0.66; p < 0.05; exp(β) = 0.52 [0.31–0.87] and large cities; β = -0.71; p < 0.05; exp(β) = 0.49 [0.28–0.87]), education (higher education; β = -0.69; p < 0.05; exp(β) = 0.50 [0.26–0.96]), and employment (retired and stay-at-home categorized as “other”; β = 0.94; p < 0.05; exp(β) = 2.57 [1.08–6.13]). These results are further depicted in Table 3.
Of those who indicated that they had practiced yoga at least once, 102 participants reported doing so in the last 12 months. This translates to about 60.0% of yoga practitioners in the current sample, or approximately 4.5 million Polish adults in the general population. There were no significant predictors of 12-month yoga use.
Table 3
Predictors of lifetime prevalence of yoga use. (82.5% accuracy)
| β (95% confidence interval) |
Gender | |
Female | 1.00 (Reference) |
Male*** | 1.11 (2.04, 4.51) |
Age | |
18–24* | 1.00 (Reference) |
25–34 | − .02 (.48, 2.00) |
35–44 | .32 (.63, 3.00) |
45–54 | .75 (.95, 4.77) |
55 or older* | 1.10 (1.21, 7.52) |
Residence | |
Rural | 1.00 (Reference) |
Small town (max. 20,000 residents) | − .25 (.42, 1.45) |
Mid-sized town (20,000–99,000 residents) | − .15 (.51, 1.45) |
Large town (100,000-500,000 residents)* | − .66 (.31, .87) |
Large city (500,000 + residents)* | − .71 (.28, .87) |
Education | |
Primary*** | 1.00 (Reference) |
Secondary | .12 (.58, 2.18) |
Higher* | − .69 (.26, .96) |
Professional status | |
Employed | 1.00 (Reference) |
Unemployed | .93 (.83, 7.73) |
Retired | .30 (.71, 2.54) |
Student | − .23 (.26, 2.46) |
Other* | .94 (1.08, 6.13) |
Marital status | |
Single | 1.00 (Reference) |
Married | − .20 (.49, 1.39) |
Cohabitating | − .35 (.41, 1.23) |
Other | .19 (.37, 3.94) |
Living with children | |
Yes | 1.00 (Reference) |
No | − .34 (.41, 1.24) |
Children | |
Yes | 1.00 (Reference) |
No | .17 (.64, 2.20) |
Note: (* denotes significance at .05 level; ** denotes significance at .01 level; *** denotes significance at .001 level); affirmative responses regarding yoga practice coded as 0 |
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1,065 participants indicated the frequency at which they currently practice yoga. The vast majority (77.9%) indicated that they do not practice yoga at all, while the second most frequent answer among participants was “less than once a month” (6.4%). Subsequent responses in order of frequency were “once per week” (3.7%), “2–3 times per week” (3.6%), “2–3 times per month” (3.4%), “once a day” (1.8%), “once a month” (1.4%), “5–6 times per week” (1.0%), and “a few times per day” (0.8%). Additionally, 14.5% of respondents indicated participating in organized yoga practices at some point.
Current yoga practitioners average 4.5 years of yoga practice (M = 4.53, SD = 5.39), while former practitioners averaged around 2.4 years (M = 2.35, SD = 2.89). The most reported reason for quitting yoga among former practitioners was a lack of time or other organizational difficulties (58.5%), followed by a loss of interest in the practice (29.2%).
Goals and benefits of yoga practice
Among those who had practiced yoga, most respondents indicated doing so to improve their overall well-being (71.3%), to relax (53.2%), and to improve their energy levels (33.9%). The least reported reasons for practicing yoga were to prevent or treat illnesses (19.3%) and to enhance immune system functioning (17.0%). 4.7% of respondents indicated practicing yoga for other reasons.
Participants (N = 111) who either currently practice or used to practice yoga also described their perceived benefits of doing yoga (Table 4). Most respondents reported improvements in energy levels (55.0%), increased happiness (55.0%), and better health (51.4%). When comparing current and former yoga practitioners, current practitioners tend to agree more that their health improved due to yoga than former practitioners (p < .001, d = 0.93).
Table 4
Perceived benefits of yoga practice.
| n (%) |
| Helpful | Neither helpful nor unhelpful | Unhelpful |
My sleep is/was better thanks to yoga. | 43 (38.7%) | 46 (41.4%) | 22 (19.8%) |
My energy level is/was better. | 61 (55.0%) | 35 (31.5%) | 15 (13.5%) |
My health improved. | 57 (51.4%) | 41 (36.9%) | 13 (11.7%) |
My diet is/was better. | 30 (27.0%) | 47 (42.3%) | 34 (30.6%) |
Yoga helped me reach or maintain a healthy weight. | 41 (36.9%) | 44 (39.6%) | 26 (23.4%) |
I drink less/stopped drinking alcohol. | 33 (29.7%) | 35 (31.5%) | 43 (38.7%) |
My relationships with others are/were better. | 27 (24.3%) | 41 (36.9%) | 43 (38.7%) |
I feel/felt happier. | 61 (55.0%) | 34 (30.6%) | 16 (14.4%) |
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