If we offer, will they come: Perceptions of yoga among Hispanics

Objective: Yoga is underutilized by the Hispanics. This study examined perceptions of benefits and barriers to yoga among Hispanic adults, to provide information that may increase their participation in this practice.

Setting: Participants were recruited from a Community Center serving low-income Hispanics.

Design: Self-administered cross-sectional questionnaires assessing benefits and barriers to yoga were conducted in Spanish and English. Fisher's exact test was used to examine perceptions of yoga by gender, age, and prior experience.

Results: Participants (ages 18-85, 65 % women, n = 121) reported several benefits to yoga. Hispanic women, individuals 65 y or older, and those with prior experience, perceived more benefits. Barriers to yoga also differed by demographics. Men reported that time and the perception that they would have to do unrealistic pretzel-like poses as deterrents to yoga practice; younger individuals perceived yoga to be boring, and those with no experience perceived lack of flexibility and feeling like an outsider in class, as barriers to yoga. The most common barrier, across subgroups, was the cost associated with yoga practice. The majority of participants reported being willing to attend yoga classes if offered at a low cost.

Conclusion: Perceived barriers related to yoga reflect a lack of knowledge about yoga and what it entails and the cost of classes. Despite these barriers, Hispanic adults from a low-income population said they would be willing to attend yoga classes if offered at a low cost. Understanding and addressing these barriers can help researchers and health practitioners improve diversity in yoga classes and research.