Chartered accountants, doctors, engineers... step aside. There’s another profession that’s attracting people of all ages: yoga. In the rush to become ‘yogis’, universities offering graduate and postgraduate courses on yogic science have recorded a massive increase in the number of enrolments over the past two years.
Almost all people The Hindu spoke to said that the job market is thriving given the demand for trained yoga teachers. “People are moving to yoga as there is a lot of obsession with physical fitness,” said retired army professional N. Narayan, 60, who did a PG certificate course in yoga from Bangalore University. He is currently enrolled in an M.Sc. programme in the subject with a university in Tamil Nadu.
Those enrolling for the course are not just young students who want to build a career in yoga, but also those working and retired professionals who wish to start their own classes. Doctors, nurses, caregivers, homemakers, lawyers, government officials and teachers are all enrolling for degrees or certificates in yoga. Several universities have increased their intake to keep up with the rush.
At RCU
For instance, the number of students opting for a yoga diploma at Rani Channamma University (RCU), Belagavi, has nearly doubled from last year — 33 in 2016 to 60 in 2017. These courses involve both theory and practical classes. Despite the popularity of the course, the universities do not have permanent faculty and rely on guest teachers.
Bangalore University has 10 guest faculty members who teach yoga. While some are roped in from other departments, others are yoga practitioners who are invited for these programmes. RCU invites yoga trainers, doctors and philosophy teachers to train students.
Gulbarga University’s postgraduate diploma in yoga is one of the most sought after courses. Ever since the course was started in the 2011-12 academic year, the Department of Physical Education has been receiving on an average 200 applications for 30 seats. Considering the demand, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, exercising his discretionary powers, is allowing the department to take 10 additional students every year.
“The demand for yoga trainers has constantly been on the rise across the globe, raising the demand for yoga courses in universities. The employability, apart from aspirants being health conscious, has made yoga one of the most trusted courses,” said M.S. Pasodi, Director of Physical Education Department, Gulbarga University.
Job opportunities
After it was decided to celebrate International Yoga Day and introduce yoga in schools and colleges, job opportunities have increased tremendously. Last year, Karnatak University’s Department of Yoga Studies received 150 applications for the PG diploma against 50 seats. The department had to seek special permission to enhance the intake by 10 seats. For the certificate course, 120 applications were received against the intake of 100 and 94 were given admission.
(With inputs from Rishikesh Bahadur Desai in Belagavi, N. Dinesh Nayak in Dharwad, Firoz Rozindar in Vijayapura, Raviprasad Kamila in Mangaluru, Kumar Buradikatti in Raichur, and Tanu Kulkarni in Bengaluru)