Today's Wall Street Journal published Yoga Bears: It's No Stretch to Say Traders Are Taking Deep Breaths on the front page. The article explains how financiers, traders and hedge fund managers are seeking refuge in yoga:

Yoga, of course, has been growing in popularity for years in the West. The magazine Yoga Journal estimates that about 15.8 million people in the U.S., or 7% of adults, now practice it. Today, studios and private teachers in New York and London report increasing demand from financiers. Allianz SE's Pacific Investment Management Co., D.E. Shaw & Co. and Karsch Capital are among the companies playing host to yoga classes.

Of course, the article is sprinkled with dollars figures about assets and total yearly sales, as appropriate for a business publication, but it does provide a glimpse of how one slice of the market is reconsidering yoga. Apparently, some clients find it hard to chant aum, but every yogi modifies the practice to his/her own needs and skills. In effect, these heavy payers are subsidizing yoga as a viable option in the US market.

Leslie Kaminoff at e-Sutra spotted the article first, so a tip of the hat to him.