Quiet and unexpected rise of yoga in China

I was returning to Beijing from the southern city of Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region a few weeks ago after a story trip when I found a woman in all-white clothing and high heels sitting next to me on the plane. In my experience, the odds of having to jostle for elbow room on a slim, shared armrest are considerably lower with a female co-passenger than a male.

That the flight was taking off just 20 minutes or so behind its scheduled departure time had already put me on peppy mode. So, Miss Wei (as she introduced herself) and I launched into a conversation. She said she was visiting Beijing to participate in a yoga camp along with a few other women, who were seated in rows behind us, and like her, were fashionably dressed.

Many Chinese assume I practice yoga since I am from India. This is akin to the notion some Indians hold that most Chinese are into tai chi.