Following all the brouhaha over the claimed $10,779 (£6,775) we spend on our first year of yoga (http://bloom.bg/taND8m) I thought I would take a look at some big sample UK and US surveys and find out a bit more about us yogis: Who are we? What motivates us? Could we afford to spend that kind of money?

Habit 1 – yogis get themselves an education

Turns out ‘we’ (we can all take collective credit for this because we yogis are One) are a pretty brainy bunch – the person on the next mat is twice as likely as the mat-less to have a Bachelors or a Masters, a PhD or an equivalent professional qualification.

Habit 2 – yogis plug in at the mains

We’re very interested in education and the arts and what’s going on in the world – we like to be surrounded by different ideas and lifestyles and we’re fascinated by other cultures.

Habit 3 – yogis save the planet

We are planet friendly; we’re much more likely to trust alternative medicine, we look out for green products and we avoid products tested on animals.

So far so Wholefoods.

So, we yogis are One? Eager to jump head first into the big pool of cosmic bliss that is the universe?

Well yes. And no.

Habit 4 – yogis earn big

Around half of all yoga practitioners are in the top thirty percent income bracket, and twenty percent are in the top ten percent.

Habit 5 – yogis have ambition

We want to get to the top in our career and our media choices reflect this – we are twice as likely as the rest of the population to buy The Economist, Forbes and Fortune and we soak up the articles on property, finance and investment.

Habit 6 – yogis stand out from the crowd

We may be eager to jump in to the big pool of cosmic bliss that is the universe (what better opportunity to show off our yoga body?) but we’ll be working the latest designer swimming costume, and sunglasses when we do it – because, hell, a designer label improves a person’s image and the point is to be noticed – to stand out from the crowd.

Habit 7 – yogis embrace the superficial

When we take a break from swimming in the big pool of cosmic bliss, when we take up position on our sun-lounger, we will be wielding the cell phone that we believe is an expression of who we are, and we will have traded that copy of The Economist for Vogue or Glamour – hoovering up the celebrity gossip, this season’s fashion, the latest trends in beauty and hair from behind those designer shades.

Some of us, whisper this, are considering cosmetic surgery.

So what’s going on here?

Are we superficial or deep?

Judgmental or accepting?

Idealists or realists?

Switched on or stupid?

Giving back or giving in?

All of the above?

Brainy answers on a designer postcard please…

Sources:

All of the above statements are supported by high indices (130+) on the Target Group Index © Kantar Media UK 2011

I compared the UK findings with the Simmons National Consumer Study conducted by ® Experian Simmons and used proxies where questions were not the same.

The results were in line with those of the UK.