USA Yoga’s mission is to promote yoga asana as a sport. Our members are athletes, coaches, and judges. We develop rules and scoring, provide training, and organize events, so that athletes have the opportunity to demonstrate competitive excellence.
Our vision includes advocating the practice of yoga as a means to better human health, healing, and mental and physical well-being, for all ages, through education, outreach programs, and sponsorships of yoga events.
USA Yoga is a non-profit organization formed for the purpose of developing and promoting Yoga Asana (yoga postures) as a sport. Yoga Asana competitions originated in India hundreds of years ago and are still being conducted there today.
USA Yoga is now bringing this spirit of healthy competition to the United States, where, according to the most recent study by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance, more than 36 million people practice yoga in the US today. USA Yoga believes that the sport of Yoga Asana will inspire many of these practitioners to improve their practices and encourage many newcomers to take up the practice of yoga and the sport of Yoga Asana. USA Yoga is developing educational programs, rules and regulations so that the necessary competitive skills can be understood and mastered by competitors, coaches, judges, administrators and yoga studio operators. Successful competitors will need to achieve mastery of physical strength, stamina, balance, flexibility, breath and concentration.
Today, USA Yoga sponsors annual regional Yoga Asana competitions as well as a national competition held in late winter of each year. These competitions are open to competitors from any yoga school or style and all are encouraged to participate. To borrow an ancient phrase, ‘the paths are many, the sport is one.’ USA Yoga believes that the practice of yoga and Yoga Asana is beneficial for the physical and mental health of all practitioners - children, teens, adults and seniors. Increased awareness of the sport of Yoga Asana will encourage existing practitioners to sharpen their skills through training, dedication, and devotion to the sport, and will inspire new practitioners to begin a practice which leads to a healthier and happier life.
USA Yoga is the exclusive body recognized in the US as the US member federation of the International Yoga Sports Federation.
Past Events at MATCH
- January 2019: The USA Yoga 2019 Southwest Regional Championship