5 years ago, Yoga was only popular in major cities like Hanoi, HCM City and Hai Phong. Nowadays, the practice has spread to every city and province in Vietnam. Head of the Vietnam Yoga Federation Vu Trong Loi says Yoga has a long history but was only imported into Vietnam several years ago as it grows more popular around the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, practicing yoga is one of the best ways to improve physical and mental health because you can practice it at home and don’t need too many aids. There are now more than 4,300 yoga clubs in Vietnam with more than 550,000 regular members and million of yogis.

The Vietnam Yoga Federation has established a system of yoga prizes including National Pioneers’ Yoga Competition, the National Yoga Club Championship, and the National Yoga Championship. In 2017, the Federation organized a national yoga competition in Hanoi making Yoga a sport for national and international competition.  Vietnamese yogis participated in the Asian Yoga Championships in Singapore in 2017,  in India in 2018, and South Korea in 2019 winning second prizes.

Yoga competitions have spread the values of Vietnamese culture to the world. The Vietnam Yoga Federation continues to promote yoga practice in the community and foster yoga talent to compete internationally. The Federation plans to work with other agencies and organizations to encourage the public to pursue a positive lifestyle by practicing yoga. Because the pandemic continues, the Federation has asked its members to create tutorials to help yogis practicing at home to stay healthy.