Today over 10 million Americans visit fitness centers seeking the mind-body benefits of yoga, including increased flexibility, strength, balance and muscle tone. Yoga was first developed over 5,000 years ago in northern India as a collection of practices to integrate mind, body, and spirit. There are different paths of yoga, but the most popular in the West is Hatha yoga that seeks the union of mind, body, and spirit through a practice of yoga postures, breathing, and body gestures.