Yoga enthusiast Chen Yongmin, an office worker in Shanghai, practices yoga at a walk-in studio in Bali, Indonesia, in December. CHINA DAILY

Internet support

The popularity of yoga and the development of the internet have resulted in a proliferation of yoga smartphone apps, including Daily Yoga, Yoga Easy and Wake Yoga. Daily Yoga is the one with the most downloads and over 330,000 comments on the iOS App Store. It has more than 50 million users. Other fitness apps, such as Keep, have also developed different yoga classes.

According to the iResearch report, 64.2 percent of practitioners use apps and 50.8 percent exercise by watching online videos.

Due to the virus outbreak, all gyms and yoga studios have been temporarily closed, so, many yoga instructors began livestreaming online classes. Lululemon, a yoga apparel brand, posted on its Sina Weibo account in early February that it has collaborated with 12 yoga instructors nationwide. These instructors gave over 40 live classes on Douyin, and users can join in for free by scanning the QR code.

Zhang Yu, a 29-year-old yoga studio operator in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, had planned to visit India in early February to improve her yoga, but her plan was canceled due to the outbreak. She then initiated online classes through livestreaming platforms and WeChat groups.