Yoga. Cremation. Hindu-inspired jewelry.

While certain Hindu-based practices have seen an increase in interest nationally – and, in some cases, locally – the idea that their roots are entwined in the Indian-based religion is still foreign to some, despite the fact that Hinduism is the third-largest religion in the world.

Just more than half a million people in the United States identified themselves as Hindu in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That percentage of the population is so small that it is not listed in CIA World Factbook, which stops at pointing out that 0.6 percent of Americans are Muslim.

There is one Hindu temple in Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne Bhajan Society, and it meets in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Meetinghouse. At a major event, the Bhajan Society gets about 250 to 300 in attendance, society president Vish Gurudutt says. On an average Sunday, attendance is closer to 25 to 30 people.

He estimates that there are 250 families from India in Fort Wayne, the majority of which are Hindu.

Yoga

Hindus see yogic practice as a way to clear the mind and support a state of “sattvic,” described as a “desired state of balance, purity, wisdom and peacefulness of mind,” according to “Living Religions,” a world religion textbook.

There are different varieties of the practice, perhaps most often viewed by Americans as a form of exercise, and the Pranayoga School of Yoga and Health in Fort Wayne offers a variety of yoga. Most of Pranayoga clients are non-Hindus, owner Dani McGuire says, and the majority of classes offered are hatha yoga classes, the most popular form of yoga in the United States, she says. Hatha yoga is made up of standing poses, using heat to open up the body and release tension through stretching. The “ha” portion of “hatha” means “sun,” and “tha” means “moon.”

The school also teaches a more traditional version of yoga called “kriya.”

“It’s very vigorous,” she says. “It’s a lot of focus on breath work and decarbonizing the body. It’s very cleansing. That’s one of the most ancient forms of yoga.”

Pranayoga gets its name from the Sanskrit – the original language of much of Hinduism’s sacred texts – “prana,” which roughly translates to “breath,” McGuire says.

Though the yoga classes are spiritual, the school doesn’t define God in any way or tradition and offers yoga teachers from a variety of backgrounds, including Christian and Buddhist.

And the open-ended take has proved successful; the Yoga Journal reported in 2008 that Americans spent $5.7 billion a year on the exercise and its products – 87 percent more than they spent on yoga in 2004.

There are several yoga studios in Fort Wayne and a variety of other fitness clubs offer yoga classes in addition to other forms of exercise. Spiece Fitness features some form of yoga in three group fitness classes, says Lisa Click, group fitness director.

The yoga classes are all popular, she says, especially one that mixes yoga with pilates, called Centergy.

“It is literally one of our most-attended classes, and I think the reason why this is so popular is it’s a light touch,” Click says. “It’s not a very physically demanding class, and it has more current music.”

Group classes should max out at 20 people, and the Centergy classes can have 23 to 30 participants.

Travel

India has the world’s largest Hindu population, with more than 800 million Hindus, according to the CIA World Factbook. And there has been a surge in the number of Americans traveling there. Covington Travel in Fort Wayne has seen interest in traveling to India increase over the past two years.

When travelers consider India, Hinduism has nothing to do with it, says Margaret Klingenberger, president of Covington Travel.

Why people’s interest in particular locations changes doesn’t really have an answer, Klingenberger says, but she can speculate.

“I just think people become more aware of (India),” Klingenberger says, adding, “I can tell you this: There’s some absolutely amazing, wonderful beautiful properties that have been developed in the last five or six years,” so part of the increase in travel might have something to do with a larger push for tourism in India. Tourists can stay in modern hotels, putting to rest some concerns about the standard of living.

Fashion trends

Much of the clothing in Symmetry at Covington Plaza is colored in shades of charcoal. It’s a far cry from the bright hues and prints found in India. And yet, despite its clothing being nothing like what would be found in the Hindu country, the store still features a piece described as “Hindu-inspired.”

Shashi bracelets are adult friendship bracelets in earth tones and made with sparkling rhinestones. The bracelets are big sellers at Symmetry, says Taber Olinger, a fashion consultant at the store. To keep merchandise new to the store, the retailer doesn’t often reorder items, yet the Shashi bracelets are popular enough that Symmetry just put out its third order for the jewelry.

But virtually none of the customers who buy them are Hindu.

Fashion trends come and go, and an Indian trend was popular a few years ago – silk tunics with Indian sort of print. Olinger figures the trend will occur again within a few years.

Nirvana, a clothing and gift store at Glenbook Square, sells some dresses related to Hinduism and Southeast Asia, manager Ali Saleem says. The store has been open for five years, and it has carried the Hindu garb for three. The items sell just as well as any other kind of clothing at the store, he says.

The majority of the buyers are American, he says, and not Hindu.

Cremation

Upon death, Hindus believe in cremating the body. Through the funeral ceremony, Hindus are assured that the soul has been freed from the body, according to “Living Religions.” Hindu beliefs state the body is “merely a disposable vehicle for the immortal soul.”

Nationally, cremation is on the rise – and few people realize that it has anything to do with Hinduism, says Bruce Robinson, funeral director of the Northeast Indiana Cremation Society, based in Fort Wayne.

“(People) don’t realize it’s a Hindu tradition,” he says. “(They) just look at it as another option. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone bring up the words ‘Hindu’ and ‘cremation’ together, to be honest.”

Instead, the option is becoming more attractive in part because in many pockets of the country, land is sparse. Go to Florida, go to New Orleans, Robinson says – there’s just not available land for burial.

In Fort Wayne, however, there is plenty of open ground, and the national trend hasn’t hit home yet. But it could be on its way.

“Everyone is doing this more,” Robinson says. “This is coming out of the National Funeral Directors trade magazine. Other factors are coming into play, especially nowadays with the economy. Who’s got thousands of dollars to (spend on a burial)? If you could spend $7,000 on a funeral or spend 13, 14, 15 hundred (dollars) doing something else, most people would probably go for less expensive.”

jyouhana@jg.net