Yoga, the ancient practice of postures, breathing and meditation, is gaining a lot of attention from the material world that its serious practitioners are trying to escape. Yoga practitioners are trying to keep themselves away from the material world. And no wonder Americans who practice yoga are often well-educated, have higher-than-average household income and are willing to spend a bit more on so-called 'green' purchases seen as benefiting the environment or society. 'Its kind of growing out of the crunchy stage of yoga to the Starbucks stage,' said Bill Harper, publisher of Yoga Journal. 'From the videos and the clothes and the toe socks--people are pursuing this market with a vengeance.' A glance through recent issues of his monthly magazine, whose readership has doubled in the past four years to 325,000, illustrates the point. There are four-color ads from the likes of Asics athletic shoes, Eileen fisher apparel and Ford Motor Co. Yoga Journal is now licensing a Russian edition and preparing to expand in other international markets. Americans spend some $ 2.95 billion a year on yoga classes, equipment, clothing, holidays, videos and more, according to a study commissioned by the magazine, fuelled in part by ageing baby boomers seeking less aggressive ways to stay fit. Roughly 16.5 million people were practising yoga in the United States early last year, in studios, gyms or at home, up 43 percent from 2002, the study found. Established sellers of yoga gear such as Hugger Mugger and Gaiam have been flooded with competition in the market for yoga mats, incense, clothing and fancy accoutrements ranging from designer yoga bags to eye pillows. Vancouver, British Columbia-based Lululemon Athletica, for one, has seen sales of its yoga apparel rise to $ 100 million since Canadian entrepreneur Chip Wilson founded the company in 1998. Customers are snapping up its trendy pants and tops to wear to class and, increasingly, to the supermarket or out to dinner. Another expanding business, Exhale, markets itself as a 'mindbodyspa', with tony locations in Los Angeles, New York and other urban areas that combine yoga classes with facials, massage and alternative treatments such as acupuncture. Some question how all the consumption is changing a discipline with a strong spiritual foundation. 'Weve taken this ancient tradition, science, and art of yoga out of a culture and a religion and world view and weve tried to transplant to the other side of the planet,' said Judith Hanson Lasater, a longtime yoga instructor and author who holds a doctorate in East-West psychology. 'I believe theres not a complete match-up.' Even so, several entrepreneurs stressed that they are able to adhere to yogas healing principles while also turning a profit. Use three words to describe the practice of yoga.