Call it a way to beat stress or improve concentration, yoga classes for homemakers in Ranchi are fast filling up.

While the yoga centre at Kanke now has more than 100 practitioners, Ranchi and Gymkhana clubs too have started holding classes for its members.

"Earlier, there were only three-to-four homemakers who attended yoga classes. Now, there are more than 100," said 40-year-old homemaker Seema Khosla who is a regular at the Kanke yoga centre.

Besides, there are also homemakers who prefer to hire personal instructors.

Fifty-year-old Anju Shandilya, for instance, does both.

"I and my family practise yoga from 7am to 7.30am at Ranchi Club regularly. This apart, we have also hired an instructor. I had thyroid problem, but yoga helped me a lot. Kapalbhati and pranayam helped me keep hyperthyroidism under control," she added.

Instructor Dr P.N. Singh, who teaches yoga to schools students and will be participating in the 35-minute session at Morabadi on the occasion of International Yoga Day on Sunday, said, "It's indeed surprising that now homemakers and would-be mothers are keen on taking up yoga as their only fitness mantra. This has been the trend since last year."

So, what exactly changed the game?

If Bollywood actresses like Shilpa Shetty and Sonam Kapoor have been great inspirations for many homemakers to take up yoga, Kanke-based homemaker Rinku Lohia (43) was no less a trendsetter.

Rinku along with her better half Sameer Lohia (46) started practising yoga after both of them developed back pain about 15 years ago.

Rinku's word-of-mouth campaign proved to be a game changer. "My friends started practising yoga after I discussed its usefulness. Of course, yoga guru Baba Ramdev always inspired us, but we never took it seriously. But after consulting doctors for our backache, nothing worked. So, we started practising yoga," said the homemaker who practises yoga for 45 minutes from 9am everyday.

Rinku has hired an instructor from Munger who visits the couple's house five days a week to make them practice paranayam and surya namaskar. "It has helped us fight backache and indigestion. Yoga helps us remain physically and mentally fit," she added.