Yoga, the 5,000-year-old Indian discipline of exercise, diet and meditation, has finally made its way to "the hood." Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons recently announced the release of "Russell Simmons Presents Yoga Live," a four-part instructional video series of the ancient Indian exercise set to 72 tracks of original hip-hop music. With the arrival the new fitness series, the urban-trends entrepreneur famous for the creation of Def Jam Records and Phat Fashions has become the latest celebrity to jump on the yoga fitness bandwagon.

Yoga is a $3 billion industry in the United States. A Harris poll reveals that 16.5 million people (7.5 percent of U.S. adults) are practitioners of the mind- and body-bending exercise. While the discipline is tied to ancient Indian spirituality, Simmons claims that his new video series is not about religion. Instead, "Yoga Live" is designed to turn African Americans on to yoga's various mental and physical benefits. Simmons famously credits yoga for giving him the principles to operate his ever-growing hip-hop empire.

The rising popularity of yoga in America is spawning many new variations of the ancient art. Offshoots include yoga spinning and combining the practice with indoor cycling and heat training. And although some purists have expressed worries that commercialization will lead to less genuine forms of yoga, other practitioners maintain that any popularization of the exercise is good publicity.