In short: Yoga has been practised in Vietnam since at least the 1960s, grew through gyms and federations after 2000, and now draws thousands to International Day of Yoga events each June. Pilates arrived later and boomed after Covid, especially reformer classes in Saigon and Hanoi. Since 2025 there is even a Pilates Day Vietnam.
This guide was written by the team at Ōmni Space in Thảo Điền. We opened Vietnam’s first float centre in Hanoi in 2017, and many of our guests also practise yoga or Pilates. We wanted one honest page that tells the story of both in Vietnam, with dates we could check, numbers with sources, and clear notes where the record is thin.
The early days of yoga in Vietnam
Yoga’s early history in Vietnam is mostly undocumented. A Vietnamese yoga site says yoga came to the country in the 1960s, at first in small, informal groups. A training school under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism says only that yoga arrived “very early” but did not spread widely for a long time.
One yoga club’s history page names several teachers who taught in Saigon from the 1950s to the 1970s. It also says yoga breathing shaped some Vietnamese dưỡng sinh (health-preservation) exercise methods. We could not find a second source for any of these names or links, so we have left them out.
From gyms to federations (2000s–2010s)
After 2000, yoga moved into the mainstream through big gyms. California Fitness & Yoga started in Vietnam in 2007. In May 2023 it announced a US$25 million investment in its clubs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and said it was expanding its Yoga Plus studios in Saigon.
Vietnamese teachers also began to work abroad. In 2015, Tuổi Trẻ News reported that a Ho Chi Minh City company was preparing more than 100 Vietnamese yoga coaches for jobs in countries such as Japan, Australia and the UAE.
Yoga also got formal structures. By 2020, Báo Văn Hóa described Mr Vũ Trọng Lợi as president of the Vietnam Yoga Federation at a national yoga festival in Thanh Hóa, with nearly 2,000 members from 49 clubs. Provinces formed their own federations too: Lâm Đồng’s charter was approved in June 2018. In Ho Chi Minh City, a local health-preservation and yoga federation co-organises the yearly yoga day with the Consulate General of India.
International Day of Yoga in Vietnam
The United Nations’ International Day of Yoga falls on 21 June. Vietnam has joined in every year since the first edition in 2015, usually with mass outdoor sessions led by the Indian Embassy and local partners.
- 2015 (first edition): about 500 people in Hanoi and more than 300 in Ho Chi Minh City, plus events in Hải Phòng, Phú Thọ, Thanh Hóa, Đà Nẵng and Cần Thơ.
- 2018: thousands of people in 11 provinces and cities (VTV).
- 2023: events in 35 localities, with the main event near Hoàn Kiếm Lake expected to draw more than 10,000 people.
- 2024: about 40 provinces and cities took part.
- 2025: nearly 1,600 people on Nguyễn Huệ walking street in Saigon on 21 June, and more than 1,000 in Hanoi’s Yên Sở Park.
- 2026 (12th edition): more than 1,000 people in Cần Thơ, more than 500 in Thái Nguyên, and a session in Đà Nẵng’s APEC Park.
Some reports give bigger national totals, but we could not open the original pages, so we have not used them.
Pilates arrives, then booms after Covid
Nobody seems to have recorded when the first Pilates reformer came to Vietnam. One Saigon instructor told Việt Nam News that Pilates first served mostly foreigners in District 2.
That changed after the lockdowns. In February 2022, Việt Nam News called Pilates “a new fitness trend in HCM City”. One instructor said sales were up 25% on pre-lockdown levels, and the main age group was 25 to 45. In October 2022, VnExpress reported that the number of studios in Hanoi had grown a lot since Covid, helped partly by Korean celebrities. By mid-2024, Kenh14 described Pilates spreading from young people to office workers.
Many of today’s studios opened around this time. Line Pilates in Saigon says it was founded in 2019. FourT Pilates and MBS Pilates marked their 6th and 5th anniversaries in 2025. In September 2025, MBS held a Pilates Fest in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. In January 2024, a group of well-known international classical Pilates teachers led a three-day workshop in Vietnam.
There are no official counts of reformer studios in Vietnam. The best size signals come from social media. In October 2026, the Facebook group “NGHIỆN PILATES – Cộng Đồng Pilates Việt Nam” had about 72,000 members, and “Hội review Pilates có tâm” had about 35,000.
Pilates Day Vietnam and World Pilates Day
World Pilates Day was started by the Pilates Method Alliance. Sources disagree on whether the first one was in 2003 or 2004. It is held on the first Saturday of May each year.
Vietnam now has its own community day. Pilates Day Vietnam 2025 took place on Sunday 7 December 2025 at Chill Corner, 34 Đường 11, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. It was organised by Nutrifort Academy with Nicole Hankins. A highlight was a guest class by choreographer John Huy Trần that mixed Pilates with drumming.
Ōmni’s founder attended Pilates Day Vietnam 2025 as a participant. For us, what stood out was not any single class but the bigger signal: in Vietnam, Pilates and movement wellness are being actively built up as a community, by organisers, studios, teachers and brands.
The organisers then started the Pilates Day Vietnam Calendar 2027, a community project that picks 12 people with their own Pilates story. Entries closed in late September 2026, the top 12 were announced on 10 October 2026, and they win tickets to Pilates Day Vietnam 2026. The date of that event had not been announced when we wrote this.
Timeline at a glance
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2007 | California Fitness & Yoga starts in Vietnam |
| 2015 | Tuổi Trẻ reports 100+ Vietnamese yoga coaches being prepared for jobs abroad |
| 21 June 2015 | First International Day of Yoga in Vietnam (Hanoi, Saigon and other cities) |
| 18 June 2018 | Lâm Đồng approves the charter of its provincial yoga federation |
| 28 June 2020 | National yoga festival in Thanh Hóa: nearly 2,000 members from 49 clubs |
| 20 Feb 2022 | Việt Nam News calls Pilates “a new fitness trend in HCM City” |
| 31 Oct 2022 | VnExpress reports a post-Covid jump in Pilates studios |
| 2023 | International Day of Yoga held in 35 localities |
| 21 June 2025 | Nearly 1,600 people do yoga on Nguyễn Huệ walking street |
| 7 Sept 2025 | MBS Pilates Fest in Ho Chi Minh City (brand event) |
| 7 Dec 2025 | First Pilates Day Vietnam, Chill Corner, District 2 |
| 14 Sept 2026 | Power Pilates continuing-education conference in Ho Chi Minh City |
| 10 Oct 2026 | Top 12 for the Pilates Day Vietnam Calendar 2027 announced |
The bigger picture: Vietnam’s wellness market
Yoga and Pilates sit inside a fast-growing wellness economy. The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) puts Vietnam’s wellness economy at US$17.42 billion in 2019 and US$19.60 billion in 2022, 35th of 145 countries. That is about US$200 per person, or 4.82% of GDP.
GWI’s 2025 report, using 2024 data, puts the global wellness economy at US$6.8 trillion. Vietnam’s spa sector earned US$1.74 billion in 2024, 20th in the world and up 25% in a year. Vietnam’s wellness real estate reached US$2.13 billion and entered the global top 20 for the first time. GWI also notes a global post-pandemic jump in interest in yoga and a boom in Pilates, and names Vietnam among countries where new personal and social sports are rising.
Which training systems are in Vietnam?
For Pilates, the teacher’s training matters more than the brand of the machine. Here is what we could confirm in October 2026:
- Power Pilates (classical): runs courses with partner studios in Saigon, Hanoi and Đà Nẵng, including a reformer course taught in Vietnamese in 2025.
- BASI: comprehensive teacher training offered through Line Pilates, with courses in Hanoi and Đà Nẵng too.
- Merrithew / STOTT PILATES: a Merrithew lead instructor trainer lives in Ho Chi Minh City, and there is a local equipment distributor. We could not confirm an official training centre.
- Art of Control (USA): has a representative in Vietnam.
- Balanced Body and Polestar: we found no training centre listed for Vietnam.
How to choose a studio
- Ask about training. Which school certified the teacher, and was it a full course or a short weekend workshop?
- Check class size. Reformer work is safer when the teacher can see everyone. Some Saigon boutiques cap classes at four; group classes of about eight are common.
- Tell them your history. A good teacher asks about injuries, pregnancy and back problems before your first class.
- Try before you commit. Book one trial class before buying a long package.
- Compare prices carefully. In 2022, Việt Nam News reported Pilates sessions in Saigon from 300,000 to 1,300,000 VND, and VnExpress put group classes above 400,000 VND and private sessions above 1 million. A 2025 price guide written by one Thảo Điền studio (so not independent) lists roughly 200,000–400,000 VND for mat, 300,000–550,000 VND for reformer and 0.9–1.5 million VND for a private session in Saigon, with 10–30% off for packages. Prices change often, so ask each studio directly.
What does the evidence say?
Yoga for stress. Yoga combines slow breathing, movement and focused attention, which many people find calming. Studies differ a lot in style, length and quality, and we have not yet reviewed them in depth for this guide.
Ōmni Evidence Scale: Promising. A 2017 meta-analysis of 42 randomised trials (Pascoe et al.) found that practices including yoga postures were linked to lower cortisol, resting heart rate and blood pressure compared with active control groups, but the programmes studied varied a lot.
Pilates for back pain. Pilates is widely used by physiotherapists and studied for everyday low back pain. We have not reviewed that research in detail here, so we keep our rating cautious. Pain that is sharp, new or spreading down the leg needs a doctor first.
Ōmni Evidence Scale: Promising. A Cochrane review (Yamato et al., 2015) found low to moderate quality evidence that Pilates reduces pain and disability more than minimal intervention, but no clear evidence that it beats other forms of exercise.
Safety notes
- If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery, or have a spine, joint or heart condition, talk to your doctor first and choose a teacher trained for your situation.
- Reformer springs and moving carriages can hurt you if set up wrongly. Start with a teacher watching closely.
- Saigon is hot. Drink water, and be careful with heated classes if you get dizzy easily.
Movement and stillness: how yoga, Pilates and float fit together
Yoga and Pilates work through movement. You learn to breathe, hold your body with control and notice tension. Floating works the other way. In a float, you lie still in warm salt water with little light or sound, so your body and mind have almost nothing to do.
Many people find the two help each other. Movement can make it easier to settle into stillness, and a quiet float can give your body a full break after a hard training week. Some people like to book a float on a rest day between classes. If you would like to try it, read before your first float or see our services. For other ways to calm the nervous system, see our guides to meditation devices and saunas.
Where to try it in Saigon
These are places we found in public sources. We have not tested them, and this is not a ranking.
- Yoga: California Fitness & Yoga and Yoga Plus clubs across the city. The free International Day of Yoga session each June is a friendly first step.
- Pilates, Thảo Điền: Olaben, Line Pilates and FourT Pilates.
- Pilates, other districts: Line Pilates (Phú Mỹ Hưng and Nguyễn Huệ), Pilatesaigon (District 1), Kira Pilates (District 7), plus MBS Pilates, CHI Pilates, SCC Pilates Vietnam and Pilates Station Vietnam.
- Community: Pilates Day Vietnam, and the large Facebook groups above for honest reviews.
Spending the day in our neighbourhood? See things to do in Thảo Điền.
FAQ
When did yoga come to Vietnam?
Vietnamese sources say yoga was practised in the 1960s, in small informal groups. It became mainstream through gyms after 2000 and the yearly International Day of Yoga from 2015.
Why is Pilates so popular in Vietnam now?
Press reports from 2022 link the boom to the end of Covid lockdowns, interest in low-impact strength work, and Korean celebrity influence. Reformer classes in Saigon and Hanoi grew fastest.
What is Pilates Day Vietnam?
A community event run by Nutrifort Academy with Nicole Hankins. The first was held on 7 December 2025 at Chill Corner in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. A 2026 edition is planned.
When is World Pilates Day?
The first Saturday of May each year. It was started by the Pilates Method Alliance in the early 2000s.
How much does a Pilates class cost in Saigon?
Published figures range from about 200,000 VND for a mat class to over 1 million VND for a private session. Prices vary a lot, so check with each studio.
Can I combine Pilates or yoga with floating?
Yes. Many people float after a class or on a rest day. Movement and stillness are two sides of looking after your nervous system.
Sources
- Pascoe MC, Thompson DR, Ski CF. Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: a meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2017
- Yamato TP et al. Pilates for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015
- Yoga Is My Life – Bạn đã biết gì về Liên đoàn yoga Việt Nam?
- Trường CBQL VHTTDL – Yoga và tăng cường sức khỏe
- Tuổi Trẻ News (2015) – Young woman ‘exports’ Vietnamese yoga coaches
- California Fitness commits $25 million to Vietnam (press release, 25 May 2023)
- Báo Văn Hóa – Festival Yoga toàn quốc năm 2020
- Decision 1179/QĐ-UBND (2018), Lâm Đồng Yoga Federation charter
- VietNamNet (22 June 2015) – Vietnam celebrates first International Day of Yoga
- VTV (2018) – Popularity of yoga in Vietnam on the rise
- Việt Nam News (7 June 2023) – International Yoga Day in over 35 localities
- Báo Văn Hóa – Tổ chức Ngày Quốc tế Yoga năm 2024
- Consulate General of India, HCMC – 11th International Day of Yoga (2025)
- Việt Nam News – Over 1,000 Hà Nội practitioners celebrate IDY 2025
- VOV – International yoga day in Đà Nẵng 2026
- Doanh nghiệp Hội nhập – Cần Thơ, 12th International Day of Yoga
- Tiền Phong – Thái Nguyên: more than 500 people do yoga
- Việt Nam News (20 Feb 2022) – Pilates a new fitness trend in HCM City
- VnExpress (31 Oct 2022) – Chi tiền triệu cho một buổi tập pilates
- Kenh14 (29 July 2024) – Pilates spreads from young people to office workers
- Kenh14 (9 Jan 2024) – International Pilates teachers visit Vietnam
- Thanh Niên (19 Sept 2025) – MBS Pilates Fest 2025 (brand-provided)
- FourT Pilates – Events
- Line Pilates Vietnam
- Pilates Day Vietnam – Facebook page
- Peak Pilates – Pilates Day
- National Today – International Pilates Day
- Power Pilates – Continuing Education Conference, Ho Chi Minh City 2026
- Merrithew – Instructor trainer bio (Ho Chi Minh City)
- Balanced Body – Pilates education
- Polestar Pilates – Locations
- Olaben blog (11 Oct 2025) – How much does Pilates cost?
- Expat.com – Kira Pilates
- Global Wellness Institute – Country Rankings (2019–2022 data, Jan 2024)
- Global Wellness Institute – Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2025
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