I’m currently involved in a great Wellness Yoga Program that offers therapeutic yoga in a small group setting.  As part of our marketing efforts, we’ve been reaching out to area hospitals and cardiac or cancer support groups, hoping to make our services available to patients.

At one of the hospitals, although the head of the program was receptive and supportive of our yoga offerings specific to the needs of their recovering patients, the hospital, whose foundations were in a religious organization, had a strict policy about not promoting yoga, for fear that it would impart spiritual and religious dogma that conflicted with the spiritual and religious dogma aligned with the hospital.

(Sound of a record screeching…..)

What?!?  Really?

I was surprised and then not surprised.  After all, I suppose I’ve taken for granted my own experience of yoga after all of the teacher trainings and classes that I’ve taken that helped me to develop an awareness that I felt complimented and enriched my own personal spiritual beliefs, without imparting new ones.

I reflected on the situation with the hospital, which was solved by writing a clear letter of intent for our program, but the subject matter stayed with me for many weeks.  It served as a wake-up call that helped me to remember and really understand that there is so much confusion around yoga, its purpose and its impact.

Even now, as yoga has spread to the West, it’s true that as with anything, in a state of rapid growth and “near trendiness”, there tends to be increased distortion and misalignment with its original purpose.  I’m not afraid to say that I personally disagree with how yoga is taught and portrayed in the majority of the studios throughout the US and Europe.

I do find it sad, that many, if not nearly all, ancient teachings, systems, including religious organizations, have become distorted, misshapen or fallen victim to stereotypes that don’t serve anyone; created through the actions or patterns of individuals that manipulated these systems and sent them in the wrong direction due to egoic lust for power, money or control.

So asking the question: “Isn’t yoga a religion?” is not only fair, but a good question to ask. The answer is “No”.  Yoga offers no dogma; it is a science that shares tools, and variations of practice to use those tools to go inward into ourselves.

Because its roots are in India, many people confuse Yoga with Hinduism or Buddhism, two well-known religions in India (although Christianity, Judaism and Islam are prominent as well – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India).  If you look into it, one will find that that religion and yoga are very different.

In general, Yoga is missing many things that are usually part of religions:

Yoga has no deity to worship.
Yoga has no worship services to attend.
Yoga has no rituals to perform.
Yoga has no sacred icons.
Yoga has no creed or formal statement of religious belief.
Yoga has no requirement for a confession of faith.
Yoga has no ordained clergy or priests to lead religious services.
Yoga has no institutional structure, leader or group of overseers.
Yoga has no membership procedure.
Yoga has no congregation of members or followers.
Yoga has no system of temples or churches.

Yoga is a science and an art, that offers tools and a practice for a healthy, balanced body and a clear mind.  Yoga is a practice of mindfulness, of observation, that allows us to live in clarity and find our own personal truth.  Whether that truth is found in one’s religion or just in one’s heart, does not matter to Yoga.

From a teacher and practitioner standpoint, I would encourage every person reading this to ask these types questions and to find out for oneself.

For deeper exploration on this subject, here are a few links to check out:

http://www.swamij.com/religion.htm#useful
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/283
http://yoga.about.com/od/yogafa1/f/yogareligion.htm