Yoga is a Religion? Right?Yoga is a religion—at least according 57% of non-yoga-ing Americans polled by the Yoga Alliance last Saturday, Yoga Day USA. The (semi-)regulatory organization was gathering Americans’ opinion of the sport (?) to see what stops more people from trying it out.
According to its press release, inspite of the ubiquitousness of this multi-billion dollar industry that’s firmly routed in the material ($$) world, many people still think of it as New Age or only for the very nimble. (Sometimes it seems that way, depending on what center you go to and what style you practice…)
“there are many Americans who know little about yoga or, worse, have incorrect assumptions which inhibit them from participation. The three most common misperceptions are that yoga:
- Is religion-based. 57% of those who do not currently practice yoga believe that it requires mantras or chanting related to a form of worship.
- Requires flexibility in order to practice. Nearly 3 in 5 Americans – 59% of respondents – who do not practice yoga think that it requires a person to be in at least “decent” shape. In truth, however, anyone – of any size, shape or physical state – can benefit.
- Is not really exercise. Half of men who have never practiced yoga believe it “isn’t a workout.” In contrast, 73% of people who do practice believe it is just as effective as running, swimming or weight lifting.
All events are free on Yoga Day USA which is sponsored by the Yoga Alliance. Attitude adjustment might cost extra—maybe as much as a monthly membership to a local center.
NO, it is not a religion.
don
fromnowtozen.com
It seems to me that, for some people, it very clearly is a religion, or at least, a practice closely tied to a religion or religious beliefs (though which religion and which beliefs that is can vary–while Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and New Age mish-mashes seem to be most popular, and most clearly tied to various forms of yoga, there’s also a thriving Christian yoga community), while for others it very clearly isn’t (either because they’re atheistic/agnostic, or simply because what they don’t see what they do on their yoga mats as having anything to do with what they do in church). So basically, as with practically any question that begins “is yoga…?” I’d say the answer is “depends on who you talk to.”
I agree with Dr. Jay. For many, yoga isn’t about the physical, it’s about the spiritual. There are sacred texts that are a must read (Gita, Upanishads), ritual that is important to follow (meditation, asana, diet) and ritual that is followed during practice (ohms, repeating namaste at the end, chanting specific lines at the beginning or end- Anusara and Ashtanga practices have this).
However, i think the defining moment when I began to see that many consider Yoga a “religion” and not a sport… was when the regulation for yoga movenment began. Although many would decry that yoga wasn’t a religion, they also claimed that regulating yoga as other health professions have been was a violation to their right to practice spirituality.
I think Dr. Jay summed it up perfectly- “It depends who you talk to.”
Joe Nuts (facebook friend of YN) says: Just read this a week ago in Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life: “Is Yoga Kosher? How a Modern Orthodox Jew struggled to reconcile her yogic practice with her Judaism”
http://www.tabletmag.com/life-and-religion/23099/is-yoga-kosher/