Many years ago, a client I was seeing in counselling responded to a yoga practice I suggested by saying:
“But I’m Catholic. I can’t practise another religion.”
Her response stayed with me.
Not because it was unusual, but because it reflected a common misconception. Many people assume that yoga belongs to a particular religion, or that practising yoga requires adopting a new set of beliefs.
Yet yoga does not ask anyone to convert, abandon their faith, or subscribe to a doctrine. It begins with practice, observation, and direct experience. As Swami Rama wrote:
“Yoga is not a religion, but a systematic and exact science for body, mind, and soul.”
This quote appears in my latest article published by Yoga Australia, where I explore one of the most frequently asked questions in modern yoga:
Is yoga a religion?
I invite you to read the full article:
https://yogaaustralia.org.au/yoga-is-not-a-religion-reframing-yoga-as-method-philosophy-and-path/
Yoga Is Not a Religion: Reframing Yoga as Method, Philosophy and Path