Yoga is NOT a religion. However, many people associate yoga with Hinduism or other Eastern religions. Yoga is no more a religion than basketball or baseball is. Yoga can be practiced by anyone of any faith or spiritual background. Yoga is about balancing your mind, body, and spirit. So, yes, yoga is spiritual. But this spirituality is personal, not instilled by the teacher.

People often see the meditation done during yoga as religious. The meditations can be whatever you, the practitioner, wants them to be. They can be simple personal affirmations. They can be prayers to God, Allah, Shiva, Buddha, Isis, Thor, or any other deity that YOU find appropriate. Your meditations can be a simple mantra or a complex recitation.

Yoga is NOT an overnight cure for what ails you. The benefits are reaped through repetitious practice. Some benefits will be seen immediately, but it is the long term dividends that are truly life changing. Many people with a variety of medical conditions have found that yoga is the only thing that can alleviate their struggle.

Yoga is NOT a competition, not even with yourself. Each time you practice yoga, your experience will be different. Some days you will be more flexible than others. Some days it will be hard to maintain your balance. In yoga, there is nobody to impress. Yoga is about improving your life, not amazing others with feats of flexibility and balance.