Yoga Is Not Just A Good Physical Exercise
It is a myopic Western view, which knows Yoga as a physical exercise, to claim that is all that Yoga is. The physical is only one of the eight limbs of the classic form of Yoga known as Ashtanga Yoga:
Yama - ethical practices and restraints
Niyama - religious observances, commitments to practice, such as study and devotion
Asana - integration of mind and body through physical postures
Pranayama - breath control
Pratyahara - withdrawal of external sensory input
Dharana - concentration, one-pointedness of mind
Dhyana - meditation (quiet activity that leads to samadhi)
Samadhi - the quiet state of blissful awareness, ecstasy, dissolution of separateness
If we relate to Yoga merely as a mat practice of postures, as a tool disconnected from its history, then it is not religion, but neither is it Yoga. It is more like a bio-feedback or a stress reduction method that benefits our body-mind. Calling an isolated set of practices “Yoga” does not change that Yoga is a comprehensive tradition, a religion reflecting the collective wisdom of thousands of years of devotion by its adherents.
Yoga is a body of knowledge, a wisdom tradition that is deep and vast. It deserves our treating it as such, and, in its full expression, a religion.
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as i the original texts it can be found:
In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the Niyamas are the second limb of the eight limbs of Raja Yoga.
They are found in the Sadhana Pada Verse 32 as:
1. Shaucha: in the traditional codification, this item is listed under Yamas; this word means purity.
2. Santosha: contentment.
3. Tapas: austerity.
4. Svādhyāya: self-study or study of spiritual scriptures.
5. Ishvarapranidhana: self-surrender.
"Study of spirtitual scriptures" doesn't imply "religious observance"!
The Niyama's before Patanjali still contained: 5.) Ishvarapujana: worship of the Lord, the cultivation of devotion through daily worship and meditation, the return to the source;
While the content of the Vedas and Upanishads can be seen as "religious", it is no secret that much of the ancient text's do not reveal at first glance their hidden meaning!
As th rather blunt translation of "The Lord", there simply is no mention of a "lord"
Most arguably might be the circumstances that these ancient text's have been interpreted and been subject to many, many commentators, who may or may not have fully understood the genuine message within these very significant collections of mindful observances, and who may or may not had an agenda tainted by religious notions!
After all this argument boils down to the hen/egg problem it's after all a question of conceptualization, how one may understand or allow oneself according to individual capacity to perceive the phenomenal world around and oneself within!
One may need a personalized creator/god, another one may not. It will remain in the eye of the beholder!
I agree with Rabbi Brier's argument that Yoga is not just a physical exercise. That being said it is certainly not a religion in its own right. It is a part of several religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, and has even been incorporated with some success into Western religions such as Christianity. It is not and cannot be a religion in its own right.
Yoga is a term which means yoking, and in itself is not a religion , but is a practice of Hinduism.
It is hoped that through yoking with the god Brahma that one can break free from the circle of reincarnation and come to a place of eternal peace instead of needing to keep coming back to raise ones level of Karma.
It is a practice from a specific religion with different types of yoga as in Hatha yoga for exercise , Kundelini yoga for sensual heightening, to sexual semen retention and orgasm control as in Tantra yoga.
I believe it an error to reserve the word "religion" for those only officially recognized as such. It is my conviction that there is the official "list" of religions many individuals dance around and praise, however, each of us is genuinely a religion of one and can only ever truly be such. I'm quite certain you can pick any two Christians, any two Jews or Muslims, any two Buddhists or Hindus or Pagans and no two believe or practice quite the same. There is no escaping individuality and therefore any officially-recognized organized religion is and only can be a very narrowly defined ideal in a world where every one tailors their own beliefs and practices.
Quite frankly, I find the "official vs. unofficial" argument a distasteful one because it lacks respect for the individual, divisive and denigrates the notion one must find one's own path to enlightenment and fulfillment. There is no doubt many will find commonalities in belief and practice, however, to turn those commonalities into "us vs. them" is as anti-spiritual, anti-enlightenment and anti-happiness as I can imagine for human beings.
Yoga can be and is a religion ... if the individual practicing it says it is in their own lives. They need not turn to others for that determination. Those beliefs and practices feed their idea of what is their "spirit" or they do not.
That is all. Legal or community sanction are quite unnecessary. Authentic spirituality is discovered, not mandated or rubber stamped.
I completely agree that the "officiality" of a religion is completely irrelevant to whether or not it is legitimate. We really need to define terms. I would define a religion as a complete spiritual system, with several definite components, including, but not limited to, a moral code, theological beliefs, ritual, a legendary/mythical component, etc. While it is not necessary to have all of these components, yoga really only has the ritual element of religion. It doesn't have a moral code, it certainly does not put forth any theological truths, I have heard no stories of legendary yogi. Yoga is a spiritual exercise, but is not a complete spiritual system. That being said, it can be incorporated into a complete spiritual system with a great deal of success.
I don't agree that yoga is a religion, nor that a religion needs to fit your definition in order to be a religion, but yoga does have:
1. a moral code, for example, ahimsa, do no harm
2. many legendary yogis - buddha is just one of them
I'll be the first to admit my ignorance on this issue, of course I am not one of the experts put forward in the main articles. That being said, I'm not so sure that ahimsa is part of yoga when standing alone, so much as it is a part of Buddhism and Jainism. The same could be said for the legendary yogis, are they yogis only, or are they Buddhist heroes admired by yogis? If yoga is a religion, it could be argued that many martial arts, such as Karate, are religions.