I occasionally get asked whether yoga is a religion. The short answer is no. While, yoga may reflect the cultures that it came from, it is not a religion. I was very interested to come across the following paragraph in "Light on Life" by B.K.S. Iyengar. He puts it much more eloquently than I could, so here are his words:

"Yoga is not meant to be a religion or a dogma for any one culture. While yoga sprang from the soil of India, it is meant as a universal path, a way open to all regardless of their birth and background. Patanjali used the expression sarvabhauma -universal- some 2,500 years ago."

Thank you Mr. Iyengar
...more great quotes from "Light on Life" in future posts!
...a great book, definitely worth a read, and reread