Yoga is a set of physical, mental, spiritual and cultural practices with its roots in India as much as 3000 years ago. How it is practiced in India varies considerably. The contemporary American practice of "yoga," "yoga asana," or "hatha yoga" arises from more recent influences, including European gymnastics. Because it combines these world influences, it is truly a world practice.

Contemporary American yoga comes with its own terminology, derived from the ancient Sanskrit language of the Indian subcontinent. It includes the greeting/parting "Namaste!" and the names of poses, such as "Adho Mukha Svanasana," "Virabhadrasana," "Anjaneyasana," etc. Some of these terms are quite routine. "Namaste," along with the folding of the hands in front of the speaker, is a common greeting in the Indian subcontinent and parts of Asia. (Variations include the "wai" in Thailand.) The word has been interpreted to mean "I salute the Divine or the light in you."

"Adho Mukha Svanasana" (one version of which is depicted here) literally means "downward facing dog," from the similarity of the shape that a yoga practitioner takes in it and one way that a dog stretches. Another way that dogs and yogis stretch is "urdhva mukha svanasana," or "upward facing dog," one version of which is shown here.

Some of these names, though, refer specifically to stories or characters from Hindu religious texts. For example, virabhadrasana is named for Virabhadra, a form of the Hindu god Shiva. Anjaneyasana is named for Hanuman, a character in the Hindu epic Ramayana. The question arises, therefore, whether the practice of yoga by Americans of other religious traditions presents a conflict: Are yoga practitioners worshipping Hindu gods or engaging in Hindu religious practices?

Alexander Frank, a commentator writing from the Roman Catholic tradition, argues that they are. He suggests that Catholics avoid yoga and engage in Pietra Fitness instead. Pietra Fitness is a fairly new discipline (within the last two decades) that appears to incorporate movements and breathing from yoga. As its website notes: "Exercises that are healthful to the normal function of the human body can be separated from yoga—in some cases slightly modified, and in all cases renamed. These movements cannot belong exclusively to yoga because God is the architect of the human body and the author of human movement." Pietra renames the physical and breathing activities of yoga and embeds them in the context of Christian prayer in an effort to be an overtly Christian practice. Not everyone believes this is sufficient, however, to remove the Hindu influences.

I believe each person must apply their reason and conscience to address this question for themselves. My suggestion is that students in my yoga classes simply regard the classes as training in "mindful movement and breath." If you are unsure about, or are not prepared to explore or embrace, the spiritual or metaphysical side of yoga, you don't even need to learn the Sanskrit names for the poses (I always give a simple English version, too). The practice of such secular movement and breathing has been scientifically shown to deliver real benefits to its practitioners, without requiring any commitment to the spiritual or metaphysical. So, if you are interested in the spiritual side of yoga, great! If not, great! (Note that many other teachers teach classes with "yoga" in their titles that make no overt embrace of yoga spirituality, even if they use Sanskrit names for poses. If you want to know how a teacher approaches this issue, you should ask them.)

There is a positive connection, however, between spirituality and mental health. As a consequence, I urge that you approach whatever class you are taking (whatever it is called) with a desire to seek the sacred according to your own traditions and conscience.