We're all made of body, mind and soul; an individual soul that is united and is part of a universal soul. Yogis know, they believe, that they can be more and more a reflection of this absolute that is within them and of which they are the means.

A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions. The feminine form, sometimes used in English, is yogini.

In the yogic lore, Shiva is seen as the first yogi or Adiyogi, and the first Guru or Adi Guru. Several Thousand years ago, on the banks of the lake Kantisarovar in the Himalayas, Adiyogi poured his profound knowledge into the legendary Saptarishis or "seven sages”.

Yoga and Hinduism refer to the same root, but over the millennia they have differentiated themselves from each other - and true yogis or yoga practitioners do not have to convert to Hinduism.