Yoga serves   channel for the self-knowledge and mind-body harmony that humans have long pursued in the name of faith, philosophy or science. Aside from which, yoga, as everyone knows, improves one’s health. Yoga is a coherent system where every technical element is designed in such a way that a person is able to handle unity of mind and body. Yoga has been present in Cuba for much longer than most people think. In 1899-1900 a Mrs. McKinley founded the Raja Yoga Academy by in Santiago de Cuba, where, despite its name, no yoga was ever practiced. It was a kind of fraternity involved in charitable work. However, a year or two later theosophical thought made its debut in Cuba with works on the philosophy and practice of yoga circulating across the island.

 The Cuban Yoga Association was founded in 1990. The association is neither religious nor philosophical and is dedicated to teaching yoga to the community. It has local branches in more than half of the island's provinces. There are programs for fighting stress and asthma that are registered with the National Institute of Sports and Recreation (INDER), and classes aimed at older adults and women. Some 12,000 people in Cuba have taken three-month yoga courses.