The International Yoga Federation reports that greater than 300 million people on the earth recurrently practice yoga, a mix of body movements, breathwork, and meditation. Yet how lots of those 300 million are Christians, and will they take part in this practice that relies on ancient Hindu philosophy? Is it possible to do yoga without affecting your commitment to the Lord–in other words, without committing a sin? There are many things to think about, so let’s take a have a look at the origins and components of yoga, in addition to what some Christian leaders say about yoga, to find out if you should participate.
What Is Yoga—and Where Did it Come From?
Yoga is an ancient practice that developed in India roughly 5,000 years ago. It consists of movements (asanas), breathwork, and meditation which might be designed to bring an individual into body/mind/spirit alignment.
According to Britannica.com, yoga is one in all six arms of Indian philosophy. Yoga is an evolution of self, which Hindus consider happens in eight stages. Only one in all those stages involves “physical preparations that condition the body to make it supple, flexible, and healthy; the physical points of Yoga have been most successfully popularized within the West.”
The Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India states, “Yoga is basically a spiritual discipline based on an especially subtle science, which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body… As per Yogic scriptures the practice of Yoga results in the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness, indicating an ideal harmony between the mind and body, Man & Nature.” This makes it a “divine” consciousness that puts the believer on an equal footing with Hindu gods. The goal of yoga is self-realization, a really inward-focused practice.
There are several obvious issues with this definition because it pertains to Christians practicing yoga. As Christians, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, which clashes with the thought that our “consciousness” unites with the “universal consciousness.” We were created by the One True God and for His will. He sent His one and only Son to die for us to bridge the gap between us and His perfect holiness. We won’t ever be co-equal with God or joined with His “consciousness.”
Can You Separate the Physical from the Spiritual in Yoga?
The biggest issue within the argument about whether Christians should practice yoga has to do with whether the tenets of Hindu religion that form yoga may be extricated in order that Christians can just take part in the movements for exercise. Depending on which Hindu or Christian you ask, you’ll hear arguments on either side of the query.
In the article “Christian Leaders Warn About Dangers of Yoga, Commend Practice of Meditation” Scott Slayton quotes pastor and theologian John Piper’s warning that “‘the roots of yoga are radically different than the roots of Christianity.’” He writes that it’s “profoundly in those roots antithetical to a Christian understanding of God and the way in which he works on the earth.” He strongly recommends that Christians find one other type of exercise that shouldn’t be tied to such a history. On the opposite hand, he recommends Christ-centered meditation as a way of “maximizing reasonably than minimizing my pursuit of God’s goals and the flourishing of my very own soul.”
The article “Is It Okay for Christians to Practice Yoga?” notes that the Syro-Malabar Church, a Catholic church in India, recently issued an announcement about Christianity and yoga. Not surprisingly, it said, “There is danger in interpreting the outcomes obtained through yoga practice as spiritual advantages. Hindu leaders also don’t agree in presenting yoga as separate from Hindu religion.” It went further to say, “The experience of yoga is that the practitioner, nature, and God turn out to be one, but based on Christianity, nature and God cannot turn out to be one.” Technically, due to this fact, to practice yoga is to take part in the spiritual underpinnings as well. And that goes against what the Bible tells us is correct in God’s eyes.
What Does the Bible Say about Practices from Other Religions?
The Bible explicitly speaks against a believer’s involvement in anything that’s related to other religions or gods. Most notably, the primary commands that God gave to His chosen people were:
“You shall haven’t any other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a picture in the shape of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or within the waters below. You shall not bow all the way down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the kids for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me,but showing like to a thousand generations of those that love me and keep my commandment” (Exodus 20:3-6).
In the Old Testament, God consistently warned the people about marrying into other belief systems and participating of their rituals. Some examples of those that did not heed these warnings and suffered consequences included:
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King Solomon who married many foreign wives who worshiped other Gods (he even built altars around Jerusalem where his wives could show their devotion).
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After Solomon’s death, rival factions separated Israel into 2 nations: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Over lots of of years each nation had several kings, and lots of displeased God. King Ahab, for example, was influenced by his wife Jezebel to advertise Baal worship, constructing “high places” and “asherah poles” for rituals. Also King Manasseh brought pagan idols into God’s temple, and even practiced child sacrifice. In all of those situations, God’s wrath got here against these kings for disobeying His command to haven’t any other gods. The consequences varied, but in all cases God removed His blessings and protection.
Does that mean God would remove His blessing from a Christian who practices yoga? Is that person worshiping an idol or false god? It is dependent upon what they try to do with it. Many Christians simply see it as an amazing type of exercise and a technique to strengthen the lungs through breathwork. In that case, they usually are not practicing true yoga; they’re going through the postures or “asanas.”
Rev. Amy Peeler, Ph.D, a New Testament professor at Wheaton College, believes that Christians can use this approach to exercise and meditation to glorify God. “God wants us to respect our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, caring for it as best we will, and yoga may be an amazing technique to stretch and strengthen our bodies.” However, she warns that “it must be respected as a present from God and never worshipped. Also the breathwork that could be a key component of yoga can enhance a practice of meditating on God. Whatever we do, we have to be cognizant that it’s God who’s receiving all of the glory and praise, not ourselves or one other deity.”
What about “Christian Yoga” – Is it Truly Christian?
This is an amazing query to deal with if you happen to are a Christian who likes to do yoga postures for health. I feel it’s a matter of semantics. “Christian Yoga” is an oxymoron. It’s like saying “Christian Zen.” I agree with the pastors who say that to be involved fully in yoga is antithetical to being a devout Christian. But I’d also say, like Dr. Peeler, that Christians can do these same movements without worshiping a false deity. God is the creator of each way our body can twist and move; Hinduism doesn’t own that. So if we do these movements, without entering into the opposite “limbs” of yoga, and use it as a time of worship with our body and breath, we will do a Christian “form” of yoga, nevertheless it’s not likely yoga.
Some practitioners have put together a program of postures to assist individuals stretch and strengthen their bodies that mixes scripture or worship music. In this sense, I feel that is as close as we will come to “Christian yoga,” but we’d like not quibble over what we call it. Perhaps some who do call their program “Christian yoga” may not think anything of using that moniker because they’ll separate out the (fallacious) spiritual from the physical exertion.
How Can Believers Discern What Honors God When it Comes to Yoga?
Believers should know in all things and in any respect times if what they’re doing is honoring to God. If we all know that there may be some controversy over the practice of yoga, and we attend a yoga studio or do a yoga video, we’d like to concentrate on what is claimed or what music is played. If it centers on the person, on a false god, or on anything that seems like the person is striving for oneness with the divine, then stay away.
Even if we simply do postures on our own or with other Christians, we still have to deal with God because the source of every little thing we’re capable of do. And we’d like to know that many things may be considered worship. Moving your body to enhance your physical/mental/spiritual health can absolutely honor God if He is your focus. Because these poses have the power to make a person feel stronger or leaner or more in charge of their body, one have to be careful to not make the practice itself, and the ends in our body, an idol.
While there may be much to think about relating to doing yoga as a Christian, whether it’s a sin is a matter of where the mind and heart are through the practice. If we decide to disregard our Creator and make it about something apart from physical worship, then we will easily fall into sin. But once we glorify Him with our bodies because we were “bought with a price” because it says in 1 Corinthians 6:20, I feel He is pleased.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Chelsea Gates
Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance author and replica editor who prayed for years for a technique to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing greater than 1,500 articles along with marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is just too short to write down about anything. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a big healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the unique Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she likes to spend time along with her author daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not all the time in that order).
