Gospel

Yoga as Christian Spiritual Formation?

by Phileena Heuertz

I was raised in a conservative, dogmatic Christian tradition that approached anything not explicitly “Christian” as wrong. Yet, as the years progressed Yoga has become an essential part of my life and spirituality. A recent global survey of protestant evangelical leaders indicated that 92% of the 2,196 surveyed believe that “engaging in yoga as a spiritual practice…[is] not compatible with evangelicalism.” And some of the leading, dominant, mainstream Christian voices in the United States have even gone so far as to say that yoga is demonic.

There is certainly controversy over whether or not it is in a Christian’s best interest to practice yoga. People who contribute to the conversation either speak from their positive or negative experience with yoga or from their firmly held doctrinal beliefs. So, how are we to determine if yoga is okay to practice as Christians?

What Does it Mean to be Christian?

Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are the greatest historical events in human history. This first-century Jew changed the world by calling people to a broader understanding of what it means to be children of God. His message was about transforming the human person, not about starting a new religion. What began as a radical revolution evolved into an established set of doctrines that define what it means to be part of the organized religion of Christianity.

Does being a Christian mean we practice only what has been accepted as “Christian” throughout the past two millennia? How are we to know what is “explicitly Christian?” Historically, these definitions of “Christian” have been problematic. During the Crusades and inquisition, there were strict punishments for not appearing “Christian enough.” What was once considered non-Christian—such as women being prohibited from speaking in church-is now acceptable Christianity.

I’d like to suggest that being a Christian means being in relationship with the person of Jesus, the Son of God, the Christ. And relationships are dynamic, not one looks the same. My mother’s relationship with my brother is different from her relationship with me in the same way that your relationship with God is different from my relationship with God. It is egocentric of us to expect others’ relationship with God to look like ours.

Some Christians are concerned about practicing yoga because they think if they do, they are practicing Hinduism. Certainly yoga is connected with India and Hinduism, but it is arguable as to whether yoga is explicitly Hindu. There is even evidence that yoga existed before Hinduism was an organized religion.

In the same way that the Lord’s supper is practiced differently today than during the last moments of Jesus’ life, contemporary, westernized yoga may be very far removed from the most ancient of yoga practice dating back 2,000-5,000 years. Over the centuries this Indian approach to nurturing the body, mind, and soul has blended with Tibetan and Chinese practices as well as Western physical fitness philosophy.

Some argue that yoga is more philosophical than spiritual or religious. I would agree that yoga is in essence a set of philosophies, wisdom, and practices that support living in harmony with God, self, and others. Though the predominant yoga practice that is widely available in the West is limited to the practice of postures (asanas) and breath work (pranayama) and the average yoga class at your local gym will not focus much on ancient philosophy and wisdom.

Regardless of which religion or culture wants to claim yoga, it seems to me that the yoga available to us today is the best of tried and true practices that nurture, discipline, exercise and harmonize the body, mind and soul. And to the degree that the practice does not compromise my relationship with God, I welcome it in my life. In fact, yoga has deepened my faith and relationship with God by strengthening the ties between my head and my heart.

So, what should our approach be to people outside the Christian religion who have sound wisdom, philosophy and practices that support and even deepen our relationship with God?

The Journey from the Head to the Heart

I had the privilege of undergoing sixteen days of intense yoga training for teacher certification. It was an extraordinary experience. The location was one of the most beautiful places on earth. And the staff were some of the kindest, most generously loving, accepting and supportive human beings. It was rigorous training—our classes started at 6:30 in the morning ending at 9:00pm every night, but I couldn’t complain while falling asleep to the sound of the roaring ocean, migrating whales and chirping creatures.

Surprising to some, we didn’t practice postures all day long—though we certainly did more of that in sixteen days than I’ve ever done in my life. The study was holistic—there was time and space for philosophy, and meditation or prayer, as well as anatomy and physiology and group heart reflections. The most important thing I learned is that yoga is about the journey from the head to heart.

This is such a crucial invitation for Christians, since much of Western Christianity is practiced with the mind, reason and intellect divorced from the heart. We are more than just our minds. Our heart has its own way of “knowing.” But without practices that affirm this heart knowledge, we are less than whole in our relationship with God. To live the abundant life that Jesus talked about we need to acknowledge the wisdom of both the heart and the mind—working in harmony with each other. When these are divided or one part is deemed lesser than another, we are a fractured person who is more easily misguided in our faith journey.

Getting into our body by practicing yoga helps us reconnect our mind and heart. Conscious breathing, movement and postures train our mind to listen to our heart’s connection to the body and the wisdom that lies within.

Why Practice Yoga?

Making the journey from the head to heart is not a new idea for Christians. We have a rich tradition of our own practices that support this—like the Eastern Orthodox Jesus Prayer. This ancient prayer invites the disciple to pray without ceasing by reciting “Jesus Son of David have mercy on me a sinner.” As the prayer is repeated over and over, it starts to be prayed from within the heart rather than the head.

Pilgrimage is another Christian practice that supports the journey from the head to the heart. A few years ago my husband Chris gave me the journey of a lifetime. For thirty-three days we made the ancient pilgrimage, “El Camino de Santiago.” With nothing but the packs on our backs, we detached from our normal life and made the arduous hike across Spain. By making this kind of outward, physical feat we grew very acquainted with our body—its strength and weakness, endurance and limitations, and we learned to love it—from the tips of our toes to the crown of our head. We cultivated a deep gratitude for this carriage that was taking us to Santiago. But beyond the physical pilgrimage, with every step we were making the delightful and painful journey from our head to our heart—progressing from the external to the internal. The gift of pilgrimage taught us so much about embodying truth. Truths like: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made;” “There is a God who is immanent with me—making home within me—leading and guiding me.”

Jesus was scandalous to the ancient world because he taught that the human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit in contrast to a temple made of stone (Luke 17:21 [KJV]; Mark 15:38; 1 Corinthians 6:19). If our bodies house the Holy Spirit, obviously we want to care for the dwelling place. Jesus invites us into deeper contemplation of the mystery of the Divine Indwelling by inviting us to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) What does it mean to “love yourself?” Most of us get these truths in our head—“God dwells within you” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But do we embody them?

Yoga, the Jesus Prayer, and pilgrimage are just a few practices that provide support for us to make the journey from the head to the heart. This leads us to mature beyond a dualistic mindset and bring harmony to the body, mind and soul. These kinds of practices invite us to actively surrender and allow for Truth to be revealed and embodied.

I was on my way out the door to attend one of my favorite yoga classes when I was handed the final manuscript for, Pilgrimage of a Soul. As I breezed through the finished pages of what had become my first book, I felt a surge of emotion within me. I hurriedly embraced the feeling of accomplishment and made my way to class. The ninety-minute practice of the evening focused on back bends—a series of postures that I wasn’t very familiar with at the time. At the end of the session when we transitioned into savasana—a final resting pose, I was surprised to find tears quietly streaming out of my eyes, into my ears and falling softly on the mat. After we came to a seated position to acknowledge the effort of one another and to bring closure to class my instructor, Jed, kindly asked, “Are you okay?” That evening it was only Jed, his wife Sarah and me in class, so it felt intimate and safe. I asked, “Is it common to experience these kinds of emotions during yoga?” And they both proceeded to explain that it is common, especially after a session of back bends.

What I learned in those moments was the beauty of embodiment and how the varied layers of our body, mind and soul come together. In class as I practiced the postures of back bends, I was opening my heart center—the place of love, compassion and vulnerability. And the exposure of the bodily heart has the potential to open up some of the most vulnerable expressions of who we are. Normally, the average person trends toward hiding and protecting his or her most vulnerable space—symbolized in the front-body and heart center. But in class that night, I was opening that body space and, simultaneously, my deepest sense of self, bringing the body into harmony with my mind and soul—one of the gifts of yoga.

The longest journey you’ll ever make is from the head to the heart. And yoga invites us to make that journey. As I have stayed faithful to the practice, I have grown more acquainted with my body—the temple of the Holy Spirit—and I have grown to love that temple and the One who dwells there. I would argue that yoga has, in fact, made me a better Christian.

Do you agree or disagree with Phileena's perspective on yoga?
What practices help you make the journey from the head to the heart?

Editor's Note: The image above was taken by GrahamKing and is of The Tree Pose, or Vriksha-asana.

Comments

JRL

If you didn't call it "Yoga" but called it "Christian Solitude and Exercise" and then explained what it was, without calling it Yoga or giving the East credit for it, that survey in the opening paragraph would turn out quite different. Haha.

Heidi Valenzuela

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience...brought tears of understanding to my eyes...As one who teaches and practices Christian Yoga, you've put to words in such a beautiful way what I'm so grateful to have experienced in my own practice. Peace to you.

Adriana

Hasta Uttanasana (Sky Reaching Pose) has been for me a prayer of surrender. The posture of arms raised, face lifted and heart exposed is an expression of offering to God, my creator.

Mark Gomez

So I guess I will be the one starting the dissension from this positive view of this subject. I really dislike being in this position because there is always an existing prejudice upon the dissenting voice when it is the first one among others. Nevertheless, I will continue.

No matter how you approach this subject with all of the various positive experiences you offer, you remain with only a framework of experiences and not the word of God as the basis for acceptance of your choices. I could not and would not want to do injury to your experiences, you certainly seem to have a number of them from which to draw and feel a sense of rightness with your position. I cannot argue with the validity of your experiences. So I will start somewhere else.

Westerners who embrace Eastern philosophies and various meditation techniques always come at things from their western view with little regard for the origin of things. JRL said it quite well,

If you didn't call it "Yoga" but called it "Christian Solitude and Exercise" and then explained what it was, without calling it Yoga or giving the East credit for it, that survey in the opening paragraph would turn out quite different. Haha.

Laugh as you may, the reality behind this is blaring to me. Call it something else and the marketability increases. Regardless, no one from the East, unless they were trying to sell you something, would ever agree there is a possible separation of the practice and the philosophy. The very nature of all things in the East is that there is complete and inseparable wholeness in the practice and the philosophy behind it. To imagine otherwise is always some western butchering of the practice and philosophy. In the East this is always the point of the practice and the philosophy, a wholeness of belief and practice. The seeking of the Kundilini spirit, the mind-blocking chanting, and the emptying of one’s self remain wholly intact or it is not being practiced properly.

So Americans may overlay “Christian” labels upon their practices and views of the practice, but this does nothing to eliminate the essential meaning from which it is derived. Ask any missionary in the East or who is currently serving in the East if they would agree with you after having lived there for a period of time and they would say that they could not agree with you. One author, Caryl Matrisciana, says,

“The reason why Eastern philosophies are so easily accepted in the West is because they have never seen these religions being practiced and lived out in the East. If they could see them lived out on the street they would never embrace them.”

So, I guess I am one of those pastors whose voice would propound they are not compatible. Defending the practice and experiences of Yoga in the church by illustrations of practices and experiences from Christian denominations is no solace for me either. I have been a pastor since 1983 and I have seen the American Church and worldwide Church practice and experience a great many things that were not biblical, never mind based upon some label called “Christian.”

I am not some narrow-minded American-centric pastor; I think the American church better get ready to realize that we are not going to be the center of Christianity in the world very soon. But I am unwilling to be positive about something obviously based upon Eastern philosophy that is being relabeled and marketed as something else. Pluralism and Relativism are rampant in the American church and their effects are extremely damaging. This blending of Yoga with Christianity is not only unbiblical to me, it is dangerous.

Please, get quiet before God. Please meditate upon His word. Please spend more time praying and seeking God’s face. Stretch, exercise, and get alone with God. But do not practice something called Yoga and think that by relabeling it you have sanctified it and made it Christian, it is not. In light of God’s word, your experiences and my experiences mean nothing. Calling something Christian Yoga is like saying it is possible to have something called “Chrislam” a small movement starting in the US that is a blend of Islam and Christianity. They are not the same, will never be the same, and cannot be blended or else you have something else besides Christianity.

Stephanie Flaa

I started practicing Yoga about 4 years ago and when I am able to do it in a consistent manner, I immediately feel the benefit in my back and neck....which in turn give me more strength for the ministries God has called me to.

I also find it does clear the mind and leads me to a center of what is important. I fully understand that some Yogi's focus "the center" on something other than Christ and I wouldn't want to be under the direction of a teacher who was preaching that mantra.

But, to completely disregard Yoga in Christian circles seems to me to be closed minded. Honestly, if we were to see Jesus and the disciples practice of prayer/ mediation, my guess is that it would look a lot more like a Yoga class and less like your typical, modern, Evanglical Prayer Meeting.

Gregg Burch

I think this piece is right on target. I spend summers in the mountains of Colorado, and I know many people who don't claim God who are almost worshipful in His creation. God has always touched me in the wilderness, and I return again and again. The fact that God speaks to me thru His creation does not conflict with my posture as a Christ-follower.

For twenty years, the practice of meditation has been my most meaningful connection with God, yet it was a follower of Eastern traditions who introduced me to it. I am a total extrovert, and a thinker not a feeler, yet the practice of solitude in the wilderness and the practice of meditation have grown to be precious in my journey from Head to Heart.

I've only recently started practicing yoga, but immediately began to sense the peace that rests upon you as you do the postures and breathing. Again, I do not fear that my faith is being contaminated. It's just another environment in which I am open to God's touch. If the Spirit touches me through any of these practices, I choose to believe that truth over what the doctrine police might tell me.

Thanks for this thoughtful piece.

Gregg Burch

GodsFaintPath.com

Phileena

thank you all for weighing in. let's keep the conversation going as we all search for truth and relationship with God through Christ.

let me be clear that i do not support co-opting yoga and calling it "christian." i respect yoga as an eastern practice and philosophy and from the knowledge i have of it, i believe it is not incongruent with Biblical Christianity.

i appreciate Gomez' admonition to meditate upon the Word. i grew up steeped in Scriptures through public meetings at church and in my own private prayer life. and continue to be devoted to the Word of God and meditate on it regularly.

i also have spent much of the past sixteen years in south and southeast asia and have come to a different perspective of what i have seen and come to understand of eastern faiths and practices. furthermore i've developed some deep and lasting friendships with people of eastern faiths. matrisciana's critique of eastern religions could also be said of christianity in how it is sometimes practiced and communicated in the world.

thank you to each of you for sharing your perspective and understanding. may we all continue to let God lead us in how we represent Jesus in the world.

Courtney Shipman

I read in a book once that Yoga is a Buddhist activity and that is why someone created pilates. I personally believe though, that if you're doing yoga for yourself and not as a form of worship to Buddha than it is perfectly ok. I drink tea at Teazer World Tea Market, the place is filled with Buddhist quotes and statues but the people I go with and myself talk about God and answers each other questions! So many people there conduct bible studies! Its not about what it was created for, its about how you use it.

Leigh Krahl

I do yoga and a lot of my friends who are in Seminary don't agree with it. I find it funny because the Western church has forgotten that Christianity is an Eastern religion.

Great thoughts Phileena! I appreciate your point of view and am thankful you tackled such a touchy subject.

Anderson

I was eager to read this article, almost in hopes that it would shed some light on "Western" or "Christianized" Yoga, so that I could begin to let my guard down a bit, and be more accepting, as I have many Christian friends who practice Yoga. Yet on the contrary, while reading this, I felt an uneasiness, rather than a peace.

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" There are many times where I get more in touch with my "heart" just to find out that it has been deceived, or that my heart itself is part of the deception.

Philippians 4:7 says: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

So while I totally agree with the author, Mrs. Heuertz, that we must do a better job of staying in good health physically, mentally, and spiritually, I believe that this eastern religious expression that we call Yoga, even it it's westernized form, is a gateway to something that is contrary to the mental and spiritual health that we are truly looking for.

Instead, we must meditate on God's Word, be quiet before the Lord and listen to the "still small voice" of his Spirit, and release our minds to the beauty of Christ and his unimaginable love for us. This, like Yoga, requires regular discipline, such as spending time in his Word and in prayer, going on prayer walks, and times where you sit quietly before him listening and contemplating his goodness.

And if you are looking to burn a few extra calories, and get in better health physically, which I think is also important, there are plenty of amazing forms of exercise that will actually yield better results than Yoga, and in a shorter time.

Lastly, I have seen friends who have adopted "Western Yoga" into their lives...friends who are Christians, and I have seen and felt a subtle change in them. One of my friends now has several eastern religious images in her house, and a small statue in her yard, which she claims helps bring peace.

So, please read this knowing that I have no sense of pride, or religious dogma, and though I feel that Mrs. Heuertz heart is desiring a deeper intimacy with Christ, I throw out a warning, as I feel and have seen that this desire, while noble, is not to be blended with the ideologies, philosophies, ethics, and beliefs of the world. As Christians we are not called to be like the world, or to mix our beliefs with other religious systems or worldviews, instead we are to be set apart in Christ, which at times is a costly proposition, and one which goes against the popular trend---even trends within the Church.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

Jesus, the greatest teacher to walk the Earth, made it very clear when he said,

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matt. 6:33 --- As we focus our eyes on Christ, his kingdom, and his righteousness, we will be able to better see and discern what is of him, and what is of the world.

Much love, peace, and discernment to those who are wrestling with this issue!

Robert Rice

I will run around the streets naked, and stare at a rock all day long, and contort my body into strange poses, and eat tree leaves from a rare bush found only in the Himalayas, and call the practice any name I can dream up if it means that for one moment of the day I listen to someone better or give encouragement to someone who is feeling ill. I think Christ would get a kick out of it, and I suspect, that he may think I was beginning to get a glimpse of some of his ideas that he talked about in the bible. Even if I wasn't the reading the word he wouldn't hold it against me because I believe He is that cool. But if I'm a Bible carrying, verse quoting genius, but kick the dog or forget to give someone an embrace who looks like they could use one, then no practice Christian, or otherwise, can emancipate me from myself.

I appreciate this article...I don't practice yoga but as an non-Western person I sometimes don't understand why Christians label anything spiritual and non-Western as 'new age.' I understand that new agers have culturally appropriated (i.e. hijacked) a lot of our spiritual tradition but they've also borrowed things from Western Christianity--and that doesn't negate the original value, does it? For example, it bothers me when people tell me that Native American 'religions' are gateways for spiritual bondage when they don't even know anything about a culturally Native worldview...and thus label anything they don't understand as bad. Likewise, while I understand some of the concerns about the origins of yoga, isn't it our choice as to how mindful and deliberate we are when we practice anything? Yeah, it seems negative to me that many people practice something spiritual like yoga without mindfulness of what they are doing, and I can see how you could possibly be taking part in something religious (Hindu) without knowing it. But if you choose to understand it and use it in a way that 'gives glory to God,' then how can this be labeled as something inherently Hindu? I think it's not unlike the whole weird debate about music and spirituality.

However, I think part of the problem is that there are so, so many ways of practicing yoga and so many instructors with different perspectives on teaching it can be really confusing for anyone who wants to be able to learn without someone pushing 'new-ageyness' on them. That said, I wish there were some way to find out which instructors teach in a way that is going to be conducive to the sort of spiritual/physical life-giving discipline that this writer talks about. Honestly, I'm not interested in an instructor who tells me to just meditate on Bible verses (not saying that's bad, of course), but rather, someone who simply has the sort of philosophy spoken of here. It's been recommended to me by many people, including doctors, but I just feel so intimidated by the super intense yuppie yoga culture in my city as well as the new agey approach I have seen various instructors use. Maybe this writer could start a directory or something!

Jonathan

Everything is done best under a guide. I think anytime you mention these types of practices, yoga and the Jesus prayer, we should also underline the importance of having good direction. I think yoga can be dangerous if you go alone or follow underneath someone who will misguide you. Is yoga for everyone? Is everything that is called yoga good? Everyone should strive for a father to guide them, if none appears ask the holy spirit. Even the Jesus prayer has steps. If you are not familiar with it sometimes your encouraged just to say the first half, lord Jesus Christ son of god. Some people have the gift of prayer. Do you think some people are drawn to yoga?

Sometimes people are discouraged to attempt these practices alone, and it is for a good reason.

Prelest comes to mind. Even a pious person is not immune to spiritual sickness if he does not have a wise guide -- either a living person or a spiritual writer. This sickness is called _prelest_, or spiritual delusion, imagining oneself to be near to God and to the realm of the divine and supernatural. Even zealous ascetics in monasteries are sometimes subject to this delusion, but of course, laymen who are zealous in external struggles (podvigi) undergo it much more frequently.

Anyway in the end. I guess I partially agree with Phileena. Maybe i would totally agree if the guide aspect were introduced. I agree that it can be excellent for the heart, but it can also be dangerous. I'm also thinking about St. Simeon the new theologians 3 rules to prayer.

Anyway that is my uneducated opinion.

Oh and one more thing I know it is hard for people to even begin to remotely describe activity of the heart and do it any justice. So good job Phileena.

Mark Gomez

Continuing Discussion on Yoga

@Stephanie – you wrote: “But, to completely disregard Yoga in Christian circles seems to me to be closed minded. Honestly, if we were to see Jesus and the disciples practice of prayer/ mediation, my guess is that it would look a lot more like a Yoga class and less like your typical, modern, Evangelical Prayer Meeting.“

– Jesus and the disciples were Jews, if they were to look like anything they would look like Jews gathered praying and meditating and not someone who is a part of Hinduism, Shintoism, or Buddhism and the like. If you imagine anything else you are disregarding the realities of Judaism and its foundational influences upon Christianity since the Christian faith is the fulfillment of Judaism. Any orthodox Jew would be offended by the very idea that you would link their forms of prayer and meditation to the East in that manner.

@Phileena – you wrote: “let me be clear that i do not support co-opting yoga and calling it "christian." i respect yoga as an eastern practice and philosophy and from the knowledge i have of it, i believe it is not incongruent with Biblical Christianity.”

– If what you are doing is nothing but exercise, stretching, and personal prayer as a Christian why call it Yoga at all? If you are not supportive of emptying of oneself in order to become one with the divine, how can you say that you believe that Yoga is not incongruent with Christianity. Eastern philosophy as presented in Yoga eliminates the idea of a personal God. Eastern philosophy as presented in Yoga teaches you to rid yourself of self, even Buddha mentions how he felt chained to his son who was keeping him from reaching total emptiness. How is this not incongruent with biblical Christianity that reconnects you with the person God intended you to be and in Christ we find wholeness, not emptiness?

You also wrote: “matrisciana's critique of eastern religions could also be said of christianity in how it is sometimes practiced and communicated in the world.”

– I would certainly agree that American Christianity is a beleaguered version of what God intended in the New Testament, but this does not justify or provide reason to ignore the realities of what Eastern religions teach.

@ Leigh Krahl – you wrote: I do yoga and a lot of my friends who are in Seminary don't agree with it. I find it funny because the Western church has forgotten that Christianity is an Eastern religion.

– Your words misrepresent “eastern” as a term. Christianity is an Eastern religion in reference to the West, but it is not considered eastern if you speak to Jews or Muslims. Eastern philosophies are not considered eastern in that sense. In Israel, China is considered east but not as you’re saying it. A Jew would be very offended to imagine you consider them like the religions from the “east.”

@Robert – you wrote: “I will run around the streets naked, and stare at a rock all day long, and contort my body into strange poses, and eat tree leaves from a rare bush found only in the Himalayas, and call the practice any name I can dream up if it means that for one moment of the day I listen to someone better or give encouragement to someone who is feeling ill. I think Christ would get a kick out of it, and I suspect, that he may think I was beginning to get a glimpse of some of his ideas that he talked about in the bible. Even if I wasn't the reading the word he wouldn't hold it against me because I believe He is that cool.”

– All I can imagine is that you are deliberately trying to be silly. If you are not, then you have no idea who Jesus is at all. Call me judgmental if you like but your statements if you are serious completely ignore the moral realities of the New Testament.

Jonathan

@mark - Prayer of the heart is not emptying, it is becoming full of Jesus. There's the difference.

At least that is my understanding. You become full of so then, you can give it away incarnationly. That is seeking first the kingdom of God.

Tom

Christian Yoga is an oxymoron. What is it that is missing in prayer, meditating on scripture, that people must turn to a practice that has origins in belief in many gods, as one finds in India. Introducing positions that are praise and worship to other gods seems like the errors of the Israelites, the worship of Baal, of wooden and gold gods. The descriptions like I was in the most beautiful place in the world reflects self-indulgence. Mother Theresa did not need yoga, nor St. Franics, nor Martin Luther King...they needed the gospel of Christ. There must be something missing and folks are searching, but it is in the OT and NT. Love one another, Love God...no need for an exercise and eventually ritual that has origins elsewhere.

Jonathan

I think this is why brother Lawrence kept his prayer life to himself. You'll find that many won't understand, or be accepting of it. That is why I asked if you thought yoga was a gift. Kind of like those who are drawn to the Jesus prayer.

Silence guarding the fire within.

Melissa Brown

I am going to sound very "simple" to may of you, and guess what? - that's okay. So here it is, I LOVE Jesus and am SO thankful for His grace every day. I was raised in a very conservative Christian home, but my parents also taught me to "think" for myself. I was blessed.

I have practiced yoga at home during different seasons of my life and yet have never associated the origins or spiritual practices of it with my own use of it. It is great exercise. It has brought me through depression, loss of my mother, my brother gotten me back in shape after having three children in three years. It has given me peace and a place to center myself. Call me crazy, but I believe I can use the practice of yoga and still have my own belief system. I love Jesus! And I do yoga! :)

Jonathan

http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/symeon_threeways.html

Above is a link to St. Symeon's the new theologians 3 attentions to prayer. It is a non-exhaustive guide he wrote on prayer of the heart. And how to approach it. in prayer I've found myself doing all the wrong things, but I have found that the holy spirit has always led me back.

I think the heart of having a guide, which I mentioned earlier, is maybe like Paul said, doing everything with a clean conscience. As far as you can be gentle and at peace with everyone. Don't be a rebel doing yoga, be at peace and do yoga.

I personally don't do yoga, but I like the connection between the body and soul in prayer. We are not just a body alone, and the soul is nothing a part from the body.

Jonathan Merritt

Mark,

We should be very careful about dismissing Phileena out of hand because she "remain[s] with only a framework of experiences and not the word of God as the basis for acceptance of your choices." Christians engage in many good practices that are not explicitly mandated in Scripture.

If your child were to kneel beside her bed to pray, I wouldn't scorn her for doing so. I wouldn't ask her to show me where the Bible says she should kneel rather than stand (the predominant prayer posture in most of scripture). As long as she is not violating the teachings of Scripture, I'd argue that she is legitimately connecting with God in her own way.

You say you are a pastor. Are you an ordained minister? Do you recognize that ordination is found nowhere in the scriptures? Do you recognize that it derives from the Catholic view of apostolic succession? During the Christmas season, do you celebrate the holiday in your church? Do you do so recognizing that there is no Biblical basis for such a formal celebration of Christ's birth? Do you do so recognizing the pagan roots of the holiday? Be very careful when you make sweeping theological assertions. Theology is double-bladed. If you live by this particular sword, you must die by it as well.

While one might argue that there are many Biblical bases (not commands) for this practice--including the Bible's many teachings on prayer, solitude, meditation, etc--the real question is "does Scripture prohibit this practice?" While I've never personally practiced yoga, I find it difficult to answer that question in the affirmative when evaluating of the type of yoga described here.

Jm

Aaron Bacon

Jonathan, you stole my thought. I thank you. Christian "rituals" such as a holiday surrounding Jesus's birthday are not original Biblical teaching but borrowed from eastern (Pagan) culture. You can thank Constantine, not the Bible for many of these traditions that the church teaches us to follow including Sunday as the "Lord's Day" and Easter.

Although Christians do not worship the Pagan Sun god or celebrate Fertility in the Spring, they continue worldly traditions as their own. So why is it any different that a Christian finds a spiritual connection through an Eastern holistic exercise that teaches us to honor our body's as a temple (Where have I read that before?).

I still consider myself a Christian, but of a different, closer walk than the path I was raised. I grew up in the church, a preacher's kid, and was never allowed to learn a Christian faith on my own. It wasn't until I left the church and experienced the world that so many churches close their doors on, that my mind was open to the beauty and diversity that God has allowed to flourish.

If I read this article 15 years ago, I would have closed my mind to it, not realizing that I was closing my mind, heart, and spirituality to hundreds of truths that I was taught to ignore.

Christopher Shane Perkins

dear brothers and sisters in god. i cherish the feeling in my heart when i read such sincere words. it is early in the morning, the roosters crowing in the distance remind me of life everywhere. i am so grateful for you before taking a stance of agreement or disagreement, i feel curious and braver to investigate more deeply into the relationship i have to my own truth, love and god consciousness.

a dear friend of mine said "god is love and the way back to god is through love"

Mark Gomez

@Jonathan - I was not dismissing Phileena out of hand, I thought I was clear when I said I was not going to address her experiences so as to seek to invalidate them. I would not want to attack her experiences, not hers or Melissa's. I am not questioning their experiences and whether they or anyone else in this conversation is drawing closer to God by their particular practices. Well, except for Robert, whom I am not sure of whether he wants to be taken serious or not.

Live or die by that sword? Because of your statement, should I assume you think I am pulling a sword on everyone because I am questioning this practice? Am I pulling a sword because I know the meaning and depth of eastern philosophy and want to know how any of it can be practiced under the banner of Christ? Am I pulling a sword because I fear the level of damaging influence here in Q Ideas that some of the statements that have been made can have on those who read them? Statements like, if people could see the disciples it would probably look like this form of meditation, or linking Judaism to eastern religions, these are completely deceiving statements and should not be left unchecked. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to those words.

I think I know the sense of your implication when you make that statement to me, correct me if I am wrong. I have had to deal with extreme legalists a great multitude of times, as well as those who are theological fault finders. Believe me when I say I am not one of those. If you could see my reading list, friends, my close companions in the faith from a wide variety of denominations, you would never assume that of me and certainly would not accuse me. I have been accused before, but of something of the more contrary nature.

Pastor I can find in the New Testament text. Everything else you said about that, well, I don’t buy into it myself. I think I was pretty clear that I think there are many practices within the American church, and the Christian church historically that are not right.

I think it is a legitimate question to ask how Phileena can say she finds nothing incongruent with eastern religion and Christianity. Eastern religion either dismisses a personal God in Buddhism, or it offers hundreds of them in Hinduism. In the one you are seeking to become one with the divine essence in everything, in the other you live in fear of the various gods, especially Kali. In Buddhism you are the sole source of achieving your elevation to a higher plane, in Hinduism you live in a religious system that created and seeks to maintain a horrible caste system. I could go on, but this is only two of those eastern religions.

So, correct me if I am wrong about what you are accusing me of. And if you have a better answer about how to deal with statements being made that are blatantly wrong, I am all for hearing about it. I was just trying to have honest and open dialogue. It seems everyone else felt this was an appropriate forum for voicing their thoughts on this subject.

Shona

Keep going, everyone! This is a good exchange!

@Jonathan, I encourage you to challenge people as to whether their thoughts actually make sense. Many of us Western Christians are so ungrounded in our scriptures, it is easy to be tossed about, to and fro, by every wind of doctrine. We need your voice, especially when many of us are not willing to search out the scriptures on our own!

@Phileena, Your article is interesting to me. I think this is a question a lot of Christians have right now, and one I have been grappling with for a couple of years. Have you ever read the book "Death of a Guru", by R.R. Maharaj? If you haven't, then I recommend it to you, since you are a respected voice in the Christian world who has decided to promote yoga.

I bought your book and am looking forward to reading it, because I do know that much of Western Christian practice ignores the silencing of the soul, something other cultures have mastered, and I can feel my soul yearning for it. Maybe there is something in the Bible about how we can do that, if you believe the scriptures are complete. Perhaps if we looked more closely at the different (physical) ways the Bible teaches us to worship and pray (such as dancing, kneeling, bowing, being still before our Maker... even the practice of praying in tongues is, in a sense, a Christian mantra that can be repeated or chanted), then our bodies would become more involved in the prayer experience, it would activate our minds better and help us become more aware of our inner motivations, and we wouldn't feel a need to look elsewhere.

Chris Vanoire

The main concern amongst western evangelicals is the rise of the New Age Movement. It is a movement that takes principles from several religions...borrows heavily from Christianity without embracing the person of Jesus Christ. Yoga for most people presents a sense of spirituality that is universal and not exclusively of the Christian persuasion, implying that it is possible to contact and enjoy fellowship with Spirit without acknowledging or believing in the Christian rendering of it. The worry is that to know the nature of a thing, it's important to uncover it's etymology. Where did it come from? Who practiced it? Why? Humanity has always sought to find sufficiency within the self. It is the core of Luciferian doctrine. Lucifer is the son of the dawn. He presents himself as an Angel(Messenger) of Light (enlightment). He entices humanity to find within themselves what is designed to be found in God. "you shall not surely die...for the Lord knows that when you eat of it...you will be like God knowing good and evil'. He was not doing away with God. Just making Him an option. I become my own center and the king of my own heart. Look at leading emmisaries of this kind of consciousness like Deepak Chopra. He has been one of the most articulate proponents of this eastern consciousness. He does not believe in the diety, or the saving gospel of Jesus, but believes in the historic man Jesus and i read his book on the Third Jesus. He does not believe in the existence of the Devil...but considers it merely the a shadow of our own personality and a figment of our imagination. He believes that those who believe in Devils and demons are unelightened( i guess that would include Jesus and the Apostles). Yet the same guy has over the years under the toutelege of his mentor the master Yogi, the late Maharashi helped to crystalize some of the techniques known today in Yoga and Transcendal meditation. Psalm 119:25 says my soul is clinging the dust(earthly, carnal, subject to mortality things) revive me according to your Word'. The Psalmist is seeking God's word as the agent of his centering, his (revival) or resucitation. Psalm 1 speaks of meditation on the law of the Lord. Joshua was told to meditate day and night on the book of the law and through it he would make his way prosperous and have good success. Isaac was in the field meditation when Eliezer brought his wife Rebekkah to him. Ancient Hebrews had meditative practices which have been lost to church. We have to be careful not to go borrowing such important practices from people who do not know or acknowledge our God. If i engage in a practice that is spiritual but designed by people that do not worship the God i serve, what is their inspiration? What is the source of the 'light'? In which camp(there are only two) is their system born? Anything that is inspired(breathed on by spirit) is not necessarily Holy. The author talks about the journey from the head to the head. The head and the heart are part of the same region (Soul--Mind, will and emotions) In effect all you are doing is transistioning from the rational(calculating side) to the emotive(feeling side of the Soul) Spirit which is our essence transcends even the realm of our senses(it is beyond the sensory/sensual realms) in short...what we need in Christendom is somebody who rediscovers the ancient Hebraic/Abrahamic paths of meditation as opposed to people who travel to a Godless people to learn how to be spiritually congruent. In typical Christian form...instead of doing the hard work of discovery...we just follow. What fellowship does light have with darkness? Before you stone me for this. I come from a very spiritual background, before i met Christ. My whole family were the kind of the people some of you guys out there would have come to for guidance. I thank God he enabled us to find the true light...trust me there is a huge difference.

Amanda

I believe that the believer's freedom we have under the new covenant of christ's blood allows us to discern individually what is benificial and not to our own personal walk with christ. Yes, each believer should be walking deeply in a community of believers that should serve as his or her spiritual covering, meaning providing council and guidance and accountability and dialogue about our practices. There are inherant practices of certain types of yoga that I believe are unhealthy and perhaps harmful to a follower of the gospel of jesus christ, but there are certain types of yoga that speak nothing and teach nothing about other faiths associated with yoga. I attend yoga twice a week and the class focuses on the health of our bodies and the connection of the health that our mind and spirit have with our bodies. Our instructor explains our stretches and the ways that they benifit our bodies and she encourages us to quiet our minds and focus on our breath as a practice to lead to peaceful healthy living. God makes much of this practice in my life as he helps me to empty my mind and connect with him and worship him through the care I am giving my restless mind and body. This practice strengthens my relationship with christ!

First of all, if you don't practice any form or yoga, than how can you judge it! Second of all, you can practice yoga without believing that all people should as well. And MOST IMPORTANTLY: If you have real relationships with the people you practice yoga with, the people who know you practice yoga, etc, the truth of your intentions in yoga practice should be clear. It is through relationship that the gospel is shared with people, not through just following rules about wrong and right.

Mike Capron

It seems to me that the basic question is this: "Are those things not addressed in the Bible forbidden or allowed?" To me, they are allowed unless forbidden. If you wanted to dismiss all philosophies not accounted for in Scripture, you would have to throw out most Western philosophies as well as Eastern ones. What is forbidden in Scripture is the worship of idols or other gods. That's my line in the sand. I had one yoga teacher who occasionally (once a year or so) would introduce a chant that went over that line. I would leave the room for the duration. He and the rest of the class understood why--I consider that part of my Christian witness. If I was never in the room, I would never have had some very interesting and (I pray) useful conversations. Meanwhile, I have found that doing the exercises, learning about my body and practicing meditation has improved my Christian prayer life as well as ridding me of back pain.

Cherisse Mccoy

This is a wonderful dialogue.

I have spent in depth time on both sides of this issue. Paul referred to something similar when discussing the eating of meat that was sacrificed to idols.

Romans 14:

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgement on his opinions.

One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.

Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.

He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.....

For the sake of space I will not copy the entire chapter. Though I would like to. Please read it entirely if you are at all concerned with Paul's opinion of this topic.

I would also add that from my experience, accountability and discernment are necessary whenever one partakes in anything of importance.

side note:

*Mark- reading the Bhagavad Gita would give you some insight on a more accurate perception of Hinduism, particularly as relates to yoga. (you are missing some information) Your comments are appreciated. Thank you.

mikedard

Yoga (Sanskrit, Pali: ??? yóga) is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India,[1][2] whose goal is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility.[3] The word is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.[4][5][6].

Within Hindu philosophy, the word yoga is used to refer to one of the six orthodox (astika) schools of Hindu philosophy.[7][8] Yoga in this sense is based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is also known as Raja Yoga to distinguish it from later schools.[9] Patanjali's system is discussed and elaborated upon in many classical Hindu texts, and has also been influential in Buddhism and Jainism. The Bhagavadgita introduces distinctions such as Jnana Yoga ("yoga based on knowledge") vs. Karma Yoga ("yoga based on action").

Other systems of philosophy introduced in Hinduism during the medieval period are Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga.[10][11][12]

The Sanskrit word yoga has the literal meaning of "yoke", from a root yuj meaning to join, to unite, or to attach. As a term for a system of abstract meditation or mental abstraction it was introduced by Patanjali in the 2nd century BC. Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi or yogini.[13]

The goals of yoga are varied and range from improving health to achieving Moksha.[14] Within the Hindu monist schools of Advaita Vedanta, Shaivism and Jainism, the goal of yoga takes the form of Moksha, which is liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), at which point there is a realization of identity with the Supreme Brahman. In the Mahabharata, the goal of yoga is variously described as entering the world of Brahma, as Brahman, or as perceiving the Brahman or Atman that pervades all things.[15] For the bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti or service to Svayam bhagavan itself may be the ultimate goal of the yoga process, where the goal is to enjoy an eternal relationship with Vishnu.[

The above definition is right from Wikipedia, which is exactly what many of my Christian friends from India friends have told me. To quote them, "the yoga process, is a prayer exercise to enjoy an eternal relationship with Vishnu."

Roger A. Meyer

Mark Gomez, perhaps you could gain a different understanding of this issue if you studied ancient and medieval church history as well as the practices of Christian mission churches in other parts of the world. We are very different in our practices from the early apostolic church, so much so that we would not feel comfortable with theirs and they would not recognize ours as a descendent of theirs. But such is the "accomodation" that John Calvin spoke of as the church in his day looked at the :"protestors" and the fact that earth is not the center of the universe.

mikedard

Now why would I have friends from India, you are presumptuous. I don't know your heart, but you can't stop me from stating a fact, "the yoga process, is a prayer exercise to enjoy an eternal relationship with Vishnu."

mikedard

Mark Gomez's veracity is right on, and eloquently communicated.

e.b.agustin

Mark Gomez, Chris Vanoire, mikedard,

Keep defending the true path. Thanks much.

Those who know the sufficiency in Christ understand your thoughts very well. There is no need to add or subtract to what was thought in the Word.

@Phileena,

Maybe you can educate us on what the postures and breathing exercises originally mean in Yoga, and what do they do in "christian meditation".

Thanks.

e.b.agustin

sorry, should be "taught in the Word'...

Anthony Ashley

1. Since there are many different ways of looking at Yoga in light of scripture, I have to rely more on the Spirit's leading in whether or not to practice. My own ability to create a Bible-based rule about whether it is right to practice disciplines that come from a religion that is false (outside of the context of that religion) is limited.

So in light of what I know of God's word and the different perspectives I began practicing Yoga while listening closely to the Spirit. I've yet to have a spiritual check (on the contrary I've experienced his grace in practice) so, trusting He is able to guide me, I practice in peace and dedicate my work to Jesus. There are certainly specific classes and yogic gatherings I do not feel at peace to attend because of their religious nature so I don't.

With this kind of thing I think God can lead us differently. It's most important that your heart is right, your ears are open, and you are willing to lay the thing in question down regardless of what you think about it. St. Paul tells us that our consciences will respond differently on some things and that it's okay. We shouldn't cause others to stumble in our freedom and we shouldn't impose unnecessary laws on ourselves or others.

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2. I've had some friends who practice but are uncomfortable saying the "Namaste" at the end of practice. I was also unsure about this until I realized how much "The light in me honors the light in you" expresses the beautiful ideas C.S. Lewis expresses in his essay "The Weight of Glory". You should read it.

I am personally glorifying God by taking a moment to recognize his image and handiwork in the people I am around when I say "Namaste". In my mind that is what the word always truly meant. It doesn't matter if someone else uses the word to express some kind of unbiblical divinity in humanity. The way I use it is true and therefore good.

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3. Christians need to be more bold and confident in their grasp of the truth. I'm not talking about being conceited in the knowledge one has a truth that others do not. On the contrary really grasping the truth of Christ is most humbling. But knowing the truth should bring the upmost confidence in all things.

An example of this is in the way I boldly claim the word "Namaste" as a word that glorifies God when I say it even though others use it in a false religion. I'm not scared to do this. It brings me joy. St. Paul was not afraid to claim the pagan altar ascribed "to an unknown god" and the words of the pagan poets as tools in his evangelism.

The fact is that the spiritually perverse deification of man that some people imply with their "Namaste" is just Satan's twist on the truth that we are all made in the image of God and are created to display his glory. This way of thinking can apply to many aspects of yoga. I want to bring Kingdom truth everywhere I am including on the mat.

Lori

I am so glad that someone is bringing up this difficult topic. It's about time that someone dares to express an opinion that is definitely going to stir up a lot of negative responses. But it's cool, also, to read how many people are open to talking about it without getting all defensive. When I was in seminary our OT professor said "If God is not in everything He is in nothing." God created this universe. He created the East, He created the West. The East is not all evil, the West is not all good. Why do we pick on Yoga, but not on shopping malls where so many pastors and their kids/families go to buy and worship materialism? And yet it is so easy for us to decide that yoga is evil. God can take anything meant for evil and make it good. We can worship him through "yoga". And I agree with the person who said that if we just gave it a different name it would not evoke such an emotional response from those opposed to yoga. I personally am an American believer (who grew up in a very conservative Christian family like Phileena mentions) living in the "evil" East. And honestly, I have nothing against yoga. I find it quiets my mind so that I can pray. Prayer is also about "Being still and knowing that he is God." Honestly, why do we all get so bent out of shape about these issues? The most important thing is that we worship God, love him, love others. And does it really matter if I am practicing yoga as a way to quiet my mind so that I can focus on GOD? And if you prefer to pray another way, that is okay, too. Even if it's while walking through the shopping mall.

Valerie

Yoga is hinduism. It is rooted in "connecting to self" - it is about going into yourself.

We as Christians are to be focused on JESUS who is the ONE way. We don't want to go into ourselves, we want to look out to Jesus. We need to "walk in the light as He is in the light." Attempting to walk into darkness (hindu practice) is opening ourselves to the demonic. Why would we knowingly walk into darkness?

Yoga is an act of worship. Participating in this is needless danger.

Exercise, stretching, etc. are all good things, but participating in Yoga is participating in a Hindu act of worship.

Satan has an amazing ability to deceive and convince us that things are "not a big deal." Worship is a very big deal & we need to recognize ways that we willingly participate in pagan activities.

Vish

yoga is about truth, non-violence, non-stealing, non-accumulation of wealth and non-indulgence. for me yog is living a loving, truthful life, in harmony with the nature!

Melanie Dobson Hughes

Below, I'll offer a few points celebrating yoga as a Christian practice. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an ordained United Methodist clergywoman, who also just finished my doctoral degree at Duke University in theology. In addition, I am a RYT--or registered yoga teacher, and have utilized the teaching of yoga in various settings for Christians and as an outreach to people wounded by the church who still long to know God. I began yoga after experiencing the onset of symptoms resembling multiple sclerosis, and am deeply grateful to the practice of yoga for enabling me to walk again, to live with lessened pain, and to embrace my debilitated body as gift.

Below see my few points:

Yoga as a Christian Practice

1. Yoga, which comes from the work "yuk" in Sanskrit, was first mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Soul), a sacred Hindu text that is part of the Mahabarata (a holy text about four times the size of our bible). Yoga is intimately intertwined with Hinduism, and was a spiritual practice for centuries before the asanas (or postures) with which we associate yoga today were developed. To claim that yoga doesn't have a religious grounding in an Eastern context is to be duplicitous. Any western appropriation of yoga must be done with great respect and recognition of the story out of which yoga comes.

At the same time, the grounding of yoga in another religion doesn't prevent Christians from faithfully borrowing its wisdom for Christian purposes. After all, Christians have been doing this ever since Christianity begin. As some of you have noted, our sacramental act of the Eucharist (communion) , the ordering of our worship, and the liturgical calendar (Advent-Christmas-Easter) come by direct borrowing from Judaism. When our early church fathers and mothers were confounded as how to articulate a trinitarian God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and Christ as both divine and human, they borrowed from the Greek language--directly using phrases from pagan Greece in order to articulate the nature of the God whom we worship. The Councils of Chalcedon and Nicea are direct examples of the appropriation of Greek pagan symbolic language for Christian purposes. A third example of Christian "borrowing" would be the use of Greek medicine. What we now think of as modern medicine (practiced in every hospital in America) has its roots in Greek pagan healthcare based in the cult of Asclepius,the god of healing. Christians were able to see the wisdom in such medicine, and while dropping worship rituals of the gods, retained most everything else. The Cappadocian brothers Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory the Great began the first hospital in the late 300s, with a practice of medicine taken from Greek paganism. All of these examples are to demonstrate that Christianity has always "borrowed" from other traditions and religions throughout its history. The borrowing of yogic teachings only feels new and scary because we feel/think we are removed from our tradition of appropriating what we need in order to more faithfully understand and worship Christ.

Melanie Dobson Hughes

2. In this same vein, I offer fairly contemporary wisdom on the borrowing from other traditions. I'm sure that quoting the current pope might not have much weight with evangelicals, but he is still the leader of most of the world's Christians and his thoughts should be taken seriously. In his “Letter to Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Xian Meditation” then Joseph Ratzinger wrote in January 1990 that "the Catholic church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in other religions. Ways should not be rejected out of hand because they are not ‘Christian’. We can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian concept of prayer Is not obscured."

I also offer Tilden Edwards thought in Living in the Presence—“In wider ecumenism of the Spirit being opened for us today, we need to humbly accept learnings of particular Eastern religions in relation to the body. What makes a particular practice Christian is not its source but its intent. If our intent is to deepen an awareness of Christ, then it is Christian. If this is not our intent, then even our reading of Scripture loses its authenticity.” Thus I would argue that yoga can indeed be used with an intent to Christ, even with a tradition rooted in Hinduism.

3.Scripture throughout affirms the care and good of the body, particularly seen in creation, incarnation, and the Resurrection. Yoga is concrete application of our incarnational faith, and celebrates the body as a pathway to prayer and to God. A specific scripture that affirms this is 2 Cor. 6: 16, which describes all flesh as holy and teaches that the corporeal nature is the place that God chose to call ‘home.’

4.The use of the body in worship is established in Christian practice already—kneeling, bowing, clapping, dancing, raising hands. Yoga enables us to use the body to worship God and become who we are fully created to be—our bodily experience becomes way of deepening life with God. However Christianity doesn't supply an intentional practice that nurtures and sustains the body like yoga---thus the need for some thoughtful and creative "borrowing." There was nothing in Christian prayer practices that could rehabilitate my chronically ill body such that I could walk better after an MS-like attack (and I am familiar with many prayer practices, such as lectio divina, meditation, centering prayer, etc.). Yoga enabled me to worship, pray to Christ, and actually stand on my own two feet without falling over.

5.The last point I would make is that God’s Spirit is much more prolifigate and mysterious than we are. The mischief of the Holy Spirit might actually work through yoga to enable us to love God in Christ and our neighbor more--even our neighbor who thinks we are crazy and unChristian for practicing yoga. I know without a single doubt that I am a more loving, caring, and passionate pastor because I practice yoga.

Enough from me. Many blessings upon all of us as we continue discerning the work of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of her people today.

Melanie

Amonite

Yoga is a syncretic practice. Certainly, some of the more secular aspets of yoga may seem helpful - just as talking to a secular counselor or reading a secular self-help book might contain 'useful' advice.

However, there are two things to consider here:

1) Yoga cannot be truly "separated" from its roots without ceasing to be Yoga, and so the eastern/pagan influence will influence the Christian.

2) Simple Biblical practices/advice for healthy physical and spiritual living are far more effective than Yoga, so it's not nescessary (the wisdom of God is higher than the wisdom of man).

Going deeper: In a standard Yoga excercise, what is one meditating on? If it's simply chanting a phrase over and over until you "feel" it, this is more akin to emptying the mind than it is to communing with God or meditating on Scripture. (Meditation on scripture in the Bible has a very different sense - meaning to talk of, muse on, consider, even complain about. It is a highly active consideration, often leading to phsycial distress and further communion with God about it until understanding is gained, vs. chanting of a verse or concept until some "spiritual emotion" is felt). What is the music playing in the background of a Yoga excerise while the mind is being emptied? Is it new age music, or mindless chants? Is it pure, lovely, wholesome? God asks us to be sober minded (having *presence of mind*) and watchful (literally alert, vigilant, awake). Is this achieved when one is focusing only on breathing, or only on one's heart, etc, and actually *pushing out* 'distracting thoughts'?

For the claim that "there is nothing in Christian prayer practices that can heal like Yoga, so we have to 'borrow'" :

13Is anyone among you experiencing painful hardship? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14Is anyone among you physically ill? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is ready to collapse, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. -James 5:13-18

(The important bit not being just that there is an avenue by which God takes our cares, and even heals many physical ailments - but that it is *God* who keeps us from growing weary in the trials of life. I have experienced this with my own disability. Many times, prayer of fellow Christians will stop a sezure - other times, prayer brings comfort (restoration), but the seizure continues. Prayer by elders cured me of the worst aspect of my disability which no doctor could fix, and that healing restored my walk with God and grew my faith a great deal. I'm still disabled as far as I cannot walk without a walker and twitch daily/have seizures now and again, sometimes can't move entirely, fall down a lot, - but my peace/comfort comes from God - I don't seek it out in philosophies of men. I go to regular phsical therapy now and again - but it was God who got me through physical therapy, not physical therapy that got me "closer to God". I know that any time God wants me to (and this has happened for times of service) I'll be able to walk if it's in His plan. For now, it's helped me grow in my faith, and witness to others, that I have to deal with the trial).

"Yoga enables us to use the body to worship God and become who we are fully created to be—our bodily experience becomes way of deepening life with God" - This phrase alone shows exactly how dangerous mixing Yoga with the church is. God has given us -everything- we need for life and Godliness. Does this mean its wrong for us to eat healthy, join a swimteam, or take care of ourselves? No - scripture advises us to take care of our bodies, as we are the temple of the Lord. However, if "something else" of the world is needed to "deepen" our relationship with God or become more like Christ (who is who we are created to be like) - this is making a new gospel for yourself. Yoga has become a new god. And no one can serve two masters.

So ask yourself - if God asked you to *give up* Yoga, could you do it easily and freely, without the slightest bit of anxiety? Don't say "God would never ask me to" - because there is nothing in this world, eve good things like family or country, that God places above abiding with Him, and following Him alone.

Amonite

"During the Christmas season, do you celebrate the holiday in your church? Do you do so recognizing that there is no Biblical basis for such a formal celebration of Christ's birth? Do you do so recognizing the pagan roots of the holiday? Be very careful when you make sweeping theological assertions. Theology is double-bladed. If you live by this particular sword, you must die by it as well."

I don't celebrate Christmas for precisely those reasons. Or Easter, or Lent. When a pastor is in front of the church actually lying about the timeline of the entire last week of Christ, it doesn't bode well for spiritual truth. (Plus, Easter sadly replaces some of the most beautiful meanings/nuances of Christ's death that can be found in his fulfillment of the Old Testament rituals (such as being the offering of firstfruits, or both sacrifice and scapegoat, or the kinsmen redeemer) and replaces them with yet-another-sun-god-passion-play. (To which all non-christians can rightly mock Christianity for 'copying' - as the Catholic church did). God considered weeping for Tammuz (lent) an abomination of the highest degree in the Old Testament. Is it somehow better now that its been 'christianized'? The Old Testament already had a holiday for getting rid of sin in ones life (feat of unleavened bread), and getting rid of sin in the country and church (Feast of Atonement).

You are correct though - anyone who has a problem with yoga and -not- Christmas and Easter is holding a double standard.

The liturgical calander does not come from judaism, its actually divorced from judaism (if Easter falls on the Jewish Passover, for instance, its moved to another week entirely).

It is quite correct that we are not jews (most of us), and that we, as gentiles, will have different ways of worshiping God. This is perfectly fine, and scripture/the Holy Spirit will give us guidance in these areas. The danger comes in when we practice syncretism. (Deliberately seeking out pagan practices to mix in with the church). (Borrowing from the Old Testament is fine, btw, so long as we don't -enforce- practice of any of the jewish laws, which would mean a return to slavery to the law. There is nothing God 'disagreed' with in His own "Perfect" Law).

When you replace spiritual truth with a lie, because it is easier to understand, perhaps, or more fun, or simply the way things have been done for a thousand years - then the gospel message becomes watered down and mixed in with all the religions of the world. Christianity loses credibility, and religious plurilism gains a hold, as people gravitate towards whatever "mix" tickles their ears best.

Also, as we see all around with the dramatic fall out from Christmas/Easter and the mockery they have caused the church to take (as seriously, all the churches main 'holiday's are copied myths. Why then do we actually expect anyone to take a look at any archeological evidence or scientific or historic evidence we bring up?) - bringing in Yoga may lead to similar ramifications.

A while back I worked on compiling the history of the churches involved in "FaithShared". They would incorporate practices such as Taize,Labyrinth's, or other faith books (such as the book of Mormon or Quaran) - so long as they had some link to Christianity or 'pointed to Christ' as they put it. All the churches followed a similar pattern: The rise of feminism in the church, emergent church activity, declassifying homosexuality as a sin, social justice/redistribution of wealth, environmental activism, meditative or new age activities combined with worship (such as labyrinths, taize'), interfaith teaching - and many in the last and final stages - stopping teaching that Christ was the only way to God.

You can find a broad overview/quotes from these churches that I compiled here:

http://tasket.blogspot.com/p/politics-religion.html

While most of my quotes did not center on the meditative worship practices, that was a common denominator in most of the churches. Taize (repetitive prayer chanting) was especially common.

(You can see here how Taize is linked with both Yoga and Religious Pluralism)ttp://www.meetup.com/OneSpirit/events/14404745/?action=detail&eventId=14404745 />
(You can see how Yoga is both a gateway away from Jesus for both Christians, and a stumbling block to seekers, in this typical list of "spirtually seeking God" yoga class descriptions).

http://www.mercycenterstl.org/docs/2011_2012Schedule.pdf

http://www.southasianconnection.com/articles/131/1/Whats-Wrong-With-Yoga-Especially-Christian-Yoga/Page1.html (A warning from a Christian who once practiced yoga about the spiritual dangers of "Christian" yoga).

Sue Berger

I loved your article. I also have made yoga a part of my exercise routine and to my surprise became a part of my spiritual practice. I have been a christian my whole life. Raised in a pastors home and now married to a pastor. I have been in the fitness industry for the past 25 years and in order to keep up with the industry I started implementing yoga into my classes and my client workouts. After an accident that limited my regular routine I started making yoga a more substantial part of my fitness routine. I was surprised by how challenging this practice was both physically and emotionally. I found that I was faced with the truth of my relationship with myself. I began the journey of self acceptance and love. My whole life I worked so hard to be pretty enough, smart enough, strong enough, skinny enough, wise enough, a good enough mother, a good enough wife....I wasn't resting in the arms of the unconditional loving Father. I was trying to win the approval of God, myself and anyone else that was in my life. The practice of yoga gave me a space and place to practice kindness, patience and love towards myself making it possible for me to actually have patience, kindness and love towards others. I always loved Jesus, yoga didn't help me love Him more, but it has helped me understand how vast the love of my heavenly Father is to me and to everyone - even the ones that may not seem to deserve it. It's not about deserving God's love it's about accepting His love and yoga is a practice of acceptance. You can't put God in a box. He is a part of everything - even the things that we don't want to see Him in. God is bigger then we can even start to comprehend or explain. God can be found where ever you are. In a prison cell, in a church, in a manger, on the court, in a hospital room, in a library, on the field, and yes even on a yoga mat. :) Thank you Jesus that you are not limited to the spaces that we want to limit you to.

Graphicartist2k5

To all those Christians that think yoga is "OK" and you're going to be standing before God and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant" I have this to say: GET A CLUE AND GET A CLUE QUICK! Jesus NEVER condones the practicing of ANY religion, no matter HOW innocent they appear on the outside to be! What I see from this whole "yoga is harmless" stuff coming from those on this page that claim to be Christians is pure ignorance. Yoga was designed to invoke demonic spirits. EVERY SINGLE EXERCISE WAS MEANT TO OPEN INVISIBLE DOORWAYS INTO THE DEMONIC REALM. I'm completely in agreement with what Mark Gomez has stated. The American church by and large has become an utter cesspool of "anything goes" where all we do is re-label some profane thing as "Christian" and that all of a sudden makes it "OK" in God's Sight! What's next, are we as Christians going to try and re-label pornography and claim that God's "OK" with our version of it? SIN IS SIN AND SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD! I cannot believe the stuff I'm reading on this page! What if Jesus showed up right where those of you that defend yoga are right now and TOTALLY blinded your eyes with His Glory the same way He blinded the Apostle Paul's eyes and told you point-blank that you practicing yoga is what is keeping you from Him, and if you want your eyesight back, you need to fall on your face right then and there and ask His forgiveness? WOULD YOU DO IT, OR WOULD YOU JUSTIFY YOUR CHOICE TO PRACTICE YOGA RIGHT TO JESUS' BEAUTIFUL FACE?

I KNEW there was something about Phileena Heuertz that didn't quite click with my spirit when I saw her video on Youtube, and now I know what it is. REMEMBER: JESUS SAID BROAD IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE, AND THERE ARE MANY THAT GO BY THAT WAY, AND NARROW IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE, AND THERE ARE FEW THAT GO BY THAT WAY. All yoga does is distract from The Way, The Truth and The Life, which is Jesus Christ.

Phileena

Thank you all for weighing in on the discussion. Clearly yoga is controversial for Christians. I want this to be a safe place where individuals can process and express their views with respect of one another and without judgment.

A few people have admonished me to consider the verse (and I paraphrase) “Narrow is the way that leads to life and broad is the path that leads to death.” (Luke 13 and Matthew 7) I reference this verse regularly and often when I speak. I understand the perspective that this verse requires a very restrictive approach to engaging in practices that are not explicitly “Christian” or practices that may originate from another culture or be associated with another religion. How we hear Jesus’ words has a lot to do with how we understand salvation. As I have pursued intimacy with Jesus through reading of the Scriptures, prayer and study, I have come to understand this verse in a different way.

Early in my life I understood salvation largely having to do with what it meant for me to be accepted by God for all eternity—my beliefs and decisions having power to either save or condemn me. This thinking is really contrary to Christian orthodoxy—we are saved by faith through grace. But though many Christians claim we are saved by faith through grace, the way we live tells a different story. In the end, our thinking really is: if I don’t believe “rightly” I am in jeopardy of being separated from God.

What I am coming to understand is salvation in terms of a total overhaul of who I am. In God’s mercy and unconditional love, I am invited into transformation of my very being. We are now a new creation! The apostle Paul proclaims. This is the best news ever!

What I hear Jesus saying is that the narrow way comes at great cost to the ego/false-self/old creation—the part of us that is largely unknown to us—the part of us that is unrecognizable to Jesus as well (Luke 13:25b--‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’).

When God looks at me God sees me in my glory—how I was intended to be when God first created me. I am the Beloved of God and there’s nothing I can do or say or believe that can separate me from that reality. Salvation then is about transforming the human condition that is wracked with separateness from God, self and others.

Our ego-self/false-self/old creation is the part of us that thinks we have it all figured out, thinks we have God figured out; the part of us that trends toward fear expressed through: security, survival, affection, esteem, power and control; the part of us that thinks we can save ourselves.

Few will enter the narrow gate—the narrow gate leaves room only for our true identity as the Beloved to enter—the ego with its illusions and self-destructive and other-destructive tendencies cannot enter through that gate. The easier way is the broad way; the path that leaves room for the fear-based parts of us to travel with us.

There is much more to comment on in this stream of conversation, but for now I will leave it at that.

Thanks for your participation in such an important conversation.

Júlio Reis

My main beef with yoga is, in very simplistic form: So you want to realign my chakras—please show me the chakras first, OK? I cannot agree to realign what I don't think I have.

But, quoting a paragraph from this article:

"Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are the greatest historical events in human history. This first-century Jew changed the world by calling people to a broader understanding of what it means to be children of God."—I don't think so; I think this first-century Jew changed the world by dying for it. He was no mere master. He was God in the flesh; perfect; giving his own life to redeem your own. Turn him into a master and you've missed Jesus completely.

"His message was about transforming the human person, not about starting a new religion. "—God is not a life coach. The path of Jesus is not one of self-improvement, but of communion with God; the life change comes naturally when you're walking with God. You don't "do stuff" to be with God, but as a consequence of that. (Well, we can always fake it; we've been doing it since the beginning.)

"What began as a radical revolution evolved into an established set of doctrines that define what it means to be part of the organized religion of Christianity."—Christianism is still a radical revolution. The words of Christ still carry the same punch today as they did 1,900 years ago. They just need to be taken seriously.

You imply there was a change from what Jesus wanted into the form of organized religion called Christianism we have today. Jesus himself promised he would build his own church, and that death would not overcome it. So, he himself was going to organize his religion. The Christian churches are what Jesus built, with all their flaws. It's important to keep in mind though, that he said nothing of wooden pews and nice carpets, of PAs and salaries for pastors, of denominations and streams of theology, of Christmas and Mother's Day. These things exist in the church today, and should be looked at with a very critical eye, because they either support Jesus' model of church or they should be ditched. But none of this invalidates the things inside the churches that are Christ's own idea.

This paragraph shows your starting point clearly, I think. If Jesus was just a great master (the greatest!), and if he wanted to transform the human person, and if his intentions and teachings were "evolved" (co-opted, or hijacked) into "organized religion", then why not try all means possible for improvement? Why not go to the source of what Jesus really wanted? Why not ditch the organized religion which keeps us locked into old ways of thinking? I agree with the reasoning, just not with the premises.

The thing is, (in my opinion) your formulation of what Christ intended is too weak. There's more in the Bible.

Lois

An excellent book on this very topic is Caryl Matrisciana's book Out of India.

Caryl details exactly what yoga is and what its very roots are. Caryl has a number of other excellent DVDs--that cover this topic such as "Wide Is the Gate: The Emerging New Christianity" from Caryl Productions at www.caryltv.com. For another view point I would urge your readers to get these products.

Jeff

Being born and brought up in India. This post is quite funny , if you say Yoga is to glorify God! .Dont be deceived , while it may seem harmless in the beginning , with exercises and breathing techniques as you go deeper into it , the ugly face of Yoga comes up. What you practise now may be a diluted poison but still it is that poison that will destroy you slowly.

Bible says bodily exercise doesn't profit much. Its the spirit that must be exercised through sitting in the presence of God.

If yoga was the best way to glorify God then the Yogi who stays next to my home wouldn't have danced on his fathers dead body to bring peace on his soul.

If someone says Yoga is from God. Please come to India where many are being saved and found Joy in Christ .

Crystal

Thanks, Jeff, for being one of the few with common sense under this post. Blogs and websites like this are most unhelpful when it comes to pointing people towards the REAL gospel of Jesus Christ. They are instead "free-for-alls" for non-Christians and wavering "Christians" to spill their two cents on how much they hate the church and the church's traditions, doctrines, and orthodoxy.

Any Buddhist will tell you that Yoga is a spiritual practice, no matter how this God-denying, supernatural-denying Western society will try to trick you into thinking that it is just a mere exercise program! How shallow!

Oh I apologize, it is actually also for mental health. Okay. Really? What about one's SPIRITUAL health, which this practice threatens?

To do Yoga is to yoke yourself with the gods/spirits/demons of the positions that you would put yourself in. Demons are relentless; they do not care what shallow people think. They do not care if you think it is exercise only-- they are right there waiting to attach themselves to you because you have willfully and ignorantly given yourselves over to them.

Back to criticizing this site again: It would have been nice, and made much more sense to have someone write an article on why Christians-- and NO ONE for that matter-- should be doing Yoga, NOT how 'beneficial it is for Christian spiritual formation'! What a joke!

Dianne

The correct translation of the Jesus Prayer is:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.