Western Yoga is generally associated with peace, meditation and skinny people in leggings, but in the most conservative American households such as my own it is a contentious topic that rivals abortion and homosexuality.
Yesterday evening, when I casually suggested to my mom that I was interested in doing hot yoga- (definition: a particularly sexy type of stretching which you do in- yep you got it- a hot room) she listened quietly while I explained the benefits of stretching with warm muscles, the importance of building strength through low-impact exercise and all that jazz.
I thought that was the end of our discussion until I was called down for a discussion with my parents later that same day.
In response to the growing popularity of yoga across the U.S. and new-age beliefs, many books and websites have cropped up to warn unsuspecting Christians about the insidious nature of yoga. Here is just one example of an article posted by a senior producer for The Christian Broadcasting Network.
Well-read in such sources, my parents lovingly explained how yoga would lead me into the teachings of the antichrist (definition: generally understood as the dude who’s going to take over and position himself against the Church in the last days before the Second Coming of Jesus- see 2 John or Revelations for details)
In response to the growing popularity of yoga across the U.S. and new-age beliefs, many books and websites have cropped up to warn unsuspecting Christians about the insidious nature of yoga. Here is just one example of an article posted by a senior producer for The Christian Broadcasting Network.
Well-read in such sources, my parents lovingly explained how yoga would lead me into the teachings of the antichrist (definition: generally understood as the dude who’s going to take over and position himself against the Church in the last days before the Second Coming of Jesus- see 2 John or Revelations for details)
As with most lectures, my dad began by opening up his Bible which he directed me to read out loud.
“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world… Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” I Timothy 4:1 NIV Version
Since yoga does not acknowledge Jesus (it doesn’t acknowledge any God in fact), it must be a teaching of the antichrist, they deduced.
My dad then went on to show me a Youtube video (sorry I can’t find it) of a man explaining the “true origins of yoga”. I sat for 8 minutes while a man with a long name and a voice as bland as that of a Discovery Channel narrator explained a black and white Powerpoint about how yoga is not only a physical practice a spiritual practice deeply rooted in ancient mystical beliefs, in other words paganism.
Like most Americans, I was already aware of the spiritual aspects of Yoga. Also, like most Americans, I do not plan to hire an instructor so that I can convert to Hinduism or sit on my buttocks and recite Ohm for one hour (though there are people who do, and that's fine for them). Personally, I hope to build strength and flexibility to supplement my regular workout regimen of weightlifting and running but that's besides the point.
I find it interesting that many of the same people who condemn yoga are the same people who celebrate familiar holidays such as Easter and Christmas- supposedly Christian holidays but with practices undeniably rooted in pagan beliefs.
My parents are certainly not representative of all Christians. In fact, if you google “Christian Yoga”, all of the websites that show up on the first search page are websites by Christians for Christians who have discovered the benefits of yoga and are loving it. As with customs such as the practice of making Easter eggs, these Christian writers explain how Christian-yogis take what they like from Eastern practices- the health benefits, the meditation, etc- and use it to strengthen their own beliefs.
This article from Christian Yoga Magazine, sums it up quite nicely.
“Christians who practice yoga, Zen, Aikido and similar eastern health and spiritual disciplines do so, not out of a repudiation of their own religious heritage, but as a way of deepening it. They celebrate and embrace all that is true and good and wise in these practices- and simply ignore those aspects that are not in harmony with their own spiritual outlook.”
Do you think Yoga is compatible with Christianity? Please share your thoughts.
