Are You Willing to Examine Yoga Objectively?

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My goal is not to question anyone's faith or offend those doing yoga. My desire is to make Christians aware of concerns regarding the practice of yoga. I welcome comments and even disagreement, but please read the guidelines for comments at the bottom. Thanks!

Demon Possessed
In the 1980’s I was the program chairman for a large Christian women’s group for military wives. 

One of our speakers was a woman who had become demon possessed through practicing yoga. 

She had no interest in pagan or occult practices. She was simply doing something she thought was exercise.

She ended up in a mental ward and only recovered because a nurse shared Christ with her and prayed for her release from yoga demons.

This speaker warned Christians not to get involved with yoga on any level. She said it couldn’t be Christianized. 

The Growing Popularity of Yoga
No one argued with her in the 1980’s, but today it’s a different story.

From 2012 to 2016, the number of Americans doing yoga doubled from approximately 20 million to 40 million (source). 

Many YMCAs, community centers, churches, and grade schools now offer yoga classes. 

Syncretism
While many of these classes claim to remove the Hindu elements, and some claim they are Christian, even the most sterile versions incorporate aspects of yoga’s meditation techniques. 

This syncretism - the combining of different religions - is not a healthy practice.

It's Not the Same as Christmas Trees

Some folks are troubled by the use of Christmas trees because people once worshiped trees. I don’t share their concerns because tree worship is not a modern religion, nothing about our current use of Christmas trees mimics rituals or ceremonies of past or current tree worship, and I don’t know a single person who worships their Christmas tree. If it bothers a Christian to have one, they shouldn't, but it's not syncretism.

In comparison:

1. Yoga bears a pagan name still used by Hindus today.

2. The word yoga means to join, yoke, or unite with the Universal Consciousnesses, a pagan concept.  

2. Yoga is still a vital part of current Hindu and Buddhist worship. 

3. Even the most "sterile" versions of yoga mimic the rituals and ceremonies of pagan origin. 

4. Yoga is always described as both a mind and body experience, never simply an exercise.

What's in a Name?
“Christian yoga” is an oxymoron. That’s like saying Christian Hinduism. 

Does it honor God to use an exercise program with a pagan name and pagan origins? I hope you will consider the Scriptures in the Bible study below before answering that question.

Another Sad Statistic

I warned one of my loved ones year ago about the dangers of yoga, but when it became popular with some of her friends, she told me it wouldn't affect her faith because she wasn't doing "Hindu yoga." It was simply stretching exercises. She even misused some Scriptures to defend it. 

 

I was concerned with her decision but unprepared for the drastic changes in her. Over the course of several years after starting yoga, she quit attending church, embraced ex-vangelical beliefs, and became critical of former Christian friends. While I don't think yoga was the only negative influence in her life, I believe it was a major one.

 

Does this happen to everyone involved in yoga? No. I think the serious nature of her involvement came partly because she had been repeatedly warned about the possible dangers of yoga (Luke 12:42-48). But I believe practicing yoga has some affect on everyone, and no exercise program is worth forfeiting even the slightest bit of discernment, ministry opportunities, or Christian maturity.

We are Not Merely Physical Beings
Perhaps yoga has physical benefits, but we are not merely physical beings. We are spiritual beings as well.

Because our bodies are temples of God's Holy Spirit everything we do with our bodies should glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8

Let’s exercise our spiritual discernment and choose activities that honor and bless the God of the Bible, first, last, and forever.

Maybe you think I'm all wrong, but can you be sure? Is it worth risking the quality of your faith for an exercise program?

What if your involvement in yoga influences someone with less discernment to get involved in Hindu practices of yoga? Is it worth taking that risk? 

Perhaps you feel your faith is stronger than ever since you've been doing yoga. However, if yoga has affected your faith, it's doubtful that you'd recognize the changes.

Is any exercise program worth these risks?

Why is Yoga So Incredibly Popular?
Let's be aware that Satan is still very much our enemy, dear Christians, and he is called an angel of light because he makes evil attractive. 

Yoga is one of the most popular forms of exercise in the world (source). Many of its followers believe it is the only exercise that keeps them healthy physically and mentally. 

Could the popularity of yoga be demonic? It's so important that we stand firm (1 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 11:3). 

Whether you are currently doing yoga or just curious about it, I encourage you to do the Bible study below this devotion. Don't let your enjoyment of an exercise keep you from exploring the concerns with an open mind. Thanks!

 Bible Study
Exploring Excuses for Doing Yoga

1. Let's start with the most common Scriptural excuse.

It goes something like this: "Romans 14 says we shouldn't tell other Christians something they are doing is wrong if it isn't specifically mentioned in Scripture."

This excuse flips Romans 14 upside down. Romans 14 warns against doing anything that might cause your brother or sister with weaker faith to do something against their conscience. It doesn't prevent Christians from raising concerns.

And, most importantly, the burden in Romans 14 is put on the person who approves things, not the person who disapproves them: 

"It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves." (verses 21-22)

This article explains how doing yoga can affect the faith of others even if it doesn't affect our own: Questions Christians Should Ask Before Doing Yoga.

2. Another argument people use for practicing yoga is that it's "just an exercise and no exercise in and of itself is pagan."  

While we are no longer under Old Testament laws, there are principles in some of these laws that are pertinent to us today. For example:

Deuteronomy 12:1-3:  These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land. Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.

These pagan gods were made of wood and stone. There is nothing wrong with the wood and stone found in these altars, nor is there anything wrong with altars. But God didn't want these stones, poles, and altars (designed for pagan worship) to be used to worship Him. In addition, God wanted them destroyed. What they represented was offensive to God, even their pagan names were offensive to God.

3. A third argument for practicing yoga is that Christians can chant Scriptures instead of the traditional yoga chants.

Deuteronomy 12:4: You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.

If you follow yoga meditation techniques and replace the Hindu words with Scripture verses, aren't you still worshiping the Lord "in their way"?

This command is repeated a few verses later:
Deuteronomy 12:29-32: The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

I doubt any Israelite began exploring pagan religions in order to sacrifice his son or daughter to a pagan god. But that exact thing happened in Israel’s history. And I doubt any Christian begins practicing yoga in order to hinder their prayer life or compromise their Christianity. But that doesn't assure that it won't happen.

For additional warnings:
Deuteronomy 18:9-13

4. Another argument to do yoga is that we are not living in Old Testament times so none of the above prohibitions pertain to us.
However, these warnings are also found in the New Testament.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18: Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.  Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Read warnings from well-known Christians:
Piper, Mohler, and Others on Yoga

Some non-spiritual cautions:
Certain yoga poses can damage the eyes
4 Dangerous Yoga Poses
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

Guidelines for Comments:

When I raised concerns about the book The Shack, many professing Christians responded with angry comments and emails. If questioning a man-written book or an exercise program like yoga leads you to write rude comments, it's very likely that you’ve lost your discernment and objectivity.

Disagreement is healthy when done according to Scriptural guidelines (Matthew 5:22; Luke 6:45; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6). 

Whichever side you are on in this discussion (even if you agree with this post), I hope you will use gracious speech when expressing your opinion. Stick to why you support your view, especially in regard to Scripture, and don’t make personal attacks against people who hold other views. Thanks! More helpful articles can be found here: Examining Yoga Biblically.