Are Christians Dishonoring God By Engaging In Asana Yoga?

Engaging in Asana Yoga

For many years, starting in college I practiced yoga. I’ve heard about the benefits and I needed to take a Physical Ed class so I decided to try it. The class was nice, I enjoyed that I could exercise without jumping up and down. I also enjoyed that I could strengthen almost every muscle through a series of slow movements that was not easy, but a good pace for me. So once the class was over, I looked into beginner yoga dvds (this was probably about 15 years ago) so that I could continue to do it at home. It didn’t even cross my mind I may have been doing something wrong. Are Christians dishonoring God by engaging in Asana Yoga?

I wasn’t a super devoted yogi, I was very inconsistent with it for a number of years. But it was something that I knew I could use for exercise and creating an overall calmness when feeling anxious. On average, I was a Christian engaging in Asana Yoga 2-3 times per week.

First warning about Asana Yoga

When I first started taking the class, I remember telling my friend about doing yoga and she mentioned something that her Hindu friend told her. Her Hindu friend said something along the lines of, “Americans are so stupid. They don’t even know that when they are doing Yoga they are praying to our gods.” I didn’t think about it too much, I just responded “No it’s just a form of exercise”. That had been my general stance on it. I wasn’t seeking enlightenment or to have any type of experience besides a good workout and to calm anxiety. Whenever there was a section of meditation, I prayed to my God like I would ordinarily.

Second Warning about Asana Yoga

Over the last two years, I had been seeking to develop my relationship with God even further. I was willing to finally surrender everything to him because I felt that I no longer had a choice. Read more about surrendering to God here. Every area of my life was not working. So I asked God to take over. During this time, God was showing me things that needed to be pruned. Things that needed to be trimmed so that I would be fruitful. “I am the true grapevine, and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” (John 15: 1-2)

During that season God was telling me to cut a lot of things from my life. So I did. I failed to realize that as a Christian engaging in Asana yoga, I was possibly dishonoring God.

Honest Mistake Engaging and Dishonoring God

At one point in prayer God said to me, this phrase “an honest mistake”, I thought what is an honest mistake? I was trying to do everything “right” and I was disappointed that there was a mistake that I was making. It wasn’t until weeks later, while I was praying the thought came to me, “What about yoga?” I said to myself, there’s nothing wrong with that it’s just exercise.

Then maybe a few days later it came back again, “What about yoga?” I said to myself again, no there’s nothing wrong with it. And then a third time, “What about yoga? Just look into it.” I said ok, I’ll look into it. At this point I knew it was God talking to me, telling me to find out more about it so I wouldn’t keep making an “honest mistake”. I started searching online to find out more about yoga and its connection to Eastern religions.

Are Christians dishonoring God or aren’t we?

Based on what I have found, there is no clear answer to the debate of whether yoga is a religious and spiritual practice or if Christians can practice it with no compromise to their own faith and beliefs. It is my understanding that over the years the practice of yoga has evolved, so while yoga itself is not a religion of its own, it was traditionally practiced in Eastern Religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. The idea that I have had for years is one that resonates with Western Cultures’ adaptation of yoga; it is not a spiritual practice but a physical activity. How can we know, if we as Christians, are dishonoring God by engaging in asana yoga?

Yoga as a Religion?

In the article, “Yoga as a religion?” by Andrea Ferretti, David Frawley, a founder and director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, stated,“In terms of the classical yoga, predominantly it comes from the Hindu tradition. Modern yoga, however, particularly as practiced and understood in the West, often has different meaning. It’s more on the asana side, and it has moved away from the spiritual religious connection in some groups, so it can have a different definition and a different meaning for people. But even a lot of the modern yoga still has a kind of spiritual aura and connections to India.”

In the same article, Gary Kraftsow, founder and director of the American Viniyoga institute in Oakland, California stated, “Yoga was never secular, traditionally. It was always connected to spirituality, and dimensions of yoga were used by many different religions. Although religious-specific faiths taught yoga, the actual yoga teachings were used by many different religions. So I think this distinction between yoga as a spiritual journey that supports religion versus yoga as a religion is very useful.”

Is physical movement prayer?

In my initial research I came across information that stated that the actual physical movements or poses (Asana) in yoga are traditionally connected to prayer to specific gods. So even if you are not chanting or repeating namaste, or purposely trying to pray to other gods; the action of doing those poses were intended to pray to gods. An article titled, “Is it Okay for Christians to Practice Yoga?” explains some of the common yoga poses and the earlier spiritual significance:

Sun Salutation: “In Hinduism, the Sun Salutation or ‘the Surya namaskar is a series of positions designed to greet Surya, the Hindu Sun God.'”

Cobra Pose: “The alternate meaning behind this pose also called Bhujangasana is the Hindu idea ‘the spirit-snake power (kundalini) that is activated and elevated in the body by means of yoga; also associated with patanjali, the sage who wrote the Yoga Sutras, who is depicted as a hybrid man-snake.'”

Warrior Poses: “The poses , Warrior One, Two and Three are also known as Virabhadrasana. It depicts a myth that is about a bloody ‘family feud,’ the central character being the deity Virbhadra, an incarnation of Shiva.”

Half Spinal Twist: “Half Spinal Twist, also known as Lord of Fish or Matsyendrasana. It is named for the Hindu ‘guru and medieval co-founder of hatha yoga who learned the secrets of Tantric yoga and occult arts while in the fish’s belly.'”

My intention was not to seek other god’s

Even though my intention was not to seek to connect with other god’s, I decided to stop practicing yoga because I did not want to send conflicting messages regarding my allegiance to my God. For me personally, a Christian, I feel I am dishonoring God by engaging in Asana Yoga. On a spiritual level, there is a lot that happens in the spiritual realm (unseen). This is sometimes connected to what we do or allow in our lives in the natural realm (seen). “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all of the strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)

Is Asana Yoga blocking my blessing?

This made me think of Daniel and the angel that was blocked by another spirit and couldn’t get to him. “Then he said, ‘ Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.'” (Daniel 10:12-13).

Purposeful ploy of Confusion among Christians

I do not want my blessings blocked because of any confusion on my part influencing the spiritual realm with my engagement with yoga. This is a personal choice for me. God brought it to my attention for a reason. There is already an enemy who sets out to kill, steal and destroy; I do not want to aid in his conquests. I also believe that the confusion and uncertainty is a purposeful ploy of the enemy. It is a deception that has spread to cause judgment and further division. As I grow in my relationship with God, I am realizing more of the spiritual influence on the natural and the natural influence on the spiritual. I want to be clear about honoring God with the way I live my life.

Another scripture comes to mind, “Pay close attention to all my instructions. You must not call on the name of any other gods. Do not even speak their names… You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water and I will protect you from illness.” (Exodus 23:13, 25). How can I say I am not calling the name of other gods if I am participating in Sun Salutation, a series of poses that was created to greet the sun god?

Can the traditional spiritual practice of yoga be separated?

I am not and will not say that all Christians should not engage in Asana Yoga. That is a decision that should be made based on your individual relationship with God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I practiced it for years without ever feeling any conviction. My purpose for doing it was purely for exercise and calm quiet time. Over time, however, I did feel funny about repeating words I didn’t understand and didn’t do it. The general consensus seems to be that it is your intention behind practicing yoga that makes it what it is. Some say that the physical aspects of yoga can be separated from the spiritual and religious. Others say it cannot be separate and should be regarded as sacred and not commercialized.

My stance is even with the intent of utilizing yoga poses for just physical fitness, the traditional spiritual practice of yoga cannot be separated. I think that it opens up the gateway for confusion in the spiritual sense. “It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.”(1 Corinthians 8:8-9) It may be ok for some Christians to practice Yoga and it may not be ok for others. For me, I want to do whatever it takes to be fully committed to my relationship with God; the elimination of confusion seems to be the best thing for me.

I don’t claim to know the answer, this is just my take on it. There may not be a right or wrong, just your personal decision. What is your stance? How do you feel about Christianity and the practice of yoga for exercise?