Yoga against Christianity?

 August 13, 2009  1 Comment on Yoga against Christianity?  Posted in Becca, Faith

First of all, I admit I was completely ignorant of yoga prior to Monday.
Second, meditation isn’t really my thing, even when I’m meditating on God stuff.

It is a surprise that I actually went to a yoga class at my gym on Monday and then went to the offering on Wednesday as well. Mostly, it just fits into my schedule the best of the options and I heard that its good for pregnant women. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the class, the instructor was very nice and the stretches do feel good, but I was just a little unsettled by it. Nate asked me if I enjoyed it and I didn’t really know how to answer.

This prompted me to do some searching and see what other people think about this. As with all things, there are a variety of opinions on whether yoga and Christianity are in conflict, but I think that I’ve decided not to do it anymore.
This is a well written article by a woman who has been responding to this question for a long time:
http://www.praisemoves.com/christianalternative.htm

The biggest thing is that yoga has its roots in Hinduism and most of the poses are meant to be worshipful toward Hindu idols. Does just doing the stretches without a worshipful attitude actually mean I’m worshipping those idols? No, but maybe others will think I am.

My class began and ended with the words “namaste” which I now know means “I bow to the divine in you”. This also has its roots in the polytheistic nature of Hinduism. There is nothing divine in my body except the spirit of God in my heart, so this idea is definitely in conflict.

In my research, I learned that yoga is meant to bring you peace through meditation and bringing you closer to the universe and such (I’m sure this isn’t worded very well), but my peace comes from God. I could take the time to meditate on some scripture or to pray, but then I wouldn’t be doing what my instructor was telling me to do and I really wouldn’t be doing yoga huh?

Can I stretch without a yoga instructor or yoga pose? Yes.
Can I meditate without a yoga instructor? Yes.
Would doing yoga actually shake my faith? Probably not (there’s probably too much pride in that statement), but there’s always that chance and supporting something that I disagree with isn’t such a good example for my friends and family.

So now I have to find something else to do, I know I’ll like the pilates and the kick boxing (after baby comes out) options, just have to rearrange the schedule a little bit.

Thoughts?

1 thought on “Yoga against Christianity?”

  1. Jason K I am not so sure about the posing and if it means you are worshiping idols or not…it seems liturgy is meant to condition you to a way of life in the Christian church, i.e. coming to the Lord’s table is supposed to form your life into inviting others to your own table, and on down the line. There are probably liturgists that are smarter than me about that. However, I whole heartedly disagree with the statement that we are not divine. Created in the image of God, baptized with the spirit and called to live the life of Jesus, both divine an human, we are divine. If you get into detail about the heresy of dualism, you could possilbly say the body is not divine but your soul is. I think after 2000 years the focus needs not to be on how human god became in the person of Jesus, but how divine Jesus calls us to be by having paved the way to eternal life. Just some thoughts…I am basically saying, that being divine is not the same as being a deity and that we are called to be divine.

    Rebecca Diltz Nate Moehring –adjective
    1. of or pertaining to a god, esp. the Supreme Being.
    2. addressed, appropriated, or devoted to God or a god; religious; sacred: divine worship.
    3. proceeding from God or a god: divine laws.
    4. godlike; characteristic of or befitting a deity: divine magnanimity.
    5. heavenly; celestial: the divine kingdom.
    7. being a god; being God: a divine person.
    –noun
    10. a theologian; scholar in religion.
    11. a priest or member of the clergy.
    12. the Divine,
    a. God.
    b. (sometimes lowercase) the spiritual aspect of humans; the group of attributes and qualities of humankind regarded as godly or godlike.
    I suppose I could use some of these definitions to apply to me. However, I’m pretty sure that the saying “namaste” is using a more pure definition like #1 or #12. Esp considering the nature of Hinduism. I def don’t want people bowing to me and I’m not going to be bowing to anyone other than God.

    Corey W I do yoga often during the school year and do not have the same issues with it as you and the website seem to. When, at the beginning and end of class they discuss the “emptying of the mind” it is always related to letting go of the negative aspects of life, to be refilled with the good. I often see this as refilling with the holy, or godly things I should focus on instead of the materialistic things.
    I read over the website you presented and I find it very interesting how many of the poses she offers as “praise moves” are slightly altered yoga stretches with different, but sometimes similar, names. I am having a hard time understanding how renaming a move and slightly altering the stance turns it into something not influenced by yoga. I will say I didn’t read much on the moves, though.
    It’s an interesting question you have raised. While I can’t say I agree with the website, I do think you should find exercise that makes you comfortable and enliven you. Good luck!

    Rebecca Diltz Nate Moehring Yeah, I probably won’t be doing praise moves either. Her response to your point is that there are only so many ways that the body can twist, turn, and move so yes, there will be similarities.
    My understanding is that the traditional names of most/all of the poses are actually Hindu gods names. So her option of at least altering the names and medititating on scripture instead of “emptying your mind” goes a long way to alleviate some of my concerns.
    It seems there is a wide variety of classes and instructors. Some who never reference the traditional names and “water it down” for us Westerners and some who stay very traditional with the chantings and such.
    Like I said, I enjoyed the physical aspects of it, just not the spiritual/religious parts.

    Cassie This was the most intelligent post I have seen on face book.
    I admit I rarely read the posts since they tend to be mindless dribble. Like: “I’m off to do such & such …..”
    Well reasoned thoughts are delightful indeed.
    -dennis

    Stephanie R My thought is that exercise is bad. You can hurt yourself and sometimes others. I once almost tripped over Jonah when he was a toddler and took him down while I was Walking Off the Pounds. I didn’t think they meant for me to walk off the weight of my son…
    As a non-exercising Lutheran, this one if tough for me to justify…
    : )

    Bill N Beth This is interesting to me. When we lived in England, there were many people who were afraid of Halloween because they emphasized the Satanic aspects of it. Just like Yoga, I doubt there are many westerners who even know the origins, much less concern themselves with how it effects others who see them participate in it.
    I’ve been reading the New Testament this summer and many of Paul’s letters deal with how Christians should conduct themselves for the sake of those who are new Christians or less sure of their faith. For those who are strong in their faith, eating “unclean food” was not an issue. All food was acceptable in God’s eyes. However, if it might cause another to stumble, Paul suggested that we shouldn’t partake.
    You are a thoughtful person. I applaud the time you spend making your decisions. Perhaps you should continue to go to the class and be a positive influence for Christ. Be the wheat among the tares.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *