Why are Christians embracing yoga?

In a society where "anything goes" it's no surprise when we see Christians conforming to the world instead of transforming to the image of Christ. From tattoos, to music, to sex it seems today's society of Christians are the most compromising of their faith.  They continue to allow their light to become dimmer making it hard to distinguish who is a true believer in Christ. It is even harder to determine what is right and wrong if we look at the average Christian today.

Today, we see more and more Christians embracing the eastern practice of yoga. In fact, yoga is a practice that can be found in many assemblies of faith across the U.S. today. Without any research or due-diligence to fully understand the purpose and origins of yoga, many Christians have embraced the practice as harmless. If you were to poll the many Christians supporting yoga or see nothing wrong with the practice, the majority of responses will be "it's just exercise" or "I'm not meditating" as they believe it is a good way to stretch and improve their physical stamina. 

Well, contrary to popular belief yoga is among the most dangerous practices a believer can embrace. According to the Hindu American Foundatiom (HAF), yoga originated as a spiritual practice to understand the Hindu faith.

"Yoga, from the word “yuj” (Sanskrit, “to yoke” or “to unite”), refers to spiritual practices that are essential to the understanding and practice of Hinduism.  Yoga and yogic practices date back more than 5,000 years — the Indus Valley seals depict a number of figures in postures identical to various asanas. The term covers a wide array of practices, embodied in eight “limbs,” which range from ethical and moral guidelines to meditation on the Ultimate Reality. Yoga is a combination of both physical and spiritual exercises, entails mastery over the body, mind and emotional self, and transcendence of desire.  The ultimate goal is moksha, the attainment of liberation from worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and rebirth" (Hindu American Foundation). 

Clearly, we can determine from the HAF and many other sources that yoga is not as most Americans believe, which is meditation accompanied with physical stretches. It is much deeper in thought and physical abilities. A Christian ministry out of Alabama describes the practice of Yoga as the following. Their belief as a Christian, Yoga can be transformed to a method of understanding Yehovah God. 

"This Christian approach to yoga simply allows is to combine these two essential goals: becoming physically healthy and spiritually healthy. We become more spiritually healthy through the yoga practice by calming our minds and quieting ourselves to the point that we can tune out the world's frequency and tune into God's frequency." http://www.christianyoga.us/home.htm

What we know is although it has been established as part Hinduism, Christians are confident in "their" ability to remove the Hindu aspect and make it safe! Let's look deeper into Yoga. There are eight physical limbs to Yoga. I would like to look at one aspect which is extremely common in the West which are the Asanas or the practice of physical postures. For the sake of this article, I will continue to use postures, which is a more common term in the West. So, what are these postures and what do they mean?

The practice of asana, which means "staying" or "abiding" in Sanskrit, is used as a tool to calm the mind and move into the inner essence of being. The challenge of poses offers the practitioner the opportunity to explore and control all aspects of their emotions, concentration, intent, faith, and unity between the physical and the ethereal body. Indeed, using asanas to challenge and open the physical body acts as a binding agent to bring one in harmony with all the unseen elements of their being, the forces that shape our lives through our responses to the physical world. Asana then becomes a way of exploring our mental attitudes and strengthening our will as we learn to release and move into the state of grace that comes from creating balance between our material world and spiritual experience.You will find that many of the postures are named after animals, gods and nature. Of course, I will never understand how a person would desire to imitate a dog or a tree to achieve spiritual enlightenment or improved physical abilities but none the less, millions are doing it. http://www.expressionsofspirit.com/yoga/eight-limbs.htm

Postures dedicated to animals

Postures named after various animals aim to embody the energy (rajas guna) of the animal they represent. Some of the poses that are dedicated to various animals are at the same time dedicated to asuras (or demons) that bear the same name. As opposed to the poses that are named after human or divine forms that refer to the idea of intelligence, animals and demons refer to the body. The difference between animals and demons is that animals link to the energy (rajas) of fear, where as demons’ vice is anger. http://www.mryoga.com/meaning-of-the-yoga-poses/

Some of the animal postures are the Downward-Facing Dog, the Cobra, the Pigeon, the Eagle and the Cat.  

If we continue to look deeper into Yoga, we will learn that it is not a practice that believers should explore. My goal is to shed insight on the aspect of Yoga that most Christians embrace and consider harmless. Although many do not understand and realize there are eight limbs of Yoga, it is important to note that each part plays an important role to achieve total physical, spiritual and emotional consciousness. 

So, what does this mean in the life of a believer? Simply put, anyone who goes through any stage of Yoga is opening a spiritual door that will lead to demonic oppression and/or possession. By no means should any believer in Christ with an ounce of discernment engage in any form or Yoga practice. I understand many are going to say - it can't happen or will never happen to me.  Some of the physical signs of an awakening in Yoga is itching, burning, cramping, extreme twitching of skin and body, severe mood swings, anxiety, rage, fear, dread, mental confusion and even paranormal activity.  Are any of these the fruits of the Spirit?  Absolutely not, and it is wreckless as a believer living in this age to not test every spirit, every work, every intent and/or every activity.  The spiritual dangers of practicing Yoga are too many to ignore.  This is pure eastern mysticism and it cannot be re-invented under any circumstances. 

Here is a brief description of someone who masters the samadhi (union with the divine) phase of yoga. In samadhi or the super-conscious state, the meditator loses his individuality and becomes identical with the Supreme Self. The person becomes an embodiment of bliss, peace and knowledge which is experienced through constant meditation.  Please understand when a person is vulnerable and open to a higher state of consciousness to connect to a "supreme being" this being is NOT the Most High God.

 

Let's establish some truth now. 

1. There is only one true and living God. Deuteronomy 6:4

2. Believers should not have any other God's before Him. Exodus 20:3

3. Believers should not have fellowship (i.e. participate in Yoga classes alongside Hindu's, Buddhists, Atheists, Lukewarm Christians) with unbelievers. In no way should a righteous man enjoy the same pleasures as those who are wicked and practice idolatry. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

4.  Satan exalted himself and beguiled Eve into believing mankind could be as god which is the ultimate goal of the Yoga discipline. Isaiah 14:13-15, Genesis 3:5

5. Yoga evolved from demonic forces and cannot be made good. In spite how it is packaged (Christian Yoga, Praise Moves, etc.), it is still evil. Isaiah 5:20

These are the very basics for all believers to measure and test the spirit of an idea and/or practice. If it is against the truth of God's word it should never be accepted more less practiced. As believers, we have to stop looking for ways to join the world and become the light on the hill. We should never "seek" to explore our consciousness and become one with the earth and higher beings.  While I understand there are many who just want to exercise and also balance stress, I cannot make an excuse or say it's okay to engage in Yoga. It is wrong and if you have ever heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and at least read the first book of the bible you would know it is a sin.  

The Father will draw nigh to those who earnestly seek Him. In other words, believe Christ is His salvation for mankind and repent. If you turn away from unrighteous living and are truly sorrowful He will draw you nigh to Him. It does not take contorting your body to the point where you look like a botched together piece of rope. People that is just dumb! He is so much greater and it is truly hard to witness believers work at being overly deep to get to know the Father when He simply states if you love me obey me and keep my commandments. I have come to the conclusion I'm not politically correct cause honestly, Yoga is dumb and it is a playground for fools to enjoy. May you be transformed in Him - Peace and Love!