Yoga classes in Churches and Christian schools

[LLee]

My friend's friend has a child that is being taught Yoga at her Christian school. She is highly concerned and wants some Internet reading on the subject. Can we give her some pro and con comments and links?

[Harley]

is it true yoga, employing all the spiritual elements, or just the exercise positions?

[pilgrimian]

is it true yoga, employing all the spiritual elements, or just the exercise positions?

This is like asking whether a Ouji Board can be just a regular game you play after Sunday brunch with the family. I'll wait for Lee's response...but I think much of this is finding its way into the Church masquerading as something we don't think it is, because we want to exercise our liberty in Messiah.

[Mommy2KandM]

The stretches themselves are very good. One can do the moves with out the mombojumbo.

[carmen]

My friend's friend has a child that is being taught Yoga at her Christian school. She is highly concerned and wants some Internet reading on the subject. Can we give her some pro and con comments and links?IMHO, your friend needs to sit down and talk to the school herself to find out what is being taught. If it were my child, I would want to understand what all was--and wasn't--going to be covered in the class before I allowed it. These days, relying on the fact that it's a Christian school isn't enough to ensure protection from other belief systems.

[LLee]

I don't know. I sent an e-mail to ask.

There are lots of people who have been heavily into Yoga and then became Christians. When they have tried to do "Christian Yoga," which is supposedly just Yoga stretches and even sometimes incorporates Christian music, they find themselves very uneasy. Here is just one example: Take a Pass on Yoga (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/123/22.0.html)(Christianity Today - usually fairly liberal)

[Mommy2KandM]

perhaps their uneasiness is do to the things they did before. But for someone that has never done the "mombojumbo"associated with yoga it is just stretches like in any other stretch class.

Just like many things.. depending on your past before Christ.. certain things are not OK for you after because of what you did prior. But for someone else they may be OK because they don't have the unchristian baggage that came with the subject.

[twelvesmaster]

Here's another "con" from Christian Worldview Network's website -- Christian Yoga-Oxymoron (http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/cwnetwork/article.php?&ArticleID=607)

[LLee]

Does Christian Yoga include rhythmic breathing? How important is proper breathing to Yoga?

[HeartlandGal]

Here's another "con" from Christian Worldview Network's website -- Christian Yoga-Oxymoron (http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/cwnetwork/article.php?&ArticleID=607)

This was a really interesting article. I recieved it over the weekend along with several others. LLee you might try going to worldviewweekend.com and doing a search on "yoga".

[Believeth]

Personally I would rather do some normal everyday stretches and then do a jog or go swim a few laps. The yoga exercises may be good for the body but they do have another meaning to them. They are a form of worshiping false gods just the same as Hindu dances.

Many if not all of the movements are meticulously designed to worship their gods. You can say that you just do it for the exercise, but if you did it in front of some Hindus and then said you are a Christian they would call you a hypocrite.

[LLee]

Many if not all of the movements are meticulously designed to worship their gods. You can say that you just do it for the exercise, but if you did it in front of some Hindus and then said you are a Christian they would call you a hypocrite.

Interesting point. Do you think you could find a link that talks about that?

So, even if the movements themselves (or the breathing) don't affect you (some say they do), it may damage your witness? Would that be like considering the yin yang (sp?) symbol as just art?

[LLee]

Can anyone comment on the importance of rythmic breathing in Yoga? Essential part? Not essential?

[Mommy2KandM]

Does Christian Yoga include rhythmic breathing? How important is proper breathing to Yoga?


:confused breathing deeply and slowly is good for any body. What does it have to do with religion? I have never taken a yoga class ever. But I do know some of the yoga stretching and it makes my back feel better then anything else I have ever done. Pliates (sp?) moves are good too. And deep breathing is relaxing period. We usually breath to shallow anyway.. Gets good oxygen to the brain and is good for the lungs.

How is it any different then telling someone when they are mad, or a child. Stop, take 3 deep breaths and calm down. :noidea but it helps.

[LLee]

There's a difference between simple deep breathing and the breathing that leads to an altered state of consciousness. As I was reading about "real" Yoga, it was apparent that the breathing to achieve a particular conscious state was important. I just wondered what type of breathing was emphasized in Christian Yoga.

[bonsailoft]

Yoga, like most other spiritual methods of enlightenment, involves the idea that through proper training and meditation, you can relieve your spirit from your body. Ask anyone involved in the spiritual movement (buddhism, christian scientology, yoga, reiki, wiccan) about the idea of taking your spirit out of your body and that is usually the end result they are looking for. Most spiritual beliefs involve connecting with the spiritual realm, which obviously does exist, but when you are a spiritist or medium and try to invoke anything from the spiritual realm, you'll only get something evil. And I don't believe God approves of us trying to obtain spiritual enlightenment by attemping to take our souls out of our bodies. This, however, is what Siddhartha Gautama found out and established buddhism after.

You can take your spirit out of your body easily though by passing out, taking powerful drugs, or by simply sleeping (invoking an o.b.e or through lucid dreaming). But take head that it's not very righteous or important as children of God to be doing these things, especially in its simplest forms through yoga within a church.

Whatever church that is, I suggest you say something about it or stay far away from it.

[TEXASGRANDMA]

I took a yoga class in the early 80's at college. There was nothing spiritual about the class just exercise. Since my body has become so crippled up, if I got in most of the positions, someone would have to call an ambulance to get me out of it.:D:

[janh7]

I don't mean to sound rude, but it is not rocket science: Yoga is a pagan practice. Bringing it into the church is blaspheme.

[Harley]

I don't mean to sound rude, but it is not rocket science: Yoga is a pagan practice. Bringing it into the church is blaspheme.
if by yoga you mean the spiritual discipline with its subjective meanings intact - then i agree.
but if by yoga you mean the objective motions and techniques devoid of their subjective spirituality, the i disagree.

the only meaning the positions, motions, etc, have are the subjective meaning imbued by the performer.

http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=249560

[Forgiven in SLC]

Should Christians Do Yoga?
By Laura J. Bagby
CBN.com Sr. Producer



CBN.com – It’s still making headlines in magazines and on television, it’s still being touted by healthcare professionals, and it’s still enticing consumers at local department stores. What am I talking about? Well, yoga, of course.

Praised by many for its calming effect and wellness benefits, yoga is gaining cultural acceptance—even in some Christian circles.

But should Christians be practicing yoga, considering the questionable Hindu underpinnings? If not, is there a safer, Christian alternative that could keep our physical bodies in top shape?

These are the kinds of questions I posed to actress, singer, public speaker, personality trainer, and author Laurette Willis, simply because so many Christians have been confused about this same subject. And knowing that Laurette had been involved in yoga and the New Age for 22 years before coming to Christ, I figured she would know the spiritual ramifications firsthand.

Plus, she is also a certified personal trainer who has developed a stretching exercise program that incorporates Scripture called PraiseMoves™ that she considers “the Christian alternative to yoga.” I was curious how her postures differed from those of yoga and how she infused Scripture into her workout routine. She covers much of these details in her latest book BASIC Steps to Godly Fitness (Harvest House, 2005) and on her DVD PraiseMoves (Harvest House, 2006).

Why You Should Stay Away from Yoga

We are bombarded by messages of yoga’s peaceful and healthful benefits, but what we don’t hear, specifically in the United States, is the true origins of this type of lifestyle. Laurette made it very clear to me in a recent phone interview.

“These are postures that are offered to the 330 million Hindu gods. Yoga postures really are; they are offerings to the gods. If you do these postures and you do this breathing technique and this meditation, then you will be accepted by a god, little “G.” That’s the real danger,” she said.

Laurette told me that one of her PraiseMoves certified personal trainers visited India for three months on a mission trip, and she would often see people in the streets doing yoga poses in front of the statues of the gods.

“Romans 12:1-2 says we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God,” added Laurette. “Here they are doing something very similar with these postures to their 330 million gods, and it is scary. So we abstain from things offered to idols—Acts 15:29.”

In yoga they do what they call pranayama breathing. Prana is the Hindu word for life force, the same concept as the word chi in some martial arts. Yoga breathing attempts to manipulate that life energy, which Laurette believes is perilous. “That is a dangerous thing,” she said, “because I think that we are coming out from under the blood of Jesus when we do stuff like that, and we are no match for the enemy in those areas. I think of what Paul said in Ephesians 2:2, that Satan is the prince of the power of the air. We are not talking about oxygen.”

A third area of concern in yoga is the concept of emptying the mind, which is contradictory to what Christianity teaches. As Laurette explained, “We are transformed by the renewing of our minds, not the emptying.”

Along with emptying the mind, yoga guides people into astral travel, which is where people actually leave their bodies, a practice that Laurette was familiar with and has since questioned. “I wonder with those experiences when I left my body what got in there when I was gone?” Laurette posed. “As a Christian with the Holy Spirit in there, we are not going to be possessed, I don’t think. But one could easily be oppressed.”

Clearly, with this understanding of yoga, Christians should think twice before heading to the local gym for a yoga class. But if you are a Christian who thinks it’s all right to attend yoga classes because you think you are strong enough not to fall prey to the spiritual deception that’s being taught and you enjoy the physical benefits, Laurette pleads in all seriousness that you to please consider a younger believer or weaker Christian who is watching your lifestyle. If you go to a yoga class, chances are they might be inspired to go also, and they could fall completely off track in their walk with God.

The ‘Christian Yoga’ Controversy

Can yoga and its religious roots be separated? Some who have been concerned about Eastern influences of yoga have looked to hatha yoga for answers, since hatha yoga is supposed to simply be the flexibility exercises without the spiritual influences. But Laurette is convinced that yoga and Hinduism are inextricably linked, and beyond that, there can be no such thing as Christian yoga.

“Christian yoga is an oxymoron,” said Laurette. “It is like saying someone is a Christian Buddhist or a Christian Hindu. What some people are doing is that they are trying to make yoga Christian. Even Hindus are saying that you cannot do that.”

Laurette’s Story: Sucked into Yoga and the New Age

Laurette first got involved in yoga as a little girl. Her mother used to give free yoga classes to the college students, and Laurette was the demonstration model. Laurette loved being the center of attention, so yoga was fun. In addition, the exercises really relaxed her mother.

But Laurette warns that yoga’s ability to bring a sense of calm is one of its deceptive charms: “That’s one thing people look at, too,” said Laurette. “They say, ‘My doctor, my chiropractor, my physical therapist says to do it. It helps me. I feel less stressful.’ Well, it wouldn’t be a hook if it didn’t have something good in it.”

Yoga also fulfilled a spiritual need in Laurette’s life. Though her family went to church, Laurette says she never heard the message of salvation preached there.

“We didn’t know about living the victorious Christian life,” she explained. “We were not aware of the deception that is inherent within yoga and its connections to Hinduism. It seemed so spiritual, so it was fulfilling a void that was in our lives. I have found that any part of our lives that is not submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ is an open door for the enemy. … As I look back, that was the open door to the New Age for us. We began getting into Edgar Cayce, Ouija boards, crystals, and all kinds of things.”

Finding Christ on April Fool’s Day

An only child, Laurette lost both her parents within the span of a couple of years while she was working as a struggling actress in New York. Grieved and lonely, she decided to move to Oklahoma and join a New Age community there to start her life over. A year after her move, Laurette says she came to the end of herself. That’s when she cried out to God.

It was April Fool’s Day 1987, and as Laurette likes to tell it, “I went from being a fool for the world to a fool for Christ.” Laurette prayed, surrendering her life to God. “I fell on my knees and on my face, and I felt a physical weight lift off of me that I learned later was the weight of sin,” she said.

Laurette was delivered from years of alcoholism, an addiction that began at age 13. And four days after praying, she met her husband to whom she has been married for almost 19 years.

“I found that everything that I was looking for in the New Age and metaphysics and the occult, the wisdom of God was in the Bible,” she said. “I had no idea there was so much in the Bible. I thought that Christianity was just kindergarten, and I was into the higher things.”

PraiseMoves: The Christian Alternative to Yoga

Laurette remembers keenly the day God brought her the idea for PraiseMoves™. She says it was February 25, 2001 at 10:35 a.m., and she had just finished working out to a Denise Austin video. Laurette was contemplating in prayer an idea for a form of exercise besides aerobics that wouldn’t be yoga but that would be gentler on her 40-something body. “I thought that something would involve stretching and praising and moving and Scripture, and suddenly the idea of PraiseMoves™ came.”

For the next two years, Laurette prayed about the idea and put it together. The foundational Scripture for PraiseMoves™ is 1 Corinthians 6:20, which says, “You were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

PraiseMoves™ postures are stretching exercises with an accompanying Scripture verse. “Every posture in PraiseMoves™ is tied to a Scripture, so that while we are stretching and strengthening the body, we are also being transformed by the renewing of our mind, nourishing our spirit, and praising the Lord,” said Laurette.

As you do the strengthening posture, you are supposed to think about the correlating verse. For instance, there is a posture called the vine, a pose that strengthens the spine and arms. The matching Scripture verse is John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Just how important is it for the Christian to incorporate Scripture into daily living, even into such mundane endeavors as exercise? Well, for Laurette, the Word of God has been the key to a transformed life.

“I look at how my life has changed over the years since I turned my life to Christ,” she said, “and it was really after I made a conscious decision to memorize Scripture, to get it on the inside of me, to begin to allow myself to be transformed by the renewing of my mind on the Word of God, that I really noticed a tremendous change in my life.”

Laurette believes that as Christians we should view exercise as something that can and should be godly. After all, the term “godly fitness” is part of the title of her latest book. What exactly does godly fitness look like at its most basic level?

“Whatever we do, we do as unto the Lord by focusing on Him, by realizing that this is not a cult of the body. I am not trying to get my body to look a certain way to meet the world’s standards. I want to be a fit witness for Him,” Laurette said.

[Harley]

Should Christians Do Yoga?
By Laura J. Bagby
CBN.com Sr. Producer



CBN.com – It’s still making headlines in magazines and on television, it’s still being touted by healthcare professionals, and it’s still enticing consumers at local department stores. What am I talking about? Well, yoga, of course.

Praised by many for its calming effect and wellness benefits, yoga is gaining cultural acceptance—even in some Christian circles.

But should Christians be practicing yoga, considering the questionable Hindu underpinnings? If not, is there a safer, Christian alternative that could keep our physical bodies in top shape?

These are the kinds of questions I posed to actress, singer, public speaker, personality trainer, and author Laurette Willis, simply because so many Christians have been confused about this same subject. And knowing that Laurette had been involved in yoga and the New Age for 22 years before coming to Christ, I figured she would know the spiritual ramifications firsthand.

Plus, she is also a certified personal trainer who has developed a stretching exercise program that incorporates Scripture called PraiseMoves™ that she considers “the Christian alternative to yoga.” I was curious how her postures differed from those of yoga and how she infused Scripture into her workout routine. She covers much of these details in her latest book BASIC Steps to Godly Fitness (Harvest House, 2005) and on her DVD PraiseMoves (Harvest House, 2006).

Why You Should Stay Away from Yoga

We are bombarded by messages of yoga’s peaceful and healthful benefits, but what we don’t hear, specifically in the United States, is the true origins of this type of lifestyle. Laurette made it very clear to me in a recent phone interview.

“These are postures that are offered to the 330 million Hindu gods. Yoga postures really are; they are offerings to the gods. If you do these postures and you do this breathing technique and this meditation, then you will be accepted by a god, little “G.” That’s the real danger,” she said....

i got this far and quite.
1) these gods are no gods - so who cares if a hindu stretches in the same position? if this women were in rome or corinth in the first century, she'd fall into paul's weaker sister category because she be writing an article against eating meat sacrificed to an idol.

2) saying these positions are objectively worshipful to hindu gods is like claiming a nonbeliever can worship through the act of communion - it's the subjective meaning poured in that counts.

3) don't do their exercises... do mine (which are trade-marked by the way...)

[Mommy2KandM]

if by yoga you mean the spiritual discipline with its subjective meanings intact - then i agree.
but if by yoga you mean the objective motions and techniques devoid of their subjective spirituality, the i disagree.


Exactly.

If you are just doing the movements for your muscles etc... and not bringing in the other stuff it is no different than any other exercise.
The fact that others use it differently has no effect on how someone else uses it. If someone is worshiping the sun in XYZ pose.. that doesn't mean I am worshiping the sun in XYZ pose. :noidea