On Christian Yoga

On Christian Yoga

After much debate and conversation, I have come to the conclusion that yogic practice does not conform to biblical principles of worship and meditation. The end of yoga is kundalini which in the end is demonic. Ok, this is strong terminology for some and yes, basic yoga positions won’t kill you, these are not my real point. My point is that practice taken to its logical end is evil and thus the basic positions lead one on a path that is evil.

To those who do find benefit from yoga, I suggest looking seriously to God for a replacement practice. Perhaps there are movements from liturgical dance that can be adapted to positional meditation.

Yes, positional meditation is a biblical practice. What is needed are the right positions and the right meditations. For those that are already familiar with yoga, this is an opportunity to come up with something new that will be pleasing to God. Keep in mind that there seem to be certain positions that are common to much religious practice, like two hands together palm to palm as part of position of prayer. The practice should invite the Holy Spirit and His ends should be the end of the practice. And the name is important yoga is associated with the demonic. Positional meditation as a whole is not.

Here is the main difference between Christian positional meditation and yoga. The Christian has already arrived through the finished work of Jesus Christ. This temporal difference is very important because self striving is eliminated. Instead one is sacrificing oneself in service. It is not so much a matter of obtaining transferable skills, as it is hearing the voice of God and obeying. Positional meditation in an orthodox Christian context is not a “relaxation” technique. It is act of worship focused on God with the intent of relating to him and pleasing him. It is NOT an act whose end is in our own pleasure or performance. Claims of an acceptable combination of classic yoga and Christianity in the end are misleading and not founded in an understanding of who God is. Yes, the debate is complicated, and there are valid arguments to partially support the claim, but if the most developed practice of yoga is in kundalini and the most developed practice of Christian positional meditation is the imitation of Christ, it is apparent which has more value and is truly sponsored by God.