I know that yoga is a very controversial topic in some Christian circles. Many people have strong feelings that Christians should not partake in the practice of Yoga because it has roots in Hindu worship. To those things I have 2 points to make.
1) I do not believe doing physical stretches opens me up to demonic influence. Even in the worship of Evangelical Christians, the raising of hands in the various forms does not open you up in itself. A person can raise their hands in worship and still be very closed off to the moving of God. So, in the same manner, doing a stretch or movement used in another form of worship does not mean I am opening myself up to that influence. That kind opening would take a willful choice on my part. Besides, if I have Christ, demons cannot enter into that which is His. Along this same argument is yoga is taking part in the worship of Hindu gods. Doing the stretches and movements of yoga are not in themselves a religious experience. Like with the raising of hands. Not everyone who raises their hands is worshipping. Not everyone with a Christmas tree is a northern European pagan either. I know that if you search you can find many websites that will tell you how yoga cannot be divorced from the spiritual aspects. These are also the sights that claim doing the movements is worship. The real question is if this were the case, would Hindu leaders such as Aseem Shukla and Deepak Chopra be concerned and upset because they feel the western world has ripped yoga from its hindu and spiritual roots. If these Hindu leaders are upset because the Americans have removed spirituality from yoga, does it not follow that the removal of spiritual elements and power from yoga is a very real possibility. To finish this point, the fact that something was once used in the worship of another god or idol does not rule it out for use by believers. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul deals with food that has been sacrificed to idols. In this passage, he concludes that there is only One God and all others are not gods at all. As long as it is not wrong in our heart, it is acceptable, but if we are unsure we should abstain. Although the movements of yoga are not food, they were at one time exclusively used in the worship of an idol, but since we know there is no God but the Lord Jesus, the use of those previously "sacrificed" things is not off limits to us. We have true freedom in Christ Jesus.
2) DDPYoga is not true yoga. The workout he calls yoga is in actuality stretching and resistance exercises used to strengthen the body. He uses the time between poses to explain exactly what muscles and joints are being used and bettered in each pose. He has brought out the best movements and health benefits of yoga and removed the spiritual mumbo jumbo so regular guys can achieve the benefits of these stretches.
Finally, I did not write this post to debate. I will not argue on comments made. In fact, I may delete comments left that are antagonistic. I simply write this post to clarify that I am not wading into the waters of Eastern mysticism. I am a faithful follower of Jesus. I will continue to be so until I die and go to Him or He comes to take us home. In the meantime, I will use all of the resources He has given to bring health to my body and worship Him through that body. After all, if we REALLY believe that God created us and everything else, then surely He also created the possibilities found in the movements of yoga for health and well being. I will use all of His creation to glorify Him!
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