Hi @lakshmi ,
I’m really grateful for the research you’ve done on this. This is one of the most detailed overviews that I have seen from a Christian perspective, and it gives a clear historical framework in which to understand yoga in all it’s forms.
I think that we can safely say that the origins of yoga are spiritual, even if some yoga forms today focus only on the physical benefits. One thing that has always been a prominent part in my decision to abstain from all forms of yoga is the scripture in Romans 12:1,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
I think there are a couple of things to consider from this verse. Our bodies are always expressing a form of worship in some way, either to worship of God or ourselves, whether we know it or not. This scripture should draw our attention to the fact that in everything we do, our bodies are either glorifying God, or denying God his rightful worship. By choosing to live for Christ, we should daily be ‘picking up our cross’, dying to our own desires, and choosing to live a life pleasing to God. This may be require us to deny our bodies certain things, in order to glorify Jesus. If yoga postures are inherently forms of worship to Hindu deities, it would be grievous for our bodies to enact the postures, even if only for physical exercise. Now of course in exercise, we may sometimes coincidentally form our body into the shape that also happens to be used in yoga. I have understood that yoga postures are always performed in certain sequences to enact stories of Hindu deities. The sequence of postures tell a story of a battle, or a death, or a conquest. It is the entire sequence played out together which is the act of worship. Regardless of whether a Christian is denying the spiritual aspect of yoga or not, I think it would be misguided to assume that yoga can be compatible with honouring God with our bodies.
My second consideration regarding this scripture is my understanding of God’s design for humans throughout the story of creation. In Genesis 1:26-27, God creates mankind ‘in his image’. For a discussion on what the role of image bearer is, there’s a helpful discussion here -
If the role of every human is to bear the image of God, how can it every be reconciled with twisting our image into the narrative of Hindu deities? It seems a contradiction at best, and a heinous abuse at worst.
I would use my arguments above against every form of yoga, however spiritually ‘benign’ it is made out to be. Regarding the overt spiritual forms such as Kundalini yoga and others, there are many Christians who would say that the practitioners would be unwittingly inviting demonic activity into their lives. I know several Christians who have prayed for healing over people who have practised Kundalini yoga. At such times, the serpent spirit manifested with the person writhing on the floor like a snake until it was cast out out of them. Our secular culture has largely numbed the church to the reality of spiritual warfare, but Paul writes many times, especially in Ephesians 6 to be alert for all this.
In every aspect of life, not just yoga, but everything, we are called to be set apart from the world. Our lives should display the gospel, and point to the true identity of Jesus Christ through our actions, our words, our appearance, our relationships and our love. The question that we should apply to everything we do is if we are imitating culture, or imitating Christ? Are we truly living lives that set us apart from the world whilst living in the world? Do people look at the way we live our lives and wonder what’s so different about us? It may lead to awkward conversations sometimes, or it may lead to wonderful explanations of why we abstain from certain practices. If our love of Jesus comes through then we will be showing the world something different, something that truly brings life and hope to those who are lost and dying.