Even though yoga fits in well with the Paleo lifestyle (see previous post) I am certainly not a yoga expert. In fact it was not all that long ago I was reading “Yoga For Dummies”. But finding yoga to be amazingly helpful in relieving stress and increasing strength and flexibility has motivated me to learn as much as I can about the practice. One of the things I have learned is there is controversy when it comes to Christians practicing yoga. It does not come into play as much if you are attending classes where the focus is primarily on the physical fitness aspects. The problems arise when encountering the more spiritually focused yoga classes.
Rather than trying to tackle that subject in one post I will share just one aspect of yoga that is present in almost all classes regardless of type or location: use of the word “Namaste”. For those of you not familiar with the practice, it is a tradition at the end of class for the teacher to say “namaste” with students repeating the word. The spoken word is accompanied by a gesture in which your hands are brought together in a prayer position at your chest and you bow your head. 
In fact, the word “namaste” comes from a Sanskrit word for bow. More specifically, the word “nama” means “to bow,” “as” is translated “I” and “te” means you. So “namaste” literally means “I bow to you.” It is used as a sign of respect from one yoga practitioner to another.
Namaste has also been translated to mean, “The divine in me bows to the divine in you”. For some Christians this can present a slight problem if taken literally. It could be argued it is wrong to bow to another human being, that we should reserve that type of respect only for God. I have even heard the argument that saying namaste is pantheistic and tantamount to worshiping other humans or elevating humans to a godlike level. If you are of this view or if the practice simply bothers your conscience my advice is to refrain from the gesture. Not participating will certainly not take away from the other beneficial aspects of yoga practice. However, I will give my personal view of the matter for those of you on the fence and questioning whether or not it is acceptable or wise for a Christian to participate in the namaste. I believe saying, “namaste” with the accompanying gesture is merely a sign of respect and is not in any way compromising to our faith. Remember, we are ALL created in the image of God:
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NASB)
C.S. Lewis spoke to this point in “The Weight of Glory” in which he points out there is divine in all of us:
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.“
As with some other aspects of yoga there is a need to have an understanding of just what we are doing and saying and the significance of those words and actions. I hope to explore this further in future posts. But while it is important to be careful with our words and actions it is also important to remember we are all, regardless of religious faith, created in the image of God. Saying “namaste” at the end of yoga class is a moment to reflect on this fact. It is a small gesture that shows respect for others as creations of God and dearly loved by Him. Namaste!
Lea, thank you for this post. I actually just signed up to start my year long journey of a 200 hour yoga teacher training. While doing Yoga, depending on the pose, I will often pray and thank God. Just because He is so wonderful.
IMO I agree with you and about showing respect for others using Namaste.
I love that you are a Christian, eat paleo and love yoga. And your a Momma like me. But I only have 1 🙂
This post is for everyone here. I know I am going to sound judgmental, but please hear my heart. Yoga is NOT okay for a Christian. Each and every pose is a special worship movement to a particular Hindu god. Please do your research….the truth will set you free. Actually, you are opening yourself up to a Kundalini spirit, which is a serpent spirit. Yoga is one of the enemy’s biggest deceptions for Christians. We are never to worship other gods. And yoga is clearly Hindu god worship. It doesn’t matter if one is ignorant, or has a different heart intention….if you are doing these motions, you are opening yourself up to this spirit. Pray and do more research, and the Lord will open your eyes. New age practices have polluted the church today and that is a great deal of the problem going on in the church…it’s pure witchcraft. I’m sorry if you this offends, but I am only here to inform. Spending time with the Lord, and with a sincere heart, and He will show you the way to truth and true repentance. It’s time for the church to kick Jezebel out of the sanctuary and all of her minions!
Amen!
This passage of scripture from Exodus supports what you say. In the Exodus 32 account the people decided to make up their own idols but ‘in their heart’ they said they would have a ‘feast unto the Lord’. Does that mean their practice was ok? NO! They were deceived and simply kept doing what they ‘liked’ to do and they thought their hearts were right, but in God’s eyes it was wrong and they were simply disobedient. That is the same for Christians practising yoga because they just like it and therefore justify it as much as they can.
Exodus 32:
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.
Let me ask you a question. Do you put up a Christmas tree during the holidays? I bet you do. Did you know that a Christmas tree is not “Christian” at all and that this tradition was taken from a pagan holiday in response to worshiping and honoring a pagan God. If what you are saying is true, essentially being guilty by association, then every time you put up your Christmas tree, you are opening the door to the demonic. This is a nonsensical, legalistic point of view. If what you are saying is true, it’s impossible to NEVER open the door to or give legal right to Satan. We live in a fallen world. I believe we are called to seek the truth and to walk with the Lord with our whole heats. By focusing on legalities, and judging others ( which is not our place anyway, only God’s) we are limiting what God can do in our lives. All this legal nonsense is a ploy from Satan to distract you from God’s greater good. Clearly, the author is not intentionally worshiping gods. Intention is everything. God judges the heart. Period. Also, how do you know that God perhaps put her there to be a witness to HIM? You don’t know what you don’t know. You are naking a judgement based on your limited perception. Which is exactly what God calls us NOT to do.
Amen!
YES!!!
True,..and may the real God,reveal to who seriously seeketh
I teach yoga and I am a daily bible reader, active in prayer, my church, faith, encouragement of the body of Christ, worship of almighty God, and spreading the good news. I speak God’s word in my classes constantly. And, i have told my class that I don’t like that the vinyasa is called a Sun Salutation because I do not worship the sun, nor would I suggest it. My classes are made up of every nation under the sun. Every color and race. It is an opportunity for me to share truth to a starving world. It might be the only safe place in their world. I speak from love and never enter a class without asking God for His direction, motivation, and the right words. These precious souls are getting fed real bread. I love them, pray for them, and ask for God’s direction. He has not asked me to quit. I have but one Holy Spirit. Please go in peace and know that God can use ANY venue for his purposes.
Loved this post Lea!! Have you tried Holy yoga?? It’s an awesome Christian based Yoga that weaves Scripture, prayer and contemporary Christian music into each class! Just beautiful and encouraging. You can check out holyyoga.net and find a class near you!! Brooke Boon is amazing!!
I have never heard of Holy yoga but I just took a look at the website and it looks really, really interesting. “Praise Moves” is the only one that is similar that I had seen previously. I wasn’t a big fan of that because there seemed to be such an underlying rejection of many of the things about yoga that make it beneficial. That was my first impression and I could be wrong. But Brooke’s idea seems to incorporate all that is good about yoga but also a strongly Christian focus as well. Thanks for the tip!
I enjoyed reading this post. It caught my attention although I found this site after searching for Paleo recipes. It is encouraging that other believers spend time doing yoga praising God. I agree with your take on Namaste, although I had never before heard the argument Christianity vs Namaste. Thanks!
Thank you for this post. I have just started doing yoga, and as a christian, I had questions. I did not feel like I was doing anything wrong, because I know who I worship, but I did wonder what other Christians who ‘yoga’ thought/felt.
Also, I just came across your website and love it. I started my 30day Paleo Diet today. The majority of my daily diet is close to pale, yet I do enjoy bread, cheese, and cream in my coffee. I’ve gradually been cutting some of these out. Pasta and yogurt were the first two to go. But, I’ve finally decided to cut it all ‘cold-turkey’ for 30 days as you recommending trying. Thanks for all the help you offer. Excited!
Great, Tiffany. I wish you all the best on your 30 day experiment. Cutting out sugar-and foods that convert easily to sugar is really key. It took a little while for my body to adjust to eating this way. But now I rarely feel hungry. Hopefully you will find the same.
My husband and I have been enjoying yoga more and more. I want to do more posts on the subject as we learn about it. It’s important to understand what we are doing. The more we learn, the more we feel confident that yoga does not have to compromise our Christianity. Sounds like you have a good perspective on it all.
Thanks for your comment.
I stumbled across this page looking for paleo desserts for my husband. As a Christian I feal that I must intergect on this subject of Yoga and Christianity. Simply speaking I think it is unwise and possibly dangerous to disregard our reservations and reason ourselves into accepting something that is contrary to a Biblical worldview. There is a great website that seeks to help us navigate some of these questions or areas that may feel “gray”. It is http://www.gotquestions.org. They had some insightful/biblical thoughts & scripture about yoga. Here is a small excerpt, “The question becomes, is it possible for a Christian to isolate the physical aspects of yoga as simply a method of exercise, without incorporating the spirituality or philosophy behind it? Yoga originated with a blatantly anti-Christian philosophy, and that philosophy has not changed. It teaches one to focus on oneself instead of on the one true God. It encourages its participants to seek the answers to life’s difficult questions within their own conscience instead of in the Word of God. It also leaves one open to deception from God’s enemy, who searches for victims that he can turn away from God (1 Peter 5:8).” I know this is a long post but I felt compelled to share.
Bethany,
Thank you for your comments on this sensitive subject. Yoga came out of a non-Christian tradition – no doubt about that. And I fully recognize there is potential danger in yoga for some people. However, there is nothing inherently wrong in practicing the physical movements of yoga and, in fact, I have found the practice to be extremely physically healing. There are MANY things in life that I have encountered that were far more spiritually challenging than yoga. In my opinion, completely writing off yoga as something dangerous for Christians misses the point that we encounter things at every turn in life that can cause us to turn away from God or be less productive in His service. We always have to be on guard to make sure we do not conform to the world. But the temptation to do that comes at us all the time in many different ways. We have to learn how to handle those times because we do live in the world. Unless we cut ourselves off from the world and live in a monastery/convent somewhere we are here and are called to be “salt” and “light”. I can be tempted to covet based on looking at a Pottery Barn catalogue. Does that mean I should never do that? Maybe, if it is a problem for me and a true temptation. But I believe as mature Christians we are able to be in the world and not conform to it. Just writing yoga off as something that will lead us away from God does not give us very much credit. Maybe for some it is a conscience matter – if so, that person should not participate. But I would no sooner judge someone doing yoga than I would someone looking at a Pottery Barn catalogue and assuming they are therefore being lead away to a materialistic worldview.
The yoga I have practiced has been almost entirely based on the physical aspects. Like anything that Christians encounter in the world, we should make ourselves educated about it. If we know what we are dealing with then we will be able to decide if we choose to say “Namaste” or “Om”, etc… in a yoga class. And that exhortation to education and due diligence applies to just about anything we encounter in the world. I am confident in my faith whether it be in yoga class or in any other context. And I think we Christians can be an influence on people we meet in yoga class. If we find ourselves in a class that includes something that makes us uncomfortable and we decline to participate that can be a conversation starter. It may not be for everyone and I certainly would never advise a Christian to go against their conscience on this or anything else.
I know i’m 4 yeas late to this conversation, but I recently came across this comment after reading your post. May be be helpful for future people who read it.
I find it interesting when Christians question something like saying Namaste or practicing the physical elements of yoga, strictly because of it’s origins, yet have no problem putting up a Christmas tree and celebrating Christmas on Dec 25 (near the winter solstice), both of which were born out of pagan related beliefs as a way to “meld” Christianity with the common Druidic spirituality of the era. They also have no problem promoting rampant commercialism (both around Christmas and easter).
If you have an issue with physical yoga or saying Namaste because of their origins, then you should have similar issues with our current Christmas and Easter traditions.
I could go on with many other holidays or practices Christians have that one could argue have non-Biblical origins.
I agree with you Lea, if saying Namaste or practicing yoga goes against your conscience, don’t do it. If you do it as you practice it, I think that’s fine. God knows your heart. The only caveat I would give to a believer is if they felt they were susceptible to the spiritual aspects, then tread with caution.
Thanks for your thoughtful post and discussion.
Hi Lea!
I’m so happy to have found another paleo/Christian/yogi! (Though, as a paleo meat-eater, and a Christian who rejects the spiritual philosophy of yoga, I likely don’t qualify as a true “yogi.”) 🙂
Thanks so much for the insightful post. I’ve always thought of namaste as respect and gratitude to the teacher for leading us through class. My yoga practice has been so helpful to my prayer life. During asanas, my body is so focused on the task at hand that my brain isn’t tempted to wander and I can focus it on God.
I know a lot of Christians who practice yoga. Strong Christians. And, I think you’re dead-on with your Pottery Barn catalog analogy.
Thanks again. I’m really enjoying your blog!
Allison
Hi Allison,
Thanks for your comment. It’s nice to hear from another Christian who practices yoga. I think if I were asked to recommend one activity for fitness it would be yoga. Walking too but with yoga you get it all. So I’ve been making it a priority to better understand it. What I see in yoga class are people who may have no particular religious views who might get drawn into it to fill a void. But I don’t see how a Christian with any real grounding in their faith could be seduced away from Christ by yoga. I do not chant anything that I do not understand. And I agree it helps me focus on God. I tend to be very scattered and easily distracted (what does that sound like?) so the asanas also help me calm my mind and body and I can focus on God and let the cares of the world fall by the wayside for a while.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog. If you have any likeminded friends you think would also enjoy it please send them my way. The more the merrier!
Lea
I am a Christian that did yoga without any desire to worship Baal or sun gods or whatever or enter into the Spiritual side of it.
I too worshipped God and saw it as great physical exercise. I didn’t want to be legalistic. I have learned that God is not legalistic but Satan is. He will use anything to acuse us and get a foothold. I then needed to be delivered of a Kundalini spirit that entered through doing Yoga. I had to repent and ask for forgiveness from God before the serpent like demon would leave me. It was horrible and caused me much trauma. When you see and feel the evil and know you opened the door yourself, then you know the truth. The enemy is sneaky and God will not share His glory with another. Yoga is demonic worship and I know it first hand, so for me there is no debate. If you ask God for the truth He will reveal it.
We are commanded to have no other gods so a practice designed to glorify the enemy, re-packaged is as filthy rags, and opens a door to the enemy.
Wow, I am new to Yoga. I went to an Ashram not fully knowing about the Hindu aspects of Yoga. Since I have read lots on the Yoga-Christinan debate. For me, last year for my 50 birthday, I read the Bible cover to cover – this have me my foundation to be at the Sivananda Ashram which is open to all religions. As a become a Sivananda Practitioner – I am working to strengthen my Christian faith. If I am not sure of some activities, I end each exercise with The Lord’s Prayer. I know for me -Yoga has helped me with inner peace. I practice Yoga for inner peace to help me settle me mind to connect to God through the teachings of Christ. I also repeat the Apostles Creed for clarity of my belief. Wow, this is a very serious discussion and each must do what is comfortable for himself. The experience is a personal relationship with God.
Lea, I pray for you, I am a Christian too, but just because you are a Christan does not mean you cannot be deceived. I say these things because there is ALOT of compromise coming in and seeping into the church, and honestly many “Christian” churches are NOT teaching the word of God correctly or even in it’s full context. You can call Yoga tis or that, praise moves or even Holy yoga, but there’s Nothing Holy about yoga. The only one who is Holy is Jesus Christ, and with regard to your comment earlier “we” may be made in the image of God but we are all NOT Gods children. Only thos who believe in Him, obey His Word and are led by His Holy Spirit are called “sons of God.” That is why we must bein the word of God ourselves and seek to know the Whole truth of the matter on anything because he Bible tells us that the devil is going around lie a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Look, it’s not popular to talk about the devil, but Jesus felt t pretty important to give His disciples authority over him. You can say what you will about yoga, it can sound nice, and people can pretty it up, but the roots of yoga are the worship if Hindu gods, and spirits. Every time you do those moves you are opening yourself up to a demonic spirit. I would study this, ask Gd to forgive you, stop doing the yoga practice, and get delivered, honestly. I’m not trying to hurt your pride here, but the truth has to be spoken, the devil is a liar, and if we say we love one another and don’t do what is right we are nothing. God is looking at our hearts, it’s not about giving your tithe, going to church, whatever, it’s about having a real relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If your not in a Church that preaches the whole truth including the book of Acts, it is not the right place, it s a false church in error. I’m saying these things to warn you and in hopes you seek God and make the right decision, for your eternal future, and for protection of your children, and family, and not being used by the enemy to bring others into this idol worship of yoga. Please seek out the truth, don’t just settle or lean to your own understanding. Your eternal security, your Life, depends on it. Love -ami. Please read: http://pastormark.tv/2011/11/02/christian-yoga-its-a-stretch &
http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2005/march/14.40.html
Ami,
Thanks for reaching out with your concern. I agree with many of the thoughts you expressed about the church and compromise creeping in, etc… However, you are making a LOT of assumptions about me and my view on faith and the Church and salvation, etc… Of course, any of us can be deceived but that doesn’t mean that I am deceived about Yoga. I wrote that we are all made in God’s image. I never wrote we are ALL children of God. You seem to assume I underestimate the devil – I don’t. But I completely disagree with the notion that “every time you do those moves you are opening yourself up to a demonic spirit.” A lot of things we do in our culture have roots in paganism. I don’t believe that I am opening myself up to a demonic spirit if I participate in Easter traditions – something rooted in pagan fertility rituals. Christmas is scheduled on December 25th because it is the date for pagan Winter Solstice celebrations. We have freedom in Christ in matters of conscience and I believe this is one of those matters. If doing yoga would bother your conscience then you shouldn’t do it. For you it would be sin. That is scriptural. I’m not sure why you assume I am not in a church that preaches the whole truth “including the book of Acts” because I am. I believe in the Bible as the inerrant word of God but there is nothing in there that I believe condemns me in exercising in this way. I agree with you that error and compromise are in the church but, honestly, yoga is the least of our worries. I think focusing on it as a big evil to be fought is really distracting from other things that are truly destructive to our relationship with God. You could go jogging with wrong motives and thoughts and be sinning and another person could be stretching and breathing in a yoga class and worshipping God in their heart. I don’t believe you can judge someone’s heart based on their form of exercise. I do appreciate that you took the time to write to me about this. You obviously have a heart for God and care about others enough to reach out and give your thoughts on this matter. Thank you.
Lea
Ami,
I know this is an old post, but I would like to expand on this. Many times in scripture, the apostles would go into places that were very dark. They did this to be the light in the darkness, to bring The Lord’s Word to the lost and hopeless, and to help bring these lost souls to know Jesus. I agree there are many who turn to yoga who are truly lost. They look to yoga as their source of peace, rather than God. This is the sin both Christians & non-Christians need to be weary of. However, as a strong Christian, rooted deeply in the word, practicing Yoga could always be a chance to reach out to people who otherwise would never step foot into a church. I don’t know what basis there was for saying certain poses are demonic. I would like to see where you got your source and from what knowledge base you are coming from. I believe a faith rooted so deeply into God and his Word will give any serious Christian unwavering faith. That being said, Yoga does have deep roots into Hinduism…However, the western culture has really made yoga it’s own practice, with many different interpretations. Yoga itself is a methodology of poses or exercises, not a theology. Theology in yoga is when you incorporate the meditative practices into your yoga practice. Because in the western culture there are many different interpretations of yoga, it is easier to call everything Yoga with added subtitles. For Example, there is yoga that is focused solely on the flow of poses (ex: Vinyasa Yoga), there is yoga focused solely on the spiritual path (ex: Bhakti Yoga – Hindu’s path), there is even yoga focused solely on just meditation (ex: Kundalini Yoga). As you can see, there are MANY different ways to practice yoga. As a strong Christian myself, I would never practice Bhakti or Kundalini. I don’t believe in chanting, nor praying to anything but God. With that said, I will practice Vinyasa which is an emphasis on the yoga poses itself. Vinyasa poses are a way to relax the body through exercise to come into a meditative practice. You can choose which meditative practice you desire, for example – focusing solely on The Lord’s word, letting your mind focus solely on deepening your relationship with him and letting your mind quiet down enough to listen. Given free will that The Lord gave us, you can meditate on anything, false gods or God himself. It is your choice of who or what you meditate and pray to that will ultimately condemn you in this area. Regardless of yoga, no one goes without sin. We are all sinners in The Lord’s eyes. We all need to repent for the many sins we have and continue to commit. With such a narrow view on yoga, and very little background on the subject matter, you should not try to come off as an expert in this field. I bet you never heard of Yahweh Yoga? If you haven’t, I recommend you look into it. It is a Vinyasa style practice (Flow of poses) that clearly praises God. We can praise The Lord in many ways (Ex. Singing, dancing, painting, contemplating, Walking, Caring, etc.) so why should yoga be any different? Nowhere in the Bible does it say not to practice yoga. It says not to pray to false gods. Not to make false images of anything in the heavens or earth or sea below. Point is: Like almost anything, it is how you practice yoga that can make it either a sin or a blessing. You have a choice. Choose the way in which you are taking care of your body and praising The Lord at the same time. If you go with any of the other routes, well, that is between you and the Boss upstairs. God Bless.
Refer to Colossians 2. Paul spoke here and in other epistles with regard to the same thing, such as eating meat that has been sacrified to idols. If it is a sin to you, then refrain. If it is not, then enjoy — we are free in Christ! Believe me, the Holy Spirit will not leave us alone if we are sinning!!!! We will know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Let us not judge other people who sin differently than we do.
Just found your blog and really enjoy it. Will glean a lot from it. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the comment, Joy. I really appreciate it and am so glad you found and like my blog!
Joy,
Thank you for sharing that. You just said everything I said to Ami in one verse! The scripture of The Lord is truly amazing, simple and direct. God Bless.
Lea,
I have enjoyed reading the comments inspired by The meaning of Namaste article you wrote. I love that you are mindful of a spiritual enemy, that you are educated in the roots of yoga, and that you are actively guarding your heart in your practice of yoga. I too am a Christian and have come to realize through the years that as the Bible says, above all things, the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) so we must be careful. I understand, as you and others who have commented, that satan is busy finding his way into the church and the lives of Christians. I am presently a “yoga” instructor for a large chain fitness club. I have taught for them for 11 years. 3 1/2 years ago I was asked to teach a yoga format as well as the pilates I was currently teaching. I obliged. After all, I knew that many of the postures were identical with different names; the breath was different but I was educated there as well. I was only going to lead a group of people through “asanas”, not indoctrinate them into a religion which I actually had little knowledge of myself. I have read maybe not all, but many, many of the articles mentioned here today debating living a Christian life and yoga. I have strong Christian roots and I believe even the book of Acts as you have commented 😉 I do not believe for a moment that a particular “yoga” movement of the body or position of my hands in a prayer posture in anyway has ever honored a Hindu god. I believe that the one true God created my body. I do not believe the God I serve would instruct me that I could not assume a lunge posture, single leg balance, or crossed leg sitting because it would somehow glorify another god. These small “g” gods do not own any shape or posture my body assumes just because someone once used it in the worship of them. When my children were young, I taught them to posture their hands in prayer before the God I had introduced them to, not a Hindu god. Honoring others with our words is also a Christian practice that I will not be handing over to the Hindu world. That being said, I have recently considered the responsibility as a Christian while instructing my yoga classes. I have learned a great deal more in the past 3 1/2 years about the other practices of yoga going far beyond asanas. When people come to my yoga class, I have always subtly woven in my Christian beliefs. In the cool down, I didn’t tell them to empty their minds, but to focus on things that are true, honest, just, pure, of a good report… You hear it right? It is Phillipians 4:8. The list goes on of closing remarks that I have woven into my class. Lately however, I have realized that some people “fall in love” with my class. Then, when the club I work for makes a schedule change and they can no longer attend my class, they go looking for another “yoga” class that they can attend. Now, the immature Christian, or non-Christian may be opening themselves up to completely different influences than I ever intended. My class, after all, was titled “yoga”. Realizing this, I am considering giving up my yoga classes. I would love to continue to teach this format of exercise but with the freedom to caution attendees of other yoga classes offering different “guidance”. I can hear myself telling people the many benefits they can get from “yoga” through the years, never intending to misguide. I will continue to worship my God, guard my heart against the schemes of the enemy, and personally practice the same fitness postures I have taught for the past years. I have not decided exactly what I will do with my group fitness classes at my workplace. I just wanted to thank you for your thoughts in the Namaste arcticle and give you and your readers another thing for consideration in our “yoga practices”.
I have read through the majority of these comments and I would have to agree with Chandra. There is nothing wrong with stretching and satan doesn’t have ownership of the ways a body can move, even if they’ve be used in idol worship. However, yoga in it’s true form has been associated with Hindu worship. Regardless of what your actions are as a Christian in a yoga class are, the original purpose of the class is not to honor God. Lea, I am quite aware that Christmas and Easter have been rooted in pagan holidays. However, if I decide to go to London next Christmas they still will be celebrating Christmas not the winter solstice. But with yoga one person might go to your class or Chandra’s class and find the gospel. However, if they decide to leave your classes, they very well may receive yoga in it’s true form. If we look at Easter many churches have recognized the paganism that tried to wrap itself around the celebration of Christ’s resurrection and started calling Easter Resurrection Sunday. Why then can’t we just call yoga stretching instead, and completely remove the negative connotation and any roots in paganism? One last note, someone mentioned not eating food offered to idols. Paul says it is okay to eat such meat if it doesn’t offend you. However, he warns of eating such meat in front of believers who it offends can cause them to stumble. Often times as Christians we get so seduced by the liberty and freedom we have in Christ we often forget that we are called to help and support one another. I just ask those who still want to call their routine yoga to be careful that they don’t cause any brother or sister in Christ to fall. As so many stated here you are strong in the Lord, but not everyone is at your level, so please keep them in mind.
God Bless!
Tonie,
I definitely agree with you on how others can be led astray if not taking a Christian-focused class. I believe if you show your intention at the beginning of your class, you are letting your students know it is a one of a kind class. You have many opportunities to communicate this. There are also other classes that focus solely on the practice of worshiping God throughout the yoga practice called Yahweh Yoga. As a Christian and yoga instructor, this is the path I am leaning towards. So that those who do come to my class know they will be honoring The Lord throughout the practice, there will be little to lead them astray, and there can be an open discussion about the other methods of yoga so they are informed. In many studio’s and gyms that do not offer this, it is very hard to have an open connection with students about the subject because they all come from different faiths.
Addressing your comment on calling yoga “stretching”, it would actually be a very inaccurate word to use. Yoga is MORE than stretching…it is also strengthening. It is also cardio. It is also a dance. Just because a word has a negative connotation does not mean you cannot give it a different meaning and own it. Like I said in earlier posts, Yoga is a name used for a collection of different practices with subtitles. Ex: Vinyasa yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, etc. Within all of these different subtitles, the word yoga changed meaning many times. Yoga has become known in the Western Culture as the practice of poses and postures, NOT as a worship to a Hindu religion or culture. I believe if we do our part as Christian Yoga Teachers to instruct our students about the various paths of yoga, show them the proper way of practicing yoga in line with our faith, and help to reach out to those who otherwise could very well be lost, we are doing more for the community of yoga than not continuing to teach at all.
I just felt led to add something for thought. For maybe one hasn’t thought about this subject from our Fathers point of view…
If Yoga is the Hindu worship system (it’s said there is not Hinduism with out yoga and there is no yoga without Hinduism) and as a Christian we know this. I’d just like to put a scripture out there in Deuteronomy for one to think about:
29 “When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Essentially He is saying do not do as the pagans do and say you are doing it to me. He doesn’t want us using worship systems for other gods for Him. He tells us how to worship Him, in Spirit and in Truth.
With so many ways to exercise out there, why test Him? Why pass off Hindu worship as worship to Yahweh? To take what is Hindu and make it “Christian” …. well… Christian Yoga, is an oxymoron at the end of the day.
Just my view when putting scripture above culture.
This part of the scripture does add weight against yoga, thank you for bringing that up for me think about more.
However, I cannot deny that yoga has been the best exercise my body has ever experienced. A lot of Christian athletes run all the time, and guess what… they are suffering from heart failure. Chariot’s of Fire has a beautiful quote on running but isn’t necessarily true for everyone…”When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” I believe some of us are designed to withstand running long distances, but these people are very rare (such as the guy from Super Humans), so it’s best not to include long distance running on your regimen.
Also, the majority of Christians I know do not eat paleo, partly because they believe the Bible tells them that everything is okay to eat since the New Testament. These people are also suffering physically.
I am a Christian myself, eat paleo, and practice yoga as my main exercise (besides a bit of sprinting once in a while). I do not use it to worship God (or any gods), to be honest. I use it as a form of exercise. Unless aligning body parts in some fashion forms a gateway of communication to these other gods, then I don’t see a problem. It seems like folding your hands together or letting your palms touch is a universal way of praying.
I have read several of the post regarding yoga here, and I posted a response several months ago regarding the practice of yoga. For some time it has been abundantly clear to me that most Christians do not practice walking in the Spirit as laid out in Galatians 5:1-16-26. Instead most Christians in America live a life of positive feeling and pop culture morality with a little Jesus thrown in there. I believe there is nothing inherently wrong with the stretching done in yoga. The problem arises with the religious aspect that has been incorporated due to its roots in Hinduism. The problem Christians are dealing with regarding whether they should or should not participate yoga is the same problem first century Christians dealt with regarding eating meat sacrificed to idols. The early apostles warned against it in Acts 15:29 and Acts 21:25 along with Jesus himself in Revelation 2:14, while Paul says the practice is acceptable in 1 Corinthians 8. However, Paul later supports Jesus argument in 1 Corinthians 10:18-33. Paul warns us that eating meat sacrificed to idols can be a stumbling block to others, and as a Christian are lives are to be examples to other believers and even to the unsaved world. I just want to point out two scriptures in the previous passage. In verse 20 we are warned that the sacrifices are offered to demons not God or to gods so we need to watch out for that aspect. Additionally in verse 23 Paul states, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify,” (NASB). I believe as Christians sometimes we take our liberty too far, but at what cost. Have we forgotten that there is a roaring lion out there seeking to devour? I may not have met any of you, but I love you in Christ and hope you make the right decision for yourself, and those who you influence in your life. Just remember no Christian is an island, and if your on the fence there are plenty of places that offer stretching without Hindu aspects. And if you don’t find it to be comparable remember necessity is the mother of invention. Instead of waiting for someone else to make the change, you can be the catalyst for change and create a class that is both edifying to Christ and the body.
God Bless
Tonie, I am so with you on this. Even when we as Christians have the truth right in front of us, we still don’t want to accept it. Yoga can be used as a form of excercise if it’s only involving stretching as it’s always good for the joints to be flexible but when it comes to anything else it’s a no no. I’m seeing more and more how many are trying to mix christianity with other religions and that’s dangerous.
I agree, please take a look at this attached address, it really clarifies some points. Yoga reminds me of the chakras in Hinduism, each one invites…just like the moves in Yoga. Seek and ye shall find…
I worked in Nepal and used the greeting Namaste often . The people of Nepal use it as a respectful greeting. Most of these people are kind ,and blind. I am a Christian and knowing what I know now ,I would not use it. I was a Christian then as well. It defiantly opens doors to demonic influence that comes out in so many ways. I would NOT greet like that now,I believe God has shown me the dangers of this .Its so subtle,deceptive and dangerous. We can open the door to trouble without even realizing it. It comes out in sickness, family dysfunction,clouded thinking…and a false sense of spiritual security..Just speaking from experience and I am not so naive as to how Innocent it is for Christians. It appears so nice and warm but the fruits of what the country believes in is obvious.The tragedy,inequality,abuse,trafficking and the list goes on …all greeting each other with Namaste. Half of them dont know the true meaning …its just practice.. NO…I cannot go along with the greeting anymore..because of the blatant evil that resides in the temples,and within the country. The Gods that are in us are different and as Christians we need to recognize that and not be deceived.Yoga is tied up with all this as well.
Preach it. Hmm…..I do not see any other responses to your post. Everybody wants to feel warn and fuzzy in regards to the good of yoga but I bear caution to the wind in regards to its “spiritual” influences. I’ve talked to Hindu friends who practice several forms of yoga they tell my one cannot separate the spiritual and physical ties of yoga. I do not mean to offend others but this comes from my heart.
Shalom..
Thank you for the beautiful post. I started meditating a few years ago and do some yoga (I need to do more). I agree with you that bowing to another human isn’t taking anything away from Christ. He teaches us to honor, love, and cherish all life and to me bowing to another is honoring them and their spirit.
Have a wonderful day!
Hi, I’m 60, a lifelong Christian and practice Hatha yoga and really enjoy the stretches, breathing and core strengthening. Yoga is whatever you make it, I am aware of the history behind it and while I do appreciate the concerns above, I do not believe I am sinning while practicing yoga. It’s a very healthy thing to do and when I am practicing it I find myself praising God and at class end, I fold my hands and say quietly in a whisper: “praise God” because I do not want to say namaste. I do not fear for my salvation or feel God is displeased with me. With all the really bad stuff in the world He’s got a lot more to worry about then this.
If yoga can open you up to “demonic” spirits, then don’t go to your local mall because the demonic spirit of consumerism lives there! Especially at this time of the year ladies and oh by the way, don’t overeat lest the demonic spirit of gluttony overtake you! Nuff said!
i am trying to figure out one thing with the world ‘namaste’. my friend, who is indian, says that the word ‘namaste’ is simply just a greeting used at the beginning and end of any type of social interaction/meeting. that it is our western culture which has taken the meaning of this word into something more.
when i told her that i was thinking about getting a tattoo which connects me more to my practice in yoga, i told her that i was mulling over the world ‘namaste’ to be involved. she scoffed and sarcastically said, “you know it’s just the word for ‘hello’, right?” then she went on a rant about how the american culture is always making wrong interpretations.
please, some one… anyone, help me out here. i have read over and over again that yes, while this is how one person greets another (and how then say good-bye) on a daily basis, there is further meaning behind the word. are we being wrong to use it in our yoga practice? i have been unsure about this for over a year. until i figure things out, i’ve actually been saying ‘om shanti’ instead in fear of offending anyone.
I have given my own thoughts in this post but it’s obviously up to you regarding whether or not you say Namaste during yoga. As for the meaning. The Greeks have a standard greeting “Christos Anesti” and the traditional response is “Alithos Anesti”. Now, this is pretty common as a “hello” or “good morning” so you might think that was all it is. However, the literal meaning is derived from their Christian heritage meaning “Christ is Risen” and the meaning of the response is “Indeed He Is”. So you can see that one person might view this as just another greeting but if you look further there is a history and meaning. And a non-Christian might not feel comfortable saying “Christ is Risen” if he doesn’t believe that to be true. Another non-Christian might have no issue with it because they view it as just another greeting phrase that is commonly used. In my opinion, unless it does not matter to you whatsoever (and it seems like it does since you are concerned about whether or not to use it) then it is worthwhile to know the meaning. And my understanding is Namaste has more significance than just “hi”. I hope that is helpful to you.
Best, Lea
Hi all.
The yoga debate. I have been there.
I was born into a Christian family but did not believe in Jesus, plainly speaking. My beliefs were in God only and very much airy fairy crystal healing stuff the rest of the time.
I did yoga when I lived in London and loved it.
The short version is: I returned to my country, went through a ridiculously hurtful 3 year relationship BUT , finally, gave my life over to God. And not just God. Jesus became real. The puzzle started slotting into place.
I started yoga classes again. I know some of my Christian friends warned me about it but I felt strong in my faith and it’s “just exercise”.
How wrong I was. It wasn’t very long until the Holy Spirit started speaking to me during classes. Gently nudging me towards the truth.
I’m one of those people who google everything. ( Jesus knows this too ) So there I went, prayed for God to show me. And what I found astounded me.
To me, as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I cannot practice two faiths.
A war is ranging in the spiritual realms. This is not flesh against flesh. Yoga is not an ‘innocent’ form of exercise.
Praise moves is fantastic. Laurette Mills has a powerful testimony.
We need to open our ears to hear and our eyes to see.
Pray pray pray. Everyone who still questions this. Only God can give you the answer.
Do not conform to the world.
Thank you Lea for a great site. Very excited to order your book.
thank you,
i just googled yoga, namaste and christianity.
It feel good to know there are other serious christians out there who use the benefits of other religiously developed practices (yoga) to benefit them.
i love yoga and the benefits i have gained from practicing. whilst once, as a new christian, i felt very conflicted doing yoga, i now am established in my faith and feel i can combine my quiet / worship/ prayer / thanks time with my yoga. it does help me focus on God. as a working mum with 2 boys this is often my only opportunity to have enough peace to do it!
and thank you for clearing up the question about the ‘namaste’, i was unsure about its meaning. i was mislead into believing it was a Buddhist blessing and thus reluctant to use it. now i will honour my teacher and use it. after all she is helping me to draw nearer to God through this practice.
Michaela,
Thank you for the wonderful comment. I’m glad to hear you are growing closer to God. In James 4:8 the Bible says:
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…”
Blessings, Lea
Hi All
I’m a Christian, albeit not a very devout one, but I do believe in God and the Holy Trinity. I’ve also taken up yoga recently and have heard about it being a cult and serpent worshipper (because of the snake pose!!). Yoga, to me, is a form of exercise not worship. It’s helped make my body stronger and my thoughts happier because I feel healthier. It’s helped make my mind calmer so that I’m more restful and filled with peace when I think of God. Yoga has not stopped me from thanking God every day for His Blessings.
So if I, a not very devout Christian, am not so easily swayed by the Namastes and the yoga poses into going against God and His Word, then I do not see how a strong Christian would do so. I do not mean to create any offence here but wouldn’t your belief in God and His Word be strong enough to withstand mere human words and back-bends?
But then, of course, you should not be doing anything that makes you uncomfortable in the first place. The choice rests with you by the Grace of God. Peace.
Sorry for the delay in responding to your comment, Jasmine. I actually quite agree with you. I believe that if it bothers a person’s conscience then they should not do it. But I also agree that a strong Christian should be able to withstand the non-Christian aspects of yoga. Not everyone agrees with me, and that’s fine. Thank you for taking the time to comment and I hope you grow physically and spiritually stronger as the days go by. Blessings, Lea
Hi Lea,
Although I lean more kaleo than paleo, I thank you for your post on the term namaste. In lower case for emphasis 😉 Just three classes into my introduction to power yoga I wanted to know what they are saying. When I looked up the term, “I bow to the divine in you” my belief in the divine Jesus Christ indwelling in us who follow Christ, my thoughts went immediately to what it means to the receiver. For most, I suspect, it means little. Most folks are just doing the exercise they prefer.
There is no doubt that we are in a Spiritual battle everyday as some have talked about here. However, at least with my current understanding, I do not believe we are entertaining demons by saying this term. I will ask some of my Indian friends what this term means to them. Again, just like Christians, I only know one that I would say is following close. Even if he tells me that for him, the term has deep spiritual meaning, for most I think it means little.
In an always “connected” world some live in, Christian or not, this in my view is more of an issue than using this term. I would say that many are bowing to their smart phones. Me not excluded, they are a great tool, but I can put it down. I checked out a yin yoga class last Saturday, one classmate kept checking her phone. I use the quiet times and rests at yoga to just be silent. Where I practice is so Westernized you would barely know of the Eastern spiritual roots. However, Lea, by posting this discussion, as Paul, I believe you are being all things to all people. I was helped greatly, and if anything supported In Christ. Thank you for serving.
Scott
What a wonderful post, thank you for the opportunity for this dialogue. I feel very strongly that your Christianity lies within your heart, not written in a bunch of laws. Christ died so we could be free from never ending sacrifices and rules. If I say namaste with the full intention of it meaning “hello” or “goodbye”, it is no different than saying I saw a “witch” costume at Halloween. It does not mean I am inviting anything satanic to inhabit my body. All of the people who are so certain that yoga is a ticket to hell have probably not been to a North American based hatha yoga class. I do Bikram hot yoga, and trust me it is NOT a religious experience, other than the few times I have felt close to death. 😉 I pray during my quiet times in the room, and I use the time to meditate (which I may remind everyone, we are SUPPOSED TO DO, as Christians). I will not attend any class where there is chanting, yoga or otherwise… There is no such behavior in bikram yoga. The Olympic Games started from a series of pagan rituals, how many Christians attend or compete? Probably thousands if not millions… Let’s keep it all in perspective.
“If I say namaste with the full intention of it meaning “hello” or “goodbye”, it is no different than saying I saw a “witch” costume at Halloween.”
The Apostle Paul’s “good intentions” had Christians killed at his command. Scripture plainly states he was an enemy of Christ persecuting and harming His Church, and he was fully convinced in his heart he was doing a great service for God by his deeds.
Interesting article written by a Hindus in regards to the Christian practice of yoga.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/hindus-back-yoga-america-recognize-practice-roots-article-1.1060759
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rajiv-malhotra/hindu-view-of-christian-yoga_b_778501.html
I find these articles quite interesting and yet have many concerns about Christians and their practice of Yoga. Consider the roots of Yoga and then address whether it should be practiced in the guise of Christianity.
Hmm….No replies to my post. Interesting…
Hi Dan,
I see you are unhappy I have not responded to your post. The truth is I believe I have said just about all I think I need to say on the subject. I’ve repeated my stance a few times here in the comments section. Also, as someone working two jobs and with a family that includes two children, I don’t have a lot of time to reiterate my points in the comments section of a post I made almost 4 years ago. I appreciate your delving into this topic and leaving a comment because it’s an important thing to discuss. Most bloggers turn off comments after a while because additional discussion is not fruitful or because they simply do not have the time or have other reasons for not responding to comments. I leave it open so that others are free to leave their opinions here as long as they are respectful. But I am under no obligation to keep up with posts ad infinitum.
Regards,
Lea
Each of us has to answer for own own beliefs and thinking. Jesus does not force one way on each of us. We are each unique with special gifts and abilities. We are called to have discernment and to pray for wisdom. What is okay and beneficial for one may not be for another…said Paul. Differences occur and are a part of life as Christians. However, we are called to be unified regardless of our different opinions. I will do my best to not allow my freedom to be a stumbling block for those who feel strongly against and about yoga.
Namaste, Peace, and Drishti on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise. May God be glorified in whatever we do.
Thank you Sandy,
Blessings,
Dan
Dan,
The Huffpo article states up front that Hindus are unhappy because yoga has lost its Hindu roots. This makes my point. The other article in the NY Daily News, written by a Hindu man, states, “These views belie the principles stated in the Nicene Creed, to which members of mainstream Christian denominations must adhere.” First of all, he clearly lacks an understanding of Christianity (not surprising since he is not a follower of Christ) if he thinks we all agree to follow the Nicene Creed which emanates from the Catholic Church of which I am not a member. I’m not terribly interested in allowing a hindu man to dictate to me what is or is not okay for my faith. In fact, if we accept his premise that these physical movements have some sort of metaphysical significance then I think that is the error. We are allowing a hindu to steal our freedom in Christ. Now, I have written before a few times and I will write it again, if doing yoga bothers an individual Christian’s conscience then, according to Romans 14, they should not do it.
Perhaps we need to revisit that entire 14th chapter of Romans because it also speaks to judging one another on matters of Christian freedom and matters of opinion:
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the [a]servant of another? To his own [b]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person [c]regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, [d]does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall [e]give praise to God.”
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. 14 I know and am convinced [f]in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be [g]spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then [h]we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats [i]and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have [j]as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Hi Lea,
No I am not “unhappy” because you did not reply to my post but thanks for the reply. I will leave my concerns to an end for now.
Blessings and prayers.
Dan
No matter how you may decide to word it for people, yoga is a religion that you are joining or yoking your life to. There is NO discipline of yoga that is purely physical or mental which would separate it form the religion. Simply being honest and transparent about this is best. Lying is wrong.
Calling people liars who do not agree with you is wrong.
Woe to Scribes and Pharisees……They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. John 23:4 New Living Translation. Okay, I am done after I quote another favorite person, Beth Moore. “Never, ever argue with a Pharisee”.
Thanks, Sandy. 🙂
I say in my quiet voice, “God is great.”
I love that.
I have been practicing Yoga for almost 20 years and just earned my 200 RYT. I have been really perplexed about whether or not to use Namaste at the end of my classes. To offend my Lord would be beyond sad to my spirit. I asked other Christian Yogi teachers and one famous one said that they chose not to use it. For awhile it seemed best not to, but I never came to rest on that decision. Today I spent some time searching for other Christian views and came upon your blog entry. This is how I have felt all along and have decided that for me, it works. I also found other Christians who have written about this and across the ecumenical board, there are many who don’t feel that this is something offensive to God, but the opposite. Things that honor people, honor Him. Thank you!
Hi Sandy, I’m glad my post was helpful to you. It’s been interesting for me as well to read comments and get other people’s points of view. I feel very strongly that if someone is bothered in their conscience that yoga is wrong or saying namaste makes them feel uncomfortable then they should not do either. Or minimally, they should not do it until they study God’s word, pray and talk through the issue with other Christians and then come to the conclusion it is okay for them. I personally, have no issue with the yoga classes I attend. Now, if I were in a class that did place more of a hindu religious influence then maybe I would feel more uncomfortable. But my experience so far has been the opposite of that.
Hi Lea,
I started out doing Bikram but it wasn’t in a hot studio. The instructor had studied under Bikram and she did like to talk about the Hindu beliefs during the mediation time. I just decided to override her words by praying to God through the powerful name of Jesus which was ‘real’ relaxation. I had been in chronic pain for 4 years. After a few months of Bikram, I was pain free and pain med free. The bible says that we are to be in the world but not of it. Hearing other’s talk about their beliefs shouldn’t make me lose my faith. It is my job to stay so immersed in the Word of God that I will know when something doesn’t line up. But knowing that someone is not believing correctly isn’t a good reason to stay away. We love people of all beliefs so that we might save one. Jesus certainly didn’t refrain from circles of sinners and unbelievers. It was the Scribes and Pharisees that so irritated Him. 🙂 But hey, we will spend a life time working all of this out. I just finished a study on The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey Great book about who Jesus really was and wasn’t. As a Yoga Instructor, I have a captive audience now. heehee Okay, enough of my preaching. Just pursue God. Love Him. Love People too. 🙂
As a former Hindu who is now Christian…..I understand wanting to feel polite by responding to “Namaste” with “Namaste”. However, as a Christian, I need to be more concerned about offending God than in offending other people. Hindus believe that our souls are in essence the SAME as God. This is completely different form the Christian belief that we have the image of God within us, it is not divine in itself. There is no God within us that we can bow down to the God within someone else. We do believe that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is God. But we have no authority or ability over commanding the Holy Spirit within us to bow down to anyone or anything, not even *itself* within a different person. It’s a slap in the face of the Holy Spirit within you to pretend you are telling it to bow down to anything. Like I said – let’s care more about God’s opinion and less about man’s opinion.
Any opinion about :Christian” Yoga?
I am a Christian, certified Yoga Instructor teaching at a gym. It is my understanding that the word Namaste is merely a respectful greeting. When I say Namaste, I am paying respect to each person there who is created in the image of God, loving them as I am called to do. However, everyone must follow their own conscience. It is clear that we are to put no one before God. If you feel that it is wrong, then you must not use the word. In my heart, God knows, that I mean it only as a word of peace and respect. May He be honored and glorified. Peace
Hi Lea
I am a Christian and attend church every Sunday. I have a connect group and I serve in various areas of the church. I have recently started attending hot yoga to help heal a sporting injury (my back) caused by tennis, which I play 5x per week. I also suffer from PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic attacks and agoraphobia. I have spent numerous visits in hospital because of suicidal tendencies. I have been put on different medications and only a few months ago they added lithium to the list. I have had many people pray for me, over me, deliver me etc. etc. God has definitely brought me through the darkness and into the light. However, practicing yoga helps my anxiety, I can sleep at night without pills, no panic attacks, I can focus and clear thinking. My psychiatrist and psychologist are totally amazed. They too are Christians. They have seen me go through my darkest days and they said I am looking healthy and calm, rather than highly agitated and having outbursts of anger or crying.
So to all the Christians who are worried about the devil coming to visit you in a yoga class – don’t be so naive. I felt the devil in my bedroom every night while I was going through depression and I wanted to end my life every day for months. I used to speak out scripture because I was so frightened and sleep with my Bible on my chest. During the day I would yell Bible verses when I felt the darkness come over me and I would put on worship music.
God is bigger than any man, religion, spirit or hot yoga class. I pray for the people in my class. I tell them I am Christian. They know this, but they haven’t kicked me out….yet:-)
Melanie,
Thank you for taking the time to make this thoughtful comment. It’s probably the best one I’ve had on this subject. I pray you continue to have success with your yoga practice and warding off your anxiety, PTSD, etc… God does give us tools to help us. Reminds me of the analogy of the person on top of the house during a flood waiting for a rescue and then he waves off the boat and helicopter because he says God will save him – but God sent the boat and helicopter! Yoga has been part of your rescue.
Blessings to you,
Lea
Melanie, I am also happy that you have found some healing. May God bless you with more and more progress, more and more peace, and lots of love.
Melanie what you said is very true. God is the healer and the devil is the destroyer. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of healing folks in the power of the devil, He made it clear that a house divided can not stand. The devil does not want you well.
Thank you for your testimony!
I am a Hindu and there is no such thing as christian yoga. No matter how you stretch it or spin it, the truth is Yoga was created by the hindu God Lord Shiva, the original yogi. Christian yoga is an oxymoron like Muslim gospel. If you do yoga its a form of worshipping Lord Shiva. Plain and simple
There is no christian yoga..if you do yoga, u become a ‘yogi’. Which means a devotee of Lord Shiva.
Soooo……..
When I stretch my hammies after a 6 mile run I am a devotee to Shiva because I am performing a downward dog pose? What if I alter or tweak the position? Get real.
I’m sorry that I do not have time to read the entire comments section so someone may have addressed this already and if so please pardon me for repeating it.
It seems as though the original question was about the word “namaste”, right? Doesn’t the meaning of the word include the idea, “I recognize the divine spirit in you”? And if so, wouldn’t one born again, Holy Spirit filled Christian greeting another born again, Holy Spirit filled Christian find it acceptable that we recognize the divine, Holy Spirit in the other? That is the divine that I recognize. If anyone wants to be offended, let it be a Hindu holy man/woman that doesn’t appreciate me using it that way.
Good comment. I think of it that way too if I am dealing with another Christian. But more generally, I still think of each person as an “image-bearer” of God. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27
Thank you. My thought was that although many Christians understand that we are a spirit that has a soul and resides in a body, we often lose focus of that. It seems to me like “namaste” could be a good reminder of the divine that we are connected to in our body focused country even if the original usage may have been something much different.
I trust that the Indian person is telling the truth and that the meaning of “namaste” is much different in India. We are Americans, and for better or worse, we have a tendency to make things our own. If you consider American pizza vs Italian pizza or American Chinese food vs what is served in China you understand that this is not the first time we have changed things. It appears as though “namaste” may have fallen into that same deviation pattern from it’s original intent. We have made it our own.
“For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. For one man has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One man regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes a special day does so to the Lord;a he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this reason Christ died and returned to life, so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“As surely as I live, says the Lord,
every knee will bow before Me;
every tongue will confess to God.”
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Whatever I do, I do it all to the glory of God and in Him, I MOVE and BREATHE and have life.
The Holy Spirit ACTUALLY dwells within you if you’ve accepted Jesus as your intercessor and redeemer between you and a perfectly just God. As Christians, we can choose not to buy products from companies that support political agendas contrary to our belief, we can choose not to watch movies (VidAngel!) that have anything above a G rating, read no books that contain worldly wisdom, celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday instead of Sunday (and do absolutely no labor on it), abandon national holidays with pagan origins, and only pray The Lords Prayer because it is the only 100% verified prayer that their legalistic conscience can accept (but is it really? Since translations can be slightly different…).
This is all legalism. It is what Jesus rallied against. I present my body as a living sacrifice to God, which is part of my spiritual worship. God calls us to worship Him in everything we do. Yoga happens to be an area that I worship him in. I hope you are all blessed.