One could argue, what could be wrong with just gentle exercise? The practice is based on a far eastern view of the spiritual, as well as physical, makeup of the body. People think it relates only to Hatha yoga, because they are unfamiliar with the deeper levels of philosophical and spiritual teachings. In the early 1980s, I attended Hatha Yoga classes, so many of the issues mentioned, I have experienced first-hand. However, I think that Christianity and Hatha yoga are incompatible. Some claim that Hatha yoga is an excellent, non-religious exercise régime. Hatha yoga more than just posturing? I think so. In the same way, doing yoga is an opportunity to use our bodies to glorify God, to meet with Him through physical exercise, and maybe to share the good news of Jesus to the person next to us in the yoga class, even if it’s because you’ve decided to give it up. Again, it’s the not the physical exertion of yoga that can lead you towards God, but the spiritual values that can get taught with it.Ĭhristians should apply the same principles to yoga as we apply to going to the pub on Friday and the shops on Saturday - these things don’t lead us to God, they can’t save or satisfy us, but we participate in them because our workmates are in the pub on Friday and a drink or two with them allows us to share life and the gospel with them, or because the shops provide for us the same necessities as our neighbours and allows us opportunities to share common grace with them. Holy Yoga is a great example of this - a place that acknowledges that our bodies and our spirits are linked and uses the physical shapes made popular through yoga to allow people to connect worshipfully and spiritually to God through their exercise. An increasing number of Christians who enjoy yoga are linking their own faith and spiritual journey to their practice of yoga. The important point here is that it’s not the physical exertion of yoga that can lead you away from God, but the spiritual values that can get taught with it.Īs Christians, everything we do should be for God’s glory and that includes exercise. So go in with your eyes open, aware that this kind of spiritual teaching might occur and being confident enough to choose not to participate. This might mean that the yoga class at the local gym isn’t for you - maybe the teacher has fully bought into not only the physical movements of yoga, but also the spiritual disciplines of emptying the mind and acknowledging the gods in each participant and teaches them as an essential part of the yoga course.
0 kommentar(er)
