Christians & Yoga

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” –Romans 12:2a

In my opinion one of the most biblically-informed, clear-thinking and relevant Christian bloggers out in cyberspace is Dr. Albert Mohler. His blog is found at AlbertMohler.com and there are other resources there too. Dr. Mohler is a seminary president and a frequent guest on talk shows such as Larry King. While I may not agree with the well-read and articulate Mohler on every issue, I do on many, though my tone may be less strident.

Some time ago Mohler posted a blog entry entitled partly titled “Should Christians Practice Yoga?” I found this intriguing because I had been asked that question just some time ago. I found myself caught because I certainly did not want to be a legalist, yet nor did I want to sanction for a believer that which I knew to be spiritual practice associated with a non-Christian worldview. Still I knew as a pastor it was, and is, my responsibility to give counsel on such questions when asked by those in our church family.

As usual, Mohler finds just the right resource to enlighten the believer so they can make wise and godly decisions and give meaningful answers. The resource Mohler cited on this topic was a book by Stefanie Syman entitled The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America. The author actively practices yoga and knows the history of yoga in America quite thoroughly Mohler informs us. In her book Syman tells of an episode when recently during the Easter holiday she had the chance to lead guests in yoga excercises on the White House lawn that she described as “sanitized, sanctioned, and family-friendly,” Commenting on this event further Syman wrote:

There certainly was no better proof that Americans had assimilated this spiritual discipline. We had turned a technique for God realization that had, at various points in time, enjoined its adherents to reduce their diet to rice, milk, and a few vegetables, fix their minds on a set of, to us, incomprehensible syllables, and self-administer daily enemas (without the benefit of equipment), to name just a few of its prerequisites, into an activity suitable for children. Though yoga has no coherent tradition in India, being preserved instead by thousands of gurus and hundreds of lineages, each of which makes a unique claim to authenticity, we had managed to turn it into a singular thing: a way to stay healthy and relaxed.

When you think about it, it is rather stunning that a practice that would have been seen as foreign or even “heathen” fifty years ago is now seen as a normal means of meditation and exercise by many Americans. In her book Syman does explain the spiritual roots of yoga and she actually argues yoga cannot be fully separated from its roots in Hinduism and Buddhism, nor from the role sexuality plays in it. Whether you agree with her or not, her argumentation should not be ignored by Christians who really want to know if it is a good activity for them to be engaged in.

Obviously, one of the fundamental differences between the meditation of yoga and Hinduism is that it calls for an emptying of the mind, whereas Christian meditation is always about filling the mind with Christian truth as made known in the Bible. The recitation, memorization and meditation upon the Christian Scriptures is the means of renewing the mind (Romans 12:1-2) and of motivating believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices unto the Lord. As followers of Jesus we are not to leave the consciousness of this world, but to look to Christ to rule our conscious, and even unconscious, thoughts. The Christian way is never escape from reality, but the transformation of reality into that which is Christ-honoring.

Listen, I see nothing inherently wrong with the physical posturing of the body in various ways or pursuing new forms of exercise. But the question is what are these positions of the body supposed to teach? What do they represent? What are you seeking to achieve by them? Why are they considered optimal? Further, consider this thought from Mohler: “if you have to meditate intensely in order to achieve or to maintain a physical posture, it is no longer merely a physical posture.”

Friends, I am not here to condemn anyone who is doing yoga for exercise purposes. I am not seeking to be negative or a prude. I am not trying to clamp your liberty in Christ. If your conscience is clear on doing it as a form of excercise, then hear me saying just yoga away. But I wonder if more is not involved than we think when Stefanie Syman writes that the practice of yoga in America “has augured a truly post-Christian, spiritually polyglot country.” Hmm, sounds like she, at least, sees it as more than an exercise.

Striving after Him in all things!
Scott