When I was little, I remember an aunt of mine telling us yoga was bad and not to do it. I didn’t even know what yoga was back then, but I remember asking, “Why? How do you know it’s bad?” She said a priest had shared that it was demonic and I wondered what was demonic about it and whether it was true. How did she or the priest know? Wasn’t it just stretching? She believed it because the priest said it. I, again having a bit of that doubting Thomas in me, questioned it. Initially it’s an understandable thing to question as on the surface yoga seems like a harmless practice. It was only later past my college years that I learned more about the practice, its religious origins, and its ties with the New Age movement and the occult. Things most people don’t take the time to research or learn, but the information and experiences are there.
Today, meditation and yoga have entered schools with the new “mindfulness” education being spread. Schools even hesitate to use the terms so as to not cause controversy, but a rose by any other name is still a rose. Perhaps a thorn in this case. Before some of you start lighting your torches and grabbing your pitchforks, please hear me out and read to the end. Yoga is unfortunately something that is very common and normalized today, but actually is not something we should participate in for various reasons. It may seem like a side issue, but many Christians practice yoga and I’ve heard of churches offering yoga classes as well. It’s not trivial but an issue that should be taken seriously. We’re called to test all things, so by all means do your own research and compare it to the Bible. Look up the definition, history, and beliefs behind yoga. Yoga and meditation are ultimately Hindu practices. Look at what they themselves say in their own words, publications, and literature. Some Hindu leaders have even started “take back yoga” campaigns. There are many who are offended that Americans and others have tried to take the Hindu roots and beliefs out of yoga. It’s like if they tried to “baptize” or take “communion” without believing in Jesus. You can’t truly separate the practice from the beliefs they’re rooted in. A nonbeliever could technically come into any church and without believing eat and drink the bread and cup because they’re hungry or thirsty. However, they’re usually asked not to participate unless they are a believer. At the very least it would not be respectful to do so, but at most God wouldn’t like it either. The Bible says not to eat or drink the body or blood unworthily or you eat and drink judgment on yourself (see 1 Corinthians 11:27). The same would apply to saying you are only “stretching” when those stretches are ones that worship other gods in that religion and culture. So if a non-Christian cannot take communion, then why can a non-Hindu participate in a Hindu practice like yoga? “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils… Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?” (See 1 Corinthians 10:20-22). Some Christians have even labeled what they do as “Christian yoga,” but that is an oxymoron. It’s either one or the other because the two are mutually exclusive. Can you have a secular baptism? You need faith in Christ or that’s just the equivalent of a bath. Many will argue that they just stretch, but the Hindus do not see it as just a stretch. Even if you are not “worshiping” God with yoga and treat it as a mere physical exercise, why join in a practice that Hindus use to worship their many gods? You would be using poses that honor those gods when our Bible many times says our God is a jealous god, do not bow or worship other gods, and to be separate from the world. “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles” (Jeremiah 10:2). King Solomon went from being highly blessed to falling from grace because his wives led him into pagan practices, away from the true worship of God. “… do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I will also do likewise.’ 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… Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (see Deuteronomy 12:29-32). There are tons of ways to exercise your body and stretch that do not involve yoga or meditation which are Eastern religious practices whether the person participating believes so or not. Reality doesn’t change based on opinions just as believing or not believing in God doesn’t change the fact that He exists. We’re not to be “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14) and if we participate in their customs then by doing so we do get lumped up with them and therefore are liable to be judged and punished as well. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12). Occultist leader Aleister Crowley promoted yoga and has a book called “Eight Lectures on Yoga.” Being yoked/joined with the “universe” or the New Age “Christ consciousness” through yoga and meditation is promoted and accepted, but the true Jesus and God of the Bible are not. It’s Adam and Eve in the garden believing the serpent again with his same lie about knowledge and becoming like god. When is man going to stop falling for the lie? There’s only one God and we’re part of his creation, not gods. We’ll never reach his level of knowledge and power, but that’s okay. He’s infinite and we’ll always be finite. Trying to go against God and reach for more is also like the tower of Babel story. History repeats itself. So many souls are lost to New Age and occult beliefs and they often started with yoga and meditation. There are testimonies of various people who have come out of New Age practices that they now label a deception. Often, they were tricked into thinking that they were “becoming one with” or coming into contact with “beings of light,” or like Buddha were becoming “enlightened” or “spiritually awakened.” The positive feelings they initially experienced caused them to become further involved. This led to more than they bargained for and seeking the truth, and for some even deliverance from demonic oppression or possession. Yes, not just in the times of Jesus. Demons still act in the world today. If you look up “kundalini warning,” “kundalini spirits,” or “the dark side of kundalini” you get some interesting results. There are testimonies that to a Christian automatically should bring up red flags for possession, but they’re told their experiences are normal and are of “past lives” or things that they have to get “used to” as their brain “adapts” to their “third eye” being opened and such. But they themselves have called it “dangerous” and admit to experiencing bouts of rage, depression, anxiety, loss of self-control, loss of consciousness, psychosis, uncontrolled body movements, etcetera. And it’s not even when they’re practicing it, but randomly throughout their day which has even caused some of them to lose their job. If yoga and meditation are meant to be peaceful spiritual practices, why have so many people experienced such negative effects? Effects that often did not exist in their lives until they started these practices. Satan, the father of lies, “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). It may sound outlandish, but the world is deceived. So you may now be asking yourself, why then do so many people not experience these things? I think it’s through the Holy Spirit and by the grace and mercy of God. “We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). God says not to do certain things, but many in ignorance do them. God said for example, “There shall not be found among you… one who interprets omens… or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord,” (See Deuteronomy 18:10-13). Though I grew up going to church, I didn’t know that until I was in college! Participating in Eastern religious practices is like playing Russian roulette with Ouija boards. Some people have bad experiences and some don’t. When my dad was young, his friend got thrown across the room playing it. Yet I had a teacher who didn’t see anything supernatural happen the time she used it. Anyway, I think if you play with fire you’re liable to get burnt. Not everybody does, but it’s definitely more of a possibility and NOT recommended. The more often you do it, the more likely you’ll get burnt, but some people get burnt the first time. Why take a chance when you have so many other options? God told the Israelites not to adopt the customs of other nations in serving Him and the same would apply today. He said “And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them” (Leviticus 20:23). A few might be inclined to think of the meat sacrificed to idols passages (see 1 Corinthians 8 & 10). While all things may be permissible and their gods are nothing, Paul said that if it causes another to stumble then it would be good to never eat meat again for their sake. If you are already informed of the Hindu roots and practices and feel completely at ease that you are doing nothing wrong in the eyes of God, then what of the weaker believers that see you participating in that? The ones that would then go deeper and further and may end up trying to “open their third eye” or feel the “kundalini serpent” down their backs and become “illuminated”? Can you in good conscience wash your hands like Pontius Pilate and say you had no influence over the spread of such practices? Some of you might hate or dislike me after reading all of this, but I shared this in love and concern. In the end, every person will do what they wish. However, sometimes we sin unknowingly and it seems many people view yoga and meditation as quite harmless. We (who think yoga is not a good practice) are not here to judge our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but to warn and exhort in love like the Bible says. “Have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). God is our judge and in the end we will all individually stand before Him. We should worship Him in ways that please Him. What possible justification could satisfy God for a person to willingly participate in a custom that people use to worship other gods? “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). So take the above as nonsense if you like, but practice at your own risk. Don’t harden your hearts like the Israelites. “This people’s heart goes astray; they do not know my ways,” (Psalm 95:10). I hope there are no hard feelings and that at least some of you would consider what I’ve shared. If not, then maybe down the line you’ll hear more about it in the future. All any believer can do is plant seeds, but we don’t control on what ground they fall and it’s God that makes them grow. If you are not ready to hear these things, then all that’s left to do is pray. God knows how to reach everyone that truly seeks Him. Ultimately, we are to do everything for the glory of God, so let each be convinced in their own mind and simply agree to disagree. If you are not a believer in Christ, then also recognize that all that glitters is not gold. Eastern religious practices may seem attractive and fulfilling at first, but they can have disastrous consequences in this life and the next. Seek the one true and only God of the Bible and He will lead you to the truth. |
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