I have to be honest with you, yoga makes me uncomfortable. I have been teaching for 7 years and practicing yoga for 12 years. The impact that yoga has had on my life is huge! But I can see how people can make yoga their religion. Yoga helps you to live your best life by giving you the skills to take charge of your physical, mental, and emotional health. That coupled with the sometimes necessary modern medicine can give you the impression that all you need is found within yourself.
I can’t deny the testimony I have through the practice of yoga.
But I get so absorbed in my own yoga culture that I create within my classes that I forget what everyone else is experiencing outside of a Christian yoga class.
It’s not until I go to a class or read a book or other article, that I start to feel uncomfortable.
I have been to classes that chant verses rooted in Hinduism. I have been to classes that encourage you to set up icons and pray to them. Sanskrit words along with New Age teachings, can set you down a path that is separate from that of Christ.
There is a lot of speech that is not based in our faith in Christ and what we believe in scripture. I have always tried to teach my students to be discerning when attending other classes like these.
So, here is my challenge: if something makes you uncomfortable, do some research into it. Go to scripture and reliable pastors in your life.
It may just be something culturally different than your own or it may be something spiritually different. Be on your guard.
Yoga is a beautiful and revolutionary art, whose poses are based in science and provide amazing benefits. The testimonies from my students that come out of it are definitely worth picking through the weeds a bit.
