Most of the people to whom I mention that I practice yoga are either very receptive to it or else somewhat skeptical of it.

Much of the skepticism comes from Christians who are aware that yoga originated as a Hindu worship rite. The physical exercises, postures, diaphragmatic breathing, and meditation popularly associated with yoga are more accurately a specific branch called Hatha yoga. Legend has it that Lord Shiva propounded this particular discipline.

A couple thoughts I would like to give about this:

1. Just because something originated as part of a pagan worship ceremony does not mean it is wrong. This would lead to absurdity. For example, let’s suppose that stretching originated as an act of worship to the lord Stretchu. Would this mean that stretching is wrong? This of course would be ridiculous. There are many innocent customs inbred in our culture that originated as ancient pagan worship rites. Also, there are probably many others that we don’t even know about and we are unwittingly sinning if the pagan origin of these customs makes them wrong to practice.
2. What actually needs to be avoided is immoral actions and worship of other deities. Christmas and Easter also originated with pagan worship rites. Please look this up for yourself online if this is new to you; there are many articles addressing this topic. Does this mean that giving gifts is sinful? No. What made these holidays sinful? First, the immoral actions practiced during them, such as fornication, child sacrifice, and drunken carousel. Second, the deities worshiped during them, such as Mithra and Ishtar. If the immoral actions and false worship are avoided, there is nothing inherently wrong with engaging in all of the customs associated with these holidays. In fact, there can be much good that results.

Yes, yoga originated as a Hindu worship discipline. Yes, Lord Shiva propounded Hatha yoga, a version of which is what is commonly practiced in the West. And if you do yoga as part of a Hindu worship rite or focus on Lord Shiva in your meditation, then definitely this would be unscriptural and wrong from a Christian perspective. However, if you do it to improve health, awareness, peace, and connection with YHVH, I see nothing wrong with it.

Yoga connects posture, balance, stretching, and breath. As such, it is the most fulfilling exercise routine I practice. The spiritual and breath connections are a major part of its appeal to me. In I Corinthians 8, Paul states that eating meat offered to idols even in the idol’s temple is not wrong, but he also states that he will not do so if it makes a weaker brother violate his conscience. I will take the same approach. If I was mentoring someone in their Christian walk and they had qualms about yoga, I would probably abstain from practicing it.

In a future post, I will delve more into the concept of meditation. For now, I will leave you with Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am Elohim.”