The Cult Of Crunch: Breaking Down the Good, the Bad, and the Biblical (or not) of Natural Living Part 5: Yoga

In my young 20s, I seemed to make it a point to do everything my mother told me was bad for me. Just, ya know, test it out. Play Eve in the garden but instead of, “Did God really say?” it was, “did mom really mean this was bad for me?” From drinking to drugs to tattoos, I was on a mission to see if all these things were as bad as she made them out to be. Fun fact: I found out most of them were. One thing I tried but couldn’t quite shake was her being adamant that yoga was unchristian and we shouldn’t do it. Oh, I still did it when I jumped on my fitness kick, but I couldn’t quite get into it. It stayed in the back of my head that though I wasn’t following God at the time, this was something He really didn’t want me to do. I wrote it off as being too slow for me, but it was really something more. I had conviction about it though I didn’t put it into those words. Turns out, both mom and God were right again.

What is Yoga?

According to “Yoga Alliance” Yoga is “A practice of transformation that unites, body, mind, and spirit.” The website says that it’s “a rich tradition of wisdom and self-discovery.” It says that can help people connect to something bigger than themselves. Yoga combines three main components: physical movement (asanas), breath work (pranayama), and meditation (dhyana). The benefits claimed are better stress levels, improved strength and balance, and better cardio health. There are different practices in yoga ranging from spiritual yoga to fitness yoga to gentle yoga. Hatha yoga is the most commonly practiced yoga in America which focuses on yoga postures as well as controlled breathing and meditation. It’s claimed to focus less on the spiritual and more on movement and overall calming.

What’s the history of Yoga?

The earliest mention of yoga is in the Rig Veda which is “a collection of ritual hymns used to maintain order in the universe.” (This is according to the Rubin Museum website.) The Rig Veda is one of Hinduism’s four sacred texts (Vedas). The Rig Veda came out of Norther India approximately 5,000 years ago. With time, it spread into Buddhism, but it mainly is a foundation of the Hindu faith. Hindus used yoga to connect with the Devine. It was used to align chakra points to enhance energy flow and gain enlightenment. To be Hindu is to practice yoga. It is in the foundation of the faith and followers still must practice it today.

Yoga became popular in the West when Swami Vivekananda lectured throughout Europe and the United States in the 1890s. He lectured in Chicago in 1893 which introduced America to yoga and Hindu thought. In the early 20th century, Paramahansa Yogananda wrote his book “The Autobiography of a Yogi” and spread the ideologies of breath control and life energy. At the same time, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya brought to the forefront the benefits of the physical side of yoga into India. His students brought over the physical benefits to America as they opened schools and yoga centers. Yoga became mixed with gymnastics towards the middle of the century. In 1947, Indra Devi opened a yoga studio in Hollywood. The celebrities popularized it and the average American followed suit. She wrote popular yoga books that captivated American housewives. Meditation and yoga spread like wildfire in the 60s. The spread of it has not stopped, but is now practiced by people of all different faiths and ideologies.

Is Yoga effective?

Harvard Health shared in an article that a small group of sedentary individuals practiced yoga for 8 weeks for a total of 180 minutes a week. After the 8 weeks of yoga, participants had greater strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardio health. Some studies have shown yoga to lower blood pressure, improve lipid profiles, and lower excessive blood sugar levels. Advocates claim it lowers stress and anxiety. They say it helps regulate the nervous system because of the breathing practices and meditation. Some say that it gets you better in tune with your emotions and self. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health states that yoga helps one manage stress, improves balance, benefits one’s mental health, aids in weight management, and can even help you quit smoking.

Let’s think critically about some of these claims before we move on to the worldview of yoga (that’s where it’ll get really juicy).

If you take an inactive individual and have them start doing an appropriate level of physical activity, will they see benefits? Yes. So, we can’t claim that yoga is some kind of magic bullet (remember my last blog on bullets and BBs?) because of their poses or asanas. I would argue that well programed strength training at appropriate levels for the individual would do more for one’s not only strength but also endurance, flexibility, and heart health. Building muscle improves one’s metabolism, increases bone density, reduces mortality risk, stabilizes joints, supports the immune system, and improves mental and cognitive health. Yoga is not uniquely beneficial because of the movement aspect. You can find other wonderful (and not spiritually dangerous) modalities for improving your health.

The breathing aspect, pranayama, is often highlighted in yoga. The purpose of the breath work is to exhale bad energies and inhale good energies. Can we do breathwork that doesn’t focus on the life force of the breath? Yes! When pregnant and postpartum, I did a few strength training and pelvic floor programs that focused on diaphragmatic breathing in connection with the pelvic floor. Let me tell you how that benefitted me in labor and postpartum! Some may say that it traces back to yoga, but it was the Lord who made our lungs and diaphragm and put the breath in our lungs (Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4, Acts 17:25). Every breath we take is a gift from the Lord, not some thing we do for better energy life force (prana) that is moving throughout our body and aligning our chakras.

What about the benefits of meditation, or dhyana? The bible calls us to meditate, right? Yes! But it’s different. The goal of meditation in yoga is to empty one’s self. There is danger in an empty mind. Dr. Kurt Kock stated, “We cannot empty ourselves by means of techniques and postures—then other powers flood in.” The bible backs this up in Matthew 12:43-45 where Jesus share this story: “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” We see the spiritual danger of emptying one’s self via meditation. This is not the meditation that the bible commands. Rather, the bible teaches meditation on God’s word that instead of emptying our mind, transforms it (Romans 12:2). The Psalms are littered with verse that tell us to meditate on God’s law (Psalm 119:97), His works (Psalm 143:5, Psalm 119:27), His promises (Psalm 119:148), and His love (Psalm 48:9). Paul encourages the Philippians to set their thoughts on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” and “anything excellent or praiseworthy” (Philippians 4:8). We are to meditate, yes, but not in a certain physical position or in an emptying way that would leave us vulnerable to the devil, but in a way that we fill ourselves of scripture and God.

Lastly, I do want to point out that tough many tout the mental benefits of yoga, there is danger mentally in it as well. Many will tout that it helped their anxiety and overall mental health. And yet, as one advances in yoga and takes on the beliefs backing it, one can find themselves in danger of a psychotic breakdown. Yoga positions are designed to align the chakra points in order to connect to the “Supreme Spirit.” Kundalini yoga is a spiritually focused yoga that seeks kundalini awakening from aligning all chakras from the root chakra to the crown chakra. It is said to achieve spiritual enlightenment as it awakens the serpent goddess at the base of the spine who works her way to the crown chakra and opens the third eye. This is occultic. People who have progressed to this kundalini experience have been know to have psychotic breaks. They are opening themselves up to other spirits and are inviting demons in.

So, is it an effective form of exercise or calming practice? Some would say yes. But there are other forms of exercise that are likely more effective and are not spiritually dangerous. As Walter Martin said in his book Kingdom of the Occult, “Yoga is not a substitute for aerobics, and it was never intended to be used for physical activity alone; it was created to worship deities the Bible calls demons.”

What is the worldview of yoga?

It is the Hindu worldview. “There is no Hinduism without yoga, and no yoga without Hinduism.” Sandeep, Cultish interview on the Hindu origins of yoga.

Hinduism believes in both polytheism and pantheism. Polytheism is the belief in more than one god. Pantheism is the belief that god is present in everything. God is in nature and in us. We see why yoga then aligns so well with the crunchy worldview! Everything is sacred. Truth is multifaceted with diverse deities. Yoga and meditation are spiritual practices of the Hindu faith. Laurette Willis said that yoga is “the missionary arm of Hinduism and the New Age Movement.” Sandeep also said in his Cultish interview that “yoga is meant to be connected with Hindu gods… (if you think it’s not) you’re trying to fool yourself and fool the world.” Modern Hindu leaders state that yoga is the soul of Hinduism.

The etymology of the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit “to yoke.” The goal of yoga is to get a deeper knowledge of the Self and unite the Self with the Brahman which Hindus believe is the supreme, eternal, divine force that underlies all existence. It is the ultimate reality; the divine consciousness. It is the divine in the earth and divine in us. Yoga connects us to this divine life force. The individual conscience is to connect with the universal conscience, the Brahman.

Hatha, the most common type of yoga practiced in America today, means to stick fast, to be devoted, and to hold closely or firmly. It’s mistaken for often being just a physical practice, but that isn’t factual. The first verse of Hatha Pradipika says, “Let there be salutations to the first Lord who taught the knowledge of Hatha Yoga, which shines forth as if a ladder for the one who wishes to ascend to the elevated Raja Yoga.” Raja Yoga is the “royal path” which is the meditative system for one to master the self and achieve enlightenment.

This is firmly against the Christian worldview. We do not believe that there are multiple gods nor is god in everything. While God is omnipresent and active in His creation, He is not in it (Jeremiah 23:23-24). While we worship a triune God, we do not worship multiple deities (Deuteronomy 6:4). While the Holy Spirit indwells believers, we are not divine (John 14:17).

Yoga is to yoke. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, Paul writes, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” While Paul is talking about persons, how much more should we be cautious of yoking ourselves with demonic ditties?

Can we divorce the movement from the ideology though? Faithful Christians who have studies yoga or Hinduism and secular yogis say no.

“Yoga is not a science of physical exercises. It’s a science of spiritual awakening. Most Americans don’t understand that.” Saddvi Bhagwati Saraswati

The Mahasiddha Yoga website agrees with Saraswati and writes in their article “Hatha Yoga Pradipika—Practicing Yoga According to Ancient Wisdom” that people error in only emphasizing the physical aspects of Hatha Yoga thinking that there are no spiritual. The website states the following:

“Today, the Western attitude greatly emphasizes the physical aspect and appearance of human beings, and maybe also the psychological aspect to some extent. Yet, the inability to dive deeper and to understand the true meaning of each bodily yoga posture and the lack of a deeper understanding of the microcosm of our own being means that we risk missing the true value of hatha yoga.

“Hans−Ulrich Rieker mitigates this error by explaining the changes which take place through the practice of hatha yoga in the practitioner’s body, mind and self. He makes the reader aware of the subjective transformation that occurs as consciousness penetrates inwards towards the Self, and as the Self diffuses outwards. He shows that hatha yoga is not just physical exercise but an integrated science leading towards spiritual evolution.”

Laurette Willis states that “it’s impossible to separate the subtleties of yoga the technique from yoga the religion.” He goes on in The Kingdom of the Occult to give examples of yoga practices that aren’t as innocent as they may appear. “Namaste” means “I bow to the divine in you.” He mentions the Corpse Pose which is the final, essential yoga posture symbolizes deep surrender and death of the ego. At that point one needs to empty the mind, which we already spoke on the dangers of that. According to the Yoga Kawa website, each pose has meaning and symbolizes the cycles of life. Opening poses symbolize birth, standing and seated poses symbolize the flow of life, the corpse pose symbolizes death, and rising again symbolizes rebirth. The poses are meant to align the charkas and connect one’s consciousness to the universal consciousness, or universal divine. It is more than a workout: it is spiritual.

Even if one tries to just “do the movements” (which I hope you can now see is impossible), the focus on self is unbiblical. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves (Matthew 16:25); yoga calls us to worship ourselves. Yoga turns your body into a type of idol as you are focusing on the self throughout the movements and meditations. Yoga’s goal is for one to connect to the universal god to become a god. Focus of the self is unbiblical.

One may practice “holy yoga” or “Christiam yoga” thinking that there is no harm. But as we have laid out, it is fundamentally against Christianity. As Got Questions put, “Simply changing the intent of the practice does not negate the inherent theological problems. Holy yoga’s reliance on pagan notions of man’s nature, its linking of physicality with spirituality, and its support of contemplative prayer are all reasons to avoid the practice.”

In conclusion, Christians should not practice yoga. I would caution everyone in general against practicing yoga. Yoga and charkas are tools of the occult. We need to be wise in what we open ourselves up to. The “divine” we are yoking with is simply demonic.

So, what should Christians do instead? I love strength training for all people of all ages and abilities. I personally have found MAPS Fitness Programs to be extremely effective. If you’re looking for something more restorative and aids in flexibility, MAPS Prime and MAPS Prime Pro are amazing for that. Or simple stretching is great. Or even simply walking while praying or singing the Psalms would do wonders for your body and soul. There are good options outside of yoga for physical health which will likely be more effective and definitely less spiritually dangerous than yoga.