What is Yoga? I stumbled across the below definition, after reading it you will see why no Christian should practise Yoga. It is dabbling in the occult under the pretence of healthy living – it is a deception.
“Many do not understand the concept of yoga. Some think it is a religion. Some think it is physical exercise for health and some think it is a psychological system. All this is based on a misunderstanding f yoga. Yoga is simply a relationship. The word yoga comes from the biblical word, yoke which in turn originated from the root word in Sanskrit jugit. Both mean joining together or to unite. Yoga is the union of an individual consciousness with infinite consciousness. A yogi is a person who leans completely on the Supreme Consciousness, God, until they have merged their individual self with the Infinite Self. This is all….”
Basically, Yoga is about opening up your spirit through your body so that you can be ‘yoked’ to a higher power – spirit. These spirits, called ‘god’ are not the true and living God, but one of the ‘many spirits’ that have gone out into the world, seeking a house (man/woman) to dwell in.
Christian beware!
Posted by Pat Gresham on March 30, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Why does everyone think that you will be posessed by demonic spirits if you do yoga? As a teacher of Christian Yoga at church, our class has found a closer relationship with Jesus by using the many physical benefits that yoga offers. You do not have to be a Hindu to honor the body that God has given us. Your faith must be weak to think that practicing yoga would influence you to any eastern mysticism.
Posted by cs on April 2, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I was in a discussion last evening with a mentor. We were talking about fasting and prayer. He asked me why prayer was such a huge part of fasting. I asked why. He said because fasting not only is discipline of you self but it open you up to receive from the supernatural. Fasting without prayer is dangerous. When Jesus fasted satan came to tempt him.
Looking back I can see how this is true. Some will no doubt look at Yoga and say, “But it connects me to God. I meditate and connect.” Meditation is not prayer. I want to erase myself in prayer but not so I can gain a higher consciousness but so I can give Jesus Christ all I have and become more like him.
Posted by Anna on April 7, 2008 at 11:59 am
Well, I find it extraordinarily interesting
Posted by David on June 5, 2008 at 3:18 pm
this is an important point – but it is also only my opinion.
The root of the word yoga is the notion of yoking, or harnessing, and this is often interpreted in the sense of uniting, or putting togeather. It is true that yoga is usually seen as uniting the individual self with the universal self. In other words it is viewed as a religious process; and in India the universal is viewed as the supreme Hindu deity. All this is true…and false.
The classical text on yoga is the ‘Yoga Sutra’, attributed to Patanjali, and it has aquired a number of commentaries which have become accepted as authorative; that is: the yoga sutra means what they say it means. The authors of the commentaries were in my view, based on what they say about the yoga sutra, professional religionists i.e. priests; and therefore their interpretation of the yoga sutra is religious. In my view those traditional commentators were attempting to hijack and distort the real meaning and significance of yoga – which is not religious.
Yoga means to harness. the purpose of yoga is to harness the lower self, or the ego; that is the physical, emotional, mental human self. This is accomplished by the real self, which is the seer, or witness, or the pure consciousness, that each of us is at our core.
Mastery of the personal self is fundamental to normal human life. To be a fully grown-up and developed human each of us must learn to control our bodies, emotions and thoughts. That is what education and growing up is supposed to be about; learning to walk, talk and use the potty are just the earliest stages in the process.
Yoga takes that normal process of development much further; yoga involves a more complete development and eventually mastery of the personal or egic self; and a consequence of this is awakening to the nature of the real self; which some call enlightenment.
Posted by reader on August 5, 2008 at 1:07 pm
It feels great to read someone echo my beliefs. I had learnt Yoga in Bombay, India 16 years ago. I will tell you what exactly it is.
Yoga (pronounced yogue, as in vogue)means union. Here, it is in the context of uniting one’s person or being, with the ’supreme’ being. There are 8 steps to attaining this unity. Hence, Yoga is called Ashtaang Yoga, or 8-part Yoga. It begins with physical exercises, goes onto process (kriya), pranayaam (regulated breathing), …dhaarna (concentration), dhyaan (attention/meditation–not biblical) and finally samaadhi, or trance. They say, if you stay in samaadhi for 72+ hours, you get united with the ’supreme’. This means you die and do not re-enter your physical body.
Doing all this is absolutely against the Word of God. Through yoga, Man tries to reach ‘god’ by his own efforts, while the Bible clearly shows that it is impossible for us to know God and reach Him on our own. “By grace through faith” is how we are saved. It is akin to the Tower of Babel–man trying to build his way to heaven. What a deception! And BECAUSE you contradict the Bible and offend God by practising yoga, Satan gets a legal right in God’s eyes to enter the life of the sinner and harass him, may be even help/benefit him by ‘healing’ a few diseases, but eventually taking him to hell. Jesus said if your right eye causes you to sin, chop it off. It is better to go to heaven with one eye than have a healthy body and rot in hell forever and ever!
Invisible energy paths called naadees open up when you practise yoga. They facilitate demons to enter your body and alter your mental makeup and reasoning/logic. For the unsaved, they may never trust Jesus or know Him fully–so they would end up in hell. For the saved, it can cause torment as they would have sinned against their very Saviour.
As they say, why take the risk when you know that you would be dealing with the unseen world? Most people mean well–to worship God Almighty, but they really do not know who He is. At least those who know Him, should desist.
Posted by Wendy on August 14, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I practice Yoga and have been searching for a church that I can attend with the family to worship God. Our yoga path is to unite the practitioner with an experience of God. In my opinion this is completely in line with the teaching Jesus gave us: the Kingdom of god is within you. A yoga/meditation path will enhance the teachings of Jesus on how to meditate on God and experience that within ourselves. In order to practice both yoga and christianity you need to find a positive liberal church. Fundamentalist churches with notions of going to hell, satan etc. are not going to create a harmonious practice uniting with God. I found the united church to be most in allignment with my spiritual beliefs and yoga practice.
Posted by jesusblogger on August 15, 2008 at 9:05 pm
The ‘higher power’ Yoga connects one with is far from being the Spirit of God. Hell, Satan and Sin are all biblical concepts which Jesus taught in the Gospels and the Apostles and Old Testament Prophets believed in. To believe otherwise is to invent your own brand of religion, which I would not call Christianity.
Posted by Chris on August 29, 2008 at 9:46 am
I attended a yoga and meditation weekend hosted by a catholic monk – I was an atheist at the time, and felt a great spiritual awakening and am now myself a catholic. It would seem that, rather than putting me in the presence of the devil, yoga and meditation has contributed to bringing me to the presence of God…
Posted by MikeNZ on September 2, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Chris
If you’re a Catholic you may not be a Christian at all but decieved.
If you consider yourself a Catholic then you may already be in Idolatry as your a Catholic before you’re a Christian.
Where is the allegiance of your heart?
Is it to Rome or Jesus?
As for Yoga, I used to practice all sorts of things as part of my spiritual lifestyle, like many people I was synergistic and mixed and matched whatever I liked.
Eric Von Danican, astral traveling, martial arts, yoga, seances, prayer lodge.
I knew the spirit world before I became a Christian experientially, then I changed the allegience of my heart to Jesus.
I had to make the decision that anything that didn’t lead me to Him wasn’t of him.
On the last day the only thing that will matter is are you His.
Your education, money, achievements whatever will be worth nothing.
Going to church and being in the band, doing good works knowing your bible, being a signed up member of a congregation, none of it will matter.
The only thing that will matter is, do you know Him and does He know you?
Posted by MikeNZ on September 2, 2008 at 11:40 pm
That should read syncrenistic.
Posted by Ven on October 9, 2008 at 3:13 pm
MikeNZ:
That’s kind of sad telling Chris he may not be a christian. Call it what you want, that’s casting judgment on another. Last time I checked, it wasn’t our job to judge people. Instead, we are to love one another as God loves us.
As a pastor that does yoga exercises, I see no issue. Any exercise routine can slide into the selfish (bodybuilders are not trying to be healthy, they’re trying to be big and show off), which in turn leads to sin. But with humility and wisdom, you can also have a healthy, flexible body and not risk slipping and sliding into selfish sin.
As for Chris being a catholic, there is nothing wrong with attending catholic church, or any church for that matter, so long as the path you’re on leads you to listening to the Holy Spirit, loving and following God through the love of Jesus Christ.
Posted by donna on October 15, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Yoga is a gateway to demons. The movements is Yoga stimulate your pineal gland which some call your third eye. When you open your third eye you can see into the demonic spiritual realm. There are other ways to open your third eye, chanting, meditating, hypnosis, the fast way(lsd acid pcp ect.) The shamens used a certain root to open the third eye. Once open you begin to talk to “spirits, ascended masters, gods, the dead, ect. Why do anything that pagans do, we are called to come out of the world.
Posted by Nemo on December 31, 2008 at 10:45 pm
The biggest mistake one can make, from the way I see it, is to judge a religion or the spirituality of a areal where people live, through the percepts of another religion.
I understand that, if yoga is to open the doorway to unholy entities and demons, this means that for, maybe thousands on years, the Indians, the Tibetans, the Red-Skins of Northern America, the African shamans, all those people are nothing but a bunch of crazy satanists. You know, all of them practice for many hundreds of years various types of meditation practices, which in many ways are similar to yoga.
Let me just have a big laugh about that
Posted by jesusblogger on December 31, 2008 at 11:40 pm
There is only One God and one way to Him – Jesus.
Everything else is false. No laughing matter.
Posted by Serg on June 26, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Nemo, one of enemy tactics is to make you believe it’s not there. so you may laugh but let me ask you this. There’s black magic and white magic, which one come from satan? or may be both… You see, having a label of good intentions doesn’t necessarily make it right. Think…
Posted by Darwin on January 2, 2009 at 7:35 am
Pat Gresham. your the one who has been fooled. Number 1. Faith isn’t strong or weak. It is or isn’t, little or big. Faith is a great thing it can’t be weak But no wonder you don’t know that. ” Christian Yoga” Thast like” clean “imprisoned free” christianity isn’t an oxymoron. ANYTHING that is flesh focused is of the flesh You are an asnswer to the prophecy of Paul. In the last days people will follow the doctrine of demons wanting to have their itchy ears tickled. Why the need to call it “yoga”. Why not fitness. I am a certified fitness instructor ISSA,So It’s not just an opinion You need the yoga because you are of your father the devil. You can be fit without the name yoga ” ie. yoke” Thats what the word means so you are an unrighteously yoked christian. Our only yoke is the yoke of CHRIST. Repent , you and those who follow ” you” not the SAVIOR. Yoga has no place in the born again man. Then again you speak like a religious person not a true believer. Unless you be born again you can’t even see the KINGDOM your focus is fleshly. Please don’t lead any more astray. You must listen to the HOLY SPIRIT. Not a spirit. but then again I’m just another weak faith person right! LOL
Posted by Darwin on January 2, 2009 at 7:49 am
Ven. read your bible instead of ” freeing your mind” hippie. Paul said we are to judge those inside the church. God judges those outside. Do a bible search I will give you a hint it is in 1 COR. between chapter 4 and 6 just in case you don’t get it thats 1 Corinthians chapter 5 read the whole chapter it will do you good. If Chris calls himself a christian then he fits those inside the church. Come on stop being spoon fed, read the WORD for yourself. “We aren’t to judge, we aren’t to judge, duh” Read the WORD. (Please) context is key. Jesus didn’t mean to just look the other way at sin in the church, thats hippie liberalism, by the way nice cat on your web page (WOW) Thats all the church needs.
Posted by faith.hope.love on January 17, 2009 at 8:41 am
I believe that names of beings / practices are significant, and some of the names associated with yoga are the Hindu god Shiva (known as ‘The Destroyer’) and hatha (a stream of yoga meaning ‘to oppress’). In yoga, the physical postures intend to oppress the ‘psychic streams’ running up the spinal column, in order to allow a ’serpent spirit’ to climb the spine and reach the head.
As a Christian who is involved with deliverence ministry, I know that this serpent spirit can manifest in people who have practiced yoga. If you are a Christian and believe that there are evil powers and principalities in the world, why risk undertaking exercises that may open yourself to such things? Surely you can find other equivalent exercises that don’t have so much attachment to false gods?
Additionally, Darwin, I find your response to Ven particularly sarcastic and hostile. I encourage you to speak to your brothers and sisters with love and grace, even those you don’t know personally.
Posted by freja on January 22, 2009 at 9:27 am
I am glad that i have heard about this, i have always been pondering whether i should do yoga, and even did about two minutes of jane fonda yoga, and lucky i felt lazy and didnt want to continue, or i would be posessed by a demon. I am not ever going to do yoga, how ew! I dont want to be posessed, i dont want to go to hell. for all those people who are debating whether or not to do yoga and the possibilties of affecting your christian faith, i suggest that you should avoid yoga, i would rather not go to hell than ‘have fun’ doing yoga. Look beyond your pride and even if the whole thing may be wrong, i would rather be wrong than be possed by a demon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEMON DEOMON I TELL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by UGK on January 26, 2009 at 10:26 am
Christians are just as prone to get possesed by demons withut practising yoga. Look at all the church paedophiles and the pope. I am sure they dont do yoga.
Basic yoga for improving flexibility is good. But the advanced Kundalini stuff is certainly dangerous and can cause imbalances in the mind and body.
Posted by Levi on January 27, 2009 at 6:45 am
UGK. Right now we are talking about yoga and not other millions of crap satan has for humans to delude them from the truth. Be vigilant for satan moves like a lion whom to rend, to steal, kill and to destroy. I am an Indian and even I know about yoga and its consequences. Shame on the people who call themselves pastors and preach it is OK to do this and that which is not found in the Bible, deceiving many. You have been tools of satan to deceive the very elect. Remember, I am not against you or the any human who is practising it, but against the evil which has made you to do it. Jesus did not despise the sinners but the sin. I have only one thing to repeat: Repent or Perish. Read the Bible, be led by the Holy Ghost and be in His presence to be enlightened.
Posted by Levi on January 27, 2009 at 6:56 am
And moreover talking about your health. Keep His word, do what pleases Him, do not be gluttonous, be led by Him and not by any man.
Proverbs (KJV):
3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
3:2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
3:5 ¶ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
3:7 ¶ Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
It is better to seek health than healing. God bless you all.