Can Yoga Really Be Holy?

“Why does the enemy get to claim all of these good things and prevent the body of Christ from experiencing the vital benefits that accompany the practice of yoga?”

“Slow...” “Slower...” “Slow down, love.”

God has slowed me way, way down. It has taken years. And it’s been an unwinding of the miraculous kind. 

I couldn’t have asked for, planned, or imagined it happening this way. As for how fast I was moving through life, I was clueless. An object in motion stays in motion, right? 

By age 13, you could have easily put me in the ‘busyness addict’ category. 

And then one day, like those still small whispers we all know, I felt a gentle invitation. It felt a bit out of the blue. I had just completed a year of ministry school, and I was dead set on starting a dance company. But first, apparently God had some more schooling He’d like me to have. Just a few weeks after graduating, He invited me to become a yoga instructor. 

“Truly,” I thought to myself, “this feels irrelevant to my passion for dance and ministry.” But when you know, you know.

Now, I enjoyed yoga. I had practiced it casually for years, mainly to stay limber as a dancer. In fact, in dance college, we used a lot of alignment-based technique from yoga for warming up and understanding the body. But becoming an instructor? Not in my plans. 

Just after I prayed about it and gave God my ‘yes’, a post popped up on Instagram of a woman from Holy Yoga in a warrior pose. “What timing,” I thought. And I knew… “Here we go.”

Now, 8 years later, I have received some of the most bizarre and malicious messages from both strangers and acquaintances (yes, Christians) regarding their concern for my spiritual well-being. Things along the lines of, “let me know when your life starts to fall apart because you’re letting demons in through yoga,” and things of that nature. 

So began a journey of understanding the concerns and connecting the dots between Jesus and yoga. I mean, He started this conversation, so I guess I better pull up to the table ready to chat. 

But first, I can’t go any further without prefacing that the rest of this article is best viewed through the lens of this scripture: “ ...the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

John was describing the victory that the church holds in the midst of false prophets who claim to speak by the Spirit but also claim that Jesus did not come in bodily form and literally die on the cross. There was a belief spreading around the church that carried heavy influence of Greek thought; only the non-material (or the heavens) are good, and the material realm is inherently evil. This was proto-gnosticism, specifically “Docetism”. It was believed that Jesus only came as a spirit, because He could not come into contact with evil. 

Whether we know it or not, this mindset has remained influential even into the 21st century western church where we still struggle to believe that God takes delight in humanity enjoying pleasure in the human body, i.e. flavorful food, sex, rock concerts, even dancing (heaven forbid… wait what about David?). 

Now, I agree, “Be sober and watch, for your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8).

Absolutely. 

We must treat the garden of our mind and heart with diligent care, protecting it from any influence that would lead us away from the total reign of the gospel of Jesus in our lives. 

We are bombarded daily with invitations to lesser-loves, addictions, and distractions. Hardly a day passes without scrolling through anti-kingdom messaging -- the constant lure to climb the hustle-ladder, and find glory in ourselves apart from all that He has already given us.

But, I have to stop us here. 

This is where perfect love comes in. John continues on in chapter four, “...all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them… Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” (verses 16 & 18). 

There is necessary wisdom to what we allow into our eye-gates, one-hundred percent. But did Jesus not look into the eyes of the woman who was accused and thrown naked at his feet? 

Did He speak to her while looking the other direction because He was afraid of lust overtaking Him? 

No, this man knew His identity. He had practiced his identity. He had prayed into His identity. He had spent time with His Father finding the resonance of truth inside of Him that vibrates so strongly in every cell of His being that sin’s temptation is a tiny grain of sand under His feet.

We are sons and daughters of the Maker of the universe. By faith, we are completely saved. By faith, we are righteous as He is righteous. By faith, “as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17) “Everything good comes from God… And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.” (James 1)

The same Spirit that gave Jesus authority to look our sin in the face and not be tempted, is the same Spirit that yields the same authority in us now. 

Your body is good. Breathing deep is good. Stretching in a runner’s lunge is good (especially before jeté combinations). Meditating and focusing the mind is a crucial skill, especially in this generation. 

Why does the enemy get to claim all of these good things and prevent the body of Christ from experiencing the vital benefits that accompany the practice of yoga? 

“Because the source of yoga is Hinduism; you cannot separate the two.” “Because the poses are dedicated to Hindu gods.” “Because people have become spiritually oppressed after taking a yoga class.” “Because meditation is only for eastern mysticism or Buddhism and is not a Christian practice.” 

I’m going to address these a bit plainly. 

But first, these are valid concerns. There is a real power that opposes the kingdom of God. There is such thing as demonic oppression. There is such thing as witchcraft. There are real forces of evil in the world. 

And also in the same breath, He is greater who is in us.

So the first concern -- Hinduism. Indeed, yoga is commonly practiced in the Hindu faith, particularly among Hindu monks, as it helps them remain in meditation longer because of their increased strength of focus, and their ability to remain seated longer due to increased flexibility. 

However, many scholars have traced the origins of yoga to pre-date the rise of Hinduism which started around 500 BCE. The term “yoga,” is found in ancient India's earliest known scripts, the Vedas. They date from the Vedic period, which began in 1500 BCE. 

The Himalayan region is known for its harsh winters, so many inhabitants practiced this form of movement as a way to stay warm. Monks later found that those among them that practiced yoga were able to surpass their peers in meditation time. Thus, yoga became a central pillar of the Hindu practice if you wanted to spiritually excel. 

The second concern -- the power of the poses. I understand this concern if someone has told you that the pose and the meaning of the pose are inseparable. But I must argue that no one can impose your heart’s motivations upon you without your permission. “People look at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) 

Perhaps it’s the unknown, foreign terminology directing us into the pose that determines what or who we are worshipping in that pose? Are we worshipping Krishna when the teacher says to take ‘utkatasana’?

Utkatasana; awkward chair pose. Tadasana; mountain pose. Virabhadrasana; warrior pose. Trikonasana: triangle pose. If it helps, sanskrit is simply the written language of India. 

My question for us here is this: does the existence of gluttony mean we should altogether quit eating food? Does the existence of pornography mean we should altogether quit procreating? Because there is a perversion of something good currently being practiced somewhere in the world, does that mean we should stop practicing that good thing altogether? 

Again, this is where we forget that He is who is in us is greater. 

The enemy has no ability to create. God is the Creator. The enemy only has the power to take what is good and helpful to humanity, and attempt to use it for his own purposes. He was considered by most to have been heaven’s first worship leader. Since he attempted to use music for his own kingdom, what if we had decided to remove it from the church altogether?

This is where I get passionate (if you can’t already tell). We have no reason to be scared of anything on the earth, because remember, fear is driven out by His perfect love. As they say, “when we are in fear, we are out of faith.”

“I have given you power to tread serpents and scorpions underfoot, and to trample on all the power of the enemy; and in no case shall anything do you harm.” (Luke 10:19)

Jesus either meant this, or He didn’t.

Either we have authority over our bodies, and even over the ‘gods’ of Hinduism, or we don’t. 

(And I will loudly proclaim, WE ABSOLUTELY DO!!! Infinitely. Abundantly. Comprehensively.) 

“But Whitney, I’ve seen people demonically oppressed as a result of practicing yoga.“

Here’s where it gets vital to understand the power of our personal beliefs. 

If 1.) you have been taught to be afraid of the enemy’s influence on your life more than you have been taught to express your authority over the enemy or 2.) you simply haven’t been taught about the spiritual realm yet, then I would likely advise you to avoid taking a yoga class for a while. Why? 

For the same reason that I wouldn’t advise a new believer to go to a heavy metal rock concert, or do mission trips to the trafficking rings of Thailand. You simply need to know how to express your identity and authority, not just in theory but in practice. (Try reading ‘The Believer’s Authority’ by Hagin)

Most yoga classes in the U.S. are taught simply as a form of exercise by instructors that have no intention of imposing Hinduism on the class attendees, nor practice it themselves. But rather, they will guide you through inhales and exhales, pushing you to hold positions when it’s difficult, and challenging you to stay present on your mat to counteract the addictive/distracted culture we all live in. 

But, there is the occasional instructor who is passionate about buddhist meditation and incorporates it into their class. This might look like meditating on ‘nothing’ and ‘emptying your mind’, in which case I would say it’s a perfect moment to meditate on the Father’s love for you. You could even ask the Holy Spirit to bless your classmates’ minds to be filled with revelations of Jesus. (wink wink) 

Or there is a class that incorporates the activation of chakras which are believed to be energy sources in the body. Again, you have authority over your body… your energy… if you believe you do. Do you believe you have authority over the enemy? If not, find someone in your Christian community who does, and dig into this pillar of your discipleship with Jesus together. 

Lastly -- meditation. 

“My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” (Proverbs 4:20)

“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” (Psalm 143:5)

I have had some of the most profound encounters with Jesus on my mat.

I slowed down enough to hear Him. He was always ready to speak. 

And that is why I love yoga.

Out of all of the practices that I can easily do at home or on the road -- among pilates, HIIT, calisthenics etc. -- yoga incorporates such an emphasis on presence which ends up being such a gateway for us to connect with God -- body, soul, and spirit. 

I can’t count how many classes I’ve had the privilege of getting teary-eyed hugs afterward and hearing how the student was touched by God.

May we slow down enough to let Him speak. 

Selah. 

So, I’ll leave us with a few practical things. 

If you would like to start practicing yoga and don’t know where to start: check out holyyoga.net and carolinewilliamsyoga.com for lots of free, Jesus-centered yoga videos and resources.

If you prefer an in-person class, try the styles that are spiritually neutral: vinyasa, hatha, ashtanga, yin/restorative, bikram and power yoga. Understand that styles such as kundalini, bhakti, and tantric yoga are more spiritually focused. In any case, read about the class and maybe even the instructor online -- and regardless -- walk in knowing that you and God are greater together than any opposing belief in that practice room. 

Ah, the refining process. Let the classes refine your faith. If the teacher says something that doesn’t align with your beliefs, go home and find a verse that you can use next time to meditate on instead. (For more personal study: Acts 10:9-11:18, 2 Cor 3:17, John 10:10, 3 John 1:2, Acts 17:22-28, Titus 1:15, Rom 8:31-34)

It is my wholehearted belief that it’s time for the church to be on the offensive -- not the defensive -- in every sphere of society. If yoga is so popular (36 million Americans practice yoga), then shouldn’t we be out there flowing, breathing and loving alongside them? 

May we find Jesus on our commute, at a packed out church service, singing along to Sinatra as we cook an Italian dinner, and even... or especially… as a love warrior on our mats.  

I can’t help but finish with saying, “Namaste.”

….“The Holy Spirit in me honors the Holy Spirit in you.”