Should a Christian think about doing it even if you don't meditate? My piano teacher asked me this a while ago and the only thing I had really read said that you can't separate the exercises from the religious beliefs that surround them.
Jordan
I've heard KP Yohannan preach against yoga as Satanic. He is a wonderful brother from India, and he may see the community around yoga and it's practitioners as Satanically controlled, since he is Indian I feel that he probably has more insight on it than a Westerner might.
He argues that the point of Yoga and the meditation is to open yourself up to the spiritual world -and in the case of most Yoga practitioners that means opening oneself to the enemy.
I don't know that the exercises themselves are dangerous - but the meditations are.
I attended a yoga class back in university. Before going, my friend told me about the meditation session and said, "just try to move your little finger when you're in the trance... bet you can't!"
Well, at the end of the exercise session, we laid on our backs, closed our eyes, and the instructer led us through some imagery with her very melodically hypnotic voice... we were in a garden... flowers all around... I remembered my buddy's bet... tried to move my little finger, and it barely did...
That was the last time I attended yoga class - good thing I'm a control freak!
I don't believe exercise or even learning martial arts are necessarily "evil" - learning to punch, kick, wield a staff or sword are skills even David and Solomon learned. Taking kickboxing or Karate can't be more or less of a moral dilemma than learning to point and shoot a gun, drive a tank, etc...
Submitting your mind to another's control... that's another thing entirely.
HomeFree89 wrote:
Should a Christian think about doing it even if you don't meditate? My piano teacher asked me this a while ago and the only thing I had really read said that you can't separate the exercises from the religious beliefs that surround them.Jordan
What you read is right. I don't have time now to explain what is behind these exercises but I'll tell you what an Indian yoghin told about these exercises in a conference:
"Whoever practices yoga just for health and beauty, it's better for him to practice swimming. He has no reason to practice yoga. Yoga is for those who are interested to evolve spiritually."
These exercises are just means by which the adepts of yoga tries to present yoga in a good light. You accept it today a little but you see the consequences tomorrow.
May God protect you.
For what it's worth (and I don't know how reliable the source) I've heard that the actual positions used in yoga are actually postures of worship to other gods. If this is true, practicing yoga just for the meditation would be like putting a pentagram on your wall just because you like the design. I'd stay far far away, just in case. Chris
[size=xx-small]For what it's worth (and I don't know how reliable the source) I've heard that the actual positions used in yoga are actually postures of worship to other gods. If this is true, practicing yoga just for the meditation would be like putting a pentagram on your wall just because you like the design. I'd stay far far away, just in case. Chris[/size]
[size=large]Amen[/size]
Should a Christian think about doing it even if you don't meditate? My piano teacher asked me this a while ago and the only thing I had really read said that you can't separate the exercises from the religious beliefs that surround them.
I think it is a faithful saying that for a Christian to even be named among such a pagan practice is to cease to sanctify the Lord before the eyes of those around them.
Mind if I suggest a principle that may help one to discern whether issues like this are acceptable to a godly person? Can you find any godly person in the entire scriptures who practiced [i]anything
Prayer, as defined in the Scriptures, is simply communing with God in your spirit and mind. It requires no imagery, no visualization to do this. These come close to idolatry. Anything else that comes along that would suggest this thing, practice will enhance your communion with God can rightly be considered false. The only thing that will HINDER one's communion with God is SIN. Pure and simple.
Seems to me the enemy has a knack of coming along and complicating spiritual things, like practicing yoga.... and I'll bet you have to pay someone to learn it. Doing things God's way you do not need a penny to learn it! Just a heart that longs for God! Is this not wonderful?!
Blessings,
ginnyrose
Wow, thank you all so much for all the feed back. There is much wisdom here and I really appreciate it.
Jordan
My wife and I did a session of yoga. It was called 'restorative' yoga. I went solely for the stretch but when I arrived I found out it wouldn't be that much stretching. I was leery about doing it then but I decided to do it just for the experience to see what goes on during it. I made a blog post about my experience.
I think yoga stretching is probably one of the best stretching techniques out there BUT because it is linked with Buddhism's form of spiritual is there an open door to the occult in just doing the stretching? In theory I wouldn't think so but is there a seduction that I am unaware of?
btw, the term "Seduction' has been a word that has been ringing in my heart and my head here recently.
John
Click my blog to see my experience with a yoga class.
Chanin (moreofHim) left some pretty good comments in the past on this topic:
(i) Pilates?
https://img.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic_pdf.php?topic_id=4888&forum=35
(ii) Christian Yoga?
https://img.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic_pdf.php?topic_id=5086&forum=35
I believe stretching exercises and breathing techniques are not spiritual exercises in themselves - athletes and vocal singers are well-acquainted with them after all. However, yoga and other eastern practices amalgamate these things with unbiblical ideas of 'spirituality', and to participate in them is to make ourselves vulnerable to deception (c.f. 1 Cor 10:12). There certainly are better alternatives around.
Very strong statements in these posts and it causes me to be reminded of something I keep hearing in my spirit.
'Seduction'
I did another session of yoga but one that was more stretching then the previous one. I went with my wife because I wanted to see more of this 'thing'. I will write about it on my blog. One thing is clear, it separates itself from other forms of stretching in that it focuses on letting all the stresses of life go and they tell you to focus on your breathing. Let everything be centered around your breathing. I continue to say it adds a spiritual element to it which means it is religious without any rules. So you really do open yourself up to deception if you abide by those characteristics which they gently push you to. I sing in my mind to God in Jesus while that 'nonsense' was going on.
At the very end the instructor puts her hand together in a prayer pose and says some word and then bows over while seated. I was full of sweat during the stretching. It kicked my butt!
John
I wrote a blog post about my yoga session. Please give it a look and give me some feedback on my presentation of it.
John
I think Yoga means to "yoke with God." And as we know it isn't going to be God one is uniting with. Here is a testimony of someone who found she was uniting with demons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoclrFBqEBk
That said, I believe stretching is very beneficial to our bodies. I have a DVD by a well known UK soccer player and whilst it is purely stretching it does carry that label of Yoga.
God doesn't want me living in fear of stretching my body. My heart belongs to Jesus.
God Bless.
DEADn if you where a Christian India this wouldn't make it to this post.
As you would see the yoga poses on temples there...
I watching that video and am investigating the meaning behind the poses. I already know that the meditation part of yoga stems from Hindu tradition. I am very curious to know about the yoga exercising and if they are open portals to the occult. My wife primarily does these moves even when she is at home. She doesn't do the meditation stuff they do. In the 2 sessions I have done it seems they take you through 10 minutes, at the beginning and at the end, to clear your mind, push away the stresses of the day and allow your body to relax. They will also inject taking in positive energy which should concern people but if you are spiritually ignorant it will fly right past a person.
the clearing your mind and taking in postaive energy are openg the door to the powers of air they often pose as postive influenence
just doing the stretches and breathing acts to dunb the mind down to an alterd state of concence to make one supseptabe to spriual influence ,,normaly medatations would be a next step to dumb the mind further
quote: "I am very curious to know about the yoga exercising and if they are open portals to the occult."
This sounds like the plot line of a HP Lovecraft or Stephen King story.
Do y'all really believe that doing a stretch opens a demonic "portal?"
I think certain things may (Ouija boards, e.g.) but a stretching exercise? I think THAT'S a stretch. If it does, there will be millions of demonic portals opened this week in health clubs, people's homes and even on high school football fields. Football players have to stretch, you know.
quote: "I am very curious to know about the yoga exercising and if they are open portals to the occult."This sounds like the plot line of a HP Lovecraft or Stephen King story.
Do y'all really believe that doing a stretch opens a demonic "portal?"
I think certain things may (Ouija boards, e.g.) but a stretching exercise? I think THAT'S a stretch. If it does, there will be millions of demonic portals opened this week in health clubs, people's homes and even on high school football fields. Football players have to stretch, you know.
I don't think that the stretching does open anything to the occult. The more concerning part is the meditative part of it. It seems very harmless until you begin hearing terms such as 'positive energy' and 'take in all the positive energy from around the room' type of thing. 10 minutes is taken to 'release the mind and body from stressers as well as the last 10 minutes. This is what I experienced anyway.
I think that to better understand it is to talk to those who got out of yoga and find out where the 'portal' begins? The stretching may be just a platform for the more serious stuff. You don't get that kind of thing with most other stretching. Usually you just do warm up and cool down exercises. Yoga it begins with the mind and relaxing the body in order to begin stretching.
John
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