I’m a Christian and why I still practise yoga

I spent the past few days working on this blog post. Before I started each time, I prayed to God seeking enlightenment and the blessing of my mind, and that the words that I type edify my readers.

I do not study theology neither am I a researcher in the field of yoga, so we won’t debate the nuances of the bible scriptures or any ancient yogic texts here. Instead, I focus on lifestyle practices - things that we have full volitional control of, and not because Scripture A says B or Upanishad X says Y.

Christians should not practise yoga

Before I started advanced yoga teacher training, I wrestled with the question, “Should Christians practise yoga?” Since young, I knew Christians believe that:

“Yoga, a combination of breathing exercises, poses and meditation, has connections to Hinduism and Buddhism.

“The poses symbolise prayer positions to the different gods.”

“Christians are not allowed to empty our minds in meditation but we should only meditate on God’s promises.”

Practising yoga is therefore seen as a tacit endorsement of a “non-Christian” belief.

Double standards?

If we are being told to steer clear of yoga because of its religious roots, then what about the little-known religious history of chocolate by the Mayans for rituals and healing practices? Today, we are still drinking and eating chocolate even though cacao beans were believed by the Mayans as a gift from their gods. However, “drinking chocolate was eventually accepted in 1662 because it has medicinal qualities.”

What yoga is not

The concept of yoga seems to have been misconstrued and I can only hope to delineate the key differences between what it is and what it is not.

I do agree yoga is rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism. More importantly, it is the science of holistic living, of the union between our mind and body, our head and heart, and our individualised and universal soul. This is beyond the yoga poses (or what we call asanas) or “just a physical regime”. Yoga poses are simply a way to strengthen and stretch our bodies. Though the tradition of worshipping different gods with asanas is adopted in some yoga lineages and some asana names may translate into names of religious idols, when you separate the asana names from the movements, many of these poses are used in exercise routines. In the fitness world, the monkey pose or Hanumanasana is called a split.

How our bodies embrace movement cannot be owned simply by a yoga pose name.

Having read Psychology for 6.5 years, I do see consistencies in the teachings of yoga with scientific psychological principles e.g. how the mind and body can influence each other. Breath and mind have a close connection. If the flow of breath is erratic, our thoughts become erratic. If the breath is slow, smooth and long, our mind is always the same. This is why we always calm an anxious person down by asking them to, “B R E A T H E.” This is also the reason why I love pranayama because I instantaneously experience the effects of calming the mind down through the breath work. In yoga, when we move slowly, with intention and with full awareness, we start to become more fully present, our thoughts start to become more stable, our minds clarified. These characteristics tell us how our physical bodies can control our minds. Unfortunately, most of our understanding of what yoga is today i.e. practising in a sports bra, crazy feats of flexibility and strength, IG-worthy poses look tremendously different from what yoga was discussed to be like in ancient times. Yoga is a lifestyle that I hope everyone sees it, beyond all the asanas and how the yoga industry has been commercialised to be - I will probably delve into this topic in a separate post.

I’m a Christian and here is why I still practise yoga.

Yoga helps us to be more attuned to our present moment which hones our skill to listen (to the Holy Spirit, to the prayer in our hearts)

We are always told to “live mindfully”, “eat mindfully”, “be in the present moment”. Being in the practice calls for your full attention as you move with full awareness. It has been scientifically proven that your brain changes neurologically in accordance with the practice of mindfulness. It works like a muscle whereby the more often you practise mindful living, the better you get at it.

I find myself more attuned to my senses and my surroundings and going through each moment with fuller awareness than I have ever been pre-yoga days. I find myself hearing His voice louder and feeling His presence stronger than I have ever experienced off-mat. I find myself randomly seeing tears pool in my eyes as I move on my mat, even more so, when I’m in nature. It is that profound sense of connection that I experience when I’m on my mat.

What it means to me and my students

I do not incorporate chants in my own classes but I emphasise a lot the mindfulness aspect of yoga and how it is a lifestyle and not just posture or a “physical regime”. More importantly, I highlight the intentions behind each practice, both for myself and for my students. It is the intention behind each movement that assigns its meaning.

In my meditation practices, I do encourage decluttering of the mind by focusing solely on the breath. This is my attempt to draw awareness for both myself and my students to our physical bodies on our mats and focus on the here-and-now. We then set intentions for our practice - it could be anything the students want. For me, my intentions usually revolve around a quality or a virtue I want to cultivate more of in my life e.g. being gentler, more compassionate, patient. It makes logical sense to free up your mind of all distractions (or what we call “declutter”) to pave the way for positive things. As Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”

This is my attempt to strike a balance between honoring true, non-commercialised yoga philosophy and acknowledging that there is still divinity (a force, a being, etc).

We all sit on a spectrum - this is the reason why not all of us go to theological colleges and become a pastor. While yoga philosophy isn’t Christ-centered, there are some aspects of it that are consistent with the bible scriptures to me e.g. the yamas (don’ts) and niyamas (dos) like how we should uphold non-violence (“ahimsa” in the yamas and “Thou shalt not kill” as part of the 10 Commandments). While I’m not saying that all Christians should practise yoga, what I’m saying is it is not entirely wrong for Christians to practise yoga.

I took on foundational yoga teacher training purely out of curiosity about what this sacred practice could do to human beings.

I prayed extensively for a month before embarking on my advanced yoga teacher training a year later.

I was wrestling with precisely this question “Should Christians practise yoga?”

I prayed and eventually reached the conclusion, “If God could lead me to it, there must be something that He wants me to bless others through it.”

Namaste,

Mae