Yoga, a word tossed about so casually today in the West, is an umbrella term for many types of Yoga, and is an integral part of Hindu belief and practice. All forms of Yoga are part of a serious systematic spiritual path in Hinduism designed to lead one to realization of the self as divine, and to bypass the mind in order to yoke with Brahman, the Absolute.
The Yoga most practiced by Christians is Hatha Yoga. The poses themselves are often depictions of Hindu deities, and the hand positions mimic the hand positions seen on the statues of Hindu gods. These hand positions are called mudras and are thought to help manipulate and channel prana, a supposed divine force or breath of the universe.
The purpose of Hatha Yoga is not physical and it is not to relax; it is part of a complex spiritual path to prepare the student for more advanced meditative states and also to lead the practitioner to the realization that the true self is divine (the Atman). The goal is to dis-identify with the body and self as one's real identity in order to reach a state of Self-realization; that is, to realize the divine nature of Self.
Many Yoga classes do not use the Eastern terms when teaching Yoga, but disguise these with other terms that sound innocuous, such as "breathing techniques" for pranayama; "energy points" or "energy centers" for chakras; "center" for meditation; "poses" for asanas, etc.
It is not as if there are no other forms of exercise; and Yoga is not really exercise anyway - it is a spiritual practice with a spiritual purpose. The spirituality of Yoga is only temporarily hidden when it's marketed as an exercise. Here are several ways that reveal its core spiritual nature:
a)The first issue of Yoga Journal in 2000 devoted itself to the theme that marketing Yoga as an exercise has been obscuring its spiritual roots and purpose. Yoga Journal had interviews with Yoga teachers who were beginning to regret this, saying that it is wrong to leave out the spirituality.
B) Marketing Yoga as a physical practice in gyms and health clubs serves as a hook to bring some into the Yoga studios where the Yoga teaching is more serious and spiritual.
c) Many Hindu Yoga masters have been more critical of Yoga as it is taught in the West, offended that it is being taught as a physical exercise or way to de-stress, and upset that the spiritual aspect is being hidden or minimized.
d) Yoga Journal articles have become more spiritual in nature, since now Yoga has taken hold in the culture, having been marketed successfully as a path to health, fitness, and peace.
e) Additionally, Yoga was not a practice common to everyone in India; it was an esoteric practice for devoted followers under the guidance of gurus, and aspects of Yoga were (and still are) considered dangerous by serious Yoga masters. This is because the goal is a spiritual one that supposedly opens one up to more kundalini (the serpent power allegedly coiled at the base of the spine and which is supposed to pass up through the seven invisible chakras) and advanced meditative states (for which hatha Yoga is the training ground) which, students are told, can cause insanity or death. I heard some of this myself when involved with Yoga and Eastern beliefs as a New Ager. It doesn't matter whether these terms are used or not, or whether these goals are stated or not. Yoga is an esoteric occult practice that in the West has been associated with youth, health, beauty, and peace as a marketable package. To sell Yoga in mainstream culture while divulging its true origins, associations, and purposes would make it a marketing failure.
"Christian Yoga" is an oxymoron. If one removes the core aspects of Yoga to make it into something acceptable to Christians, then the breathing techniques and asanas need to be removed, which means there is then little or no Yoga at all. Changing the terms does not change Yoga, either. Just as there is no Christian Ouija board and no Christian astrology, so there is no Christian Yoga that is either truly Yoga or truly Christian.
The bottom line is that it is disingenuous and disrespectful to real Yoga practitioners to pretend Yoga is just a physical activity, and it is deceptive to market it that way to anyone else.
The Yoga most practiced by Christians is Hatha Yoga. The poses themselves are often depictions of Hindu deities, and the hand positions mimic the hand positions seen on the statues of Hindu gods. These hand positions are called mudras and are thought to help manipulate and channel prana, a supposed divine force or breath of the universe.
The purpose of Hatha Yoga is not physical and it is not to relax; it is part of a complex spiritual path to prepare the student for more advanced meditative states and also to lead the practitioner to the realization that the true self is divine (the Atman). The goal is to dis-identify with the body and self as one's real identity in order to reach a state of Self-realization; that is, to realize the divine nature of Self.
Many Yoga classes do not use the Eastern terms when teaching Yoga, but disguise these with other terms that sound innocuous, such as "breathing techniques" for pranayama; "energy points" or "energy centers" for chakras; "center" for meditation; "poses" for asanas, etc.
It is not as if there are no other forms of exercise; and Yoga is not really exercise anyway - it is a spiritual practice with a spiritual purpose. The spirituality of Yoga is only temporarily hidden when it's marketed as an exercise. Here are several ways that reveal its core spiritual nature:
a)The first issue of Yoga Journal in 2000 devoted itself to the theme that marketing Yoga as an exercise has been obscuring its spiritual roots and purpose. Yoga Journal had interviews with Yoga teachers who were beginning to regret this, saying that it is wrong to leave out the spirituality.
B) Marketing Yoga as a physical practice in gyms and health clubs serves as a hook to bring some into the Yoga studios where the Yoga teaching is more serious and spiritual.
c) Many Hindu Yoga masters have been more critical of Yoga as it is taught in the West, offended that it is being taught as a physical exercise or way to de-stress, and upset that the spiritual aspect is being hidden or minimized.
d) Yoga Journal articles have become more spiritual in nature, since now Yoga has taken hold in the culture, having been marketed successfully as a path to health, fitness, and peace.
e) Additionally, Yoga was not a practice common to everyone in India; it was an esoteric practice for devoted followers under the guidance of gurus, and aspects of Yoga were (and still are) considered dangerous by serious Yoga masters. This is because the goal is a spiritual one that supposedly opens one up to more kundalini (the serpent power allegedly coiled at the base of the spine and which is supposed to pass up through the seven invisible chakras) and advanced meditative states (for which hatha Yoga is the training ground) which, students are told, can cause insanity or death. I heard some of this myself when involved with Yoga and Eastern beliefs as a New Ager. It doesn't matter whether these terms are used or not, or whether these goals are stated or not. Yoga is an esoteric occult practice that in the West has been associated with youth, health, beauty, and peace as a marketable package. To sell Yoga in mainstream culture while divulging its true origins, associations, and purposes would make it a marketing failure.
"Christian Yoga" is an oxymoron. If one removes the core aspects of Yoga to make it into something acceptable to Christians, then the breathing techniques and asanas need to be removed, which means there is then little or no Yoga at all. Changing the terms does not change Yoga, either. Just as there is no Christian Ouija board and no Christian astrology, so there is no Christian Yoga that is either truly Yoga or truly Christian.
The bottom line is that it is disingenuous and disrespectful to real Yoga practitioners to pretend Yoga is just a physical activity, and it is deceptive to market it that way to anyone else.
