Yoga has been successfully marketed and re-branded to entice urban dwellers like us. Gone are the mental imprints of bearded men and in place are slim girls in lycra wear. This is yoga as we know it today. Unfortunately nowadays yoga is widely practised merely for its physical benefits. Practitioners have become fixated with the goal of achieving a toned body or conquering a challenging pose. Interested candidates are concerned about whether yoga is able to help them slim down. So called ‘regular’ practitioners only gravitate towards classes that physically challenge them. But we are not entirely to be blamed as sadly, this great art has been packaged and sold to us in that light.

The Eight Limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras states that Asanas (yoga postures) must be attained before deeper aspects of yoga can be pursued. In that context, it is indeed true that we are on the right track by placing importance in our physical practice. However, it cannot be dismissed that the fundamentals of yoga speaks of the ultimate unification of the body and the mind. This piece of wisdom can and should be integrated into our practice. For example, instead of recklessly forcing ourselves to achieve the perfect looking seated forward bend (and ending up pulling a muscle), it is more beneficial experiencing the flow of energy by linking breath to pose. Similarly, the accomplished practitioner who effortlessly displays perfect form, should not allow the mind to wander in restless boredom but begin connecting at a deeper level by bringing awareness to the control of breath, muscles in play and the subtle intelligence behind those movements.

There is no right or wrong to the role yoga plays in your life.  Just as long as we remain aware and open to the deeper potential it holds beyond the sweat factor.

Consistent practice of Yoga Nidra leads to an integrated relaxation on a physical, mental and emotional level, which helps to intensify the power of creativity, intuition and self-discovery. It enhances the self-healing capabilities of the body and can be used to mitigate stress-related problems such as migraines, headaches, insomnia, fatigue and high-blood pressure. Experienced practitioners of this technique have also claimed that half an hour in this state yields the benefits of three hours of deep sleep.

Visualisation and guided imagery techniques are useful processes in preparing to bring ourselves into this calm and serene state of yogic sleep. Enjoy the relaxation and the training of the mind that comes with your routine leading up to the state of Yoga Nidra. With patience and regular practice, you will transcend the obvious benefits and experience the formless depth of pure awareness.

I have personally always had problems completing the Yoga Nidra sequence as I would usually drift off to sleep before the end of the process. This had deterred me from taking my practice further, until recently when I discovered an audio CD that improved my Yoga Nidra experience tremendously.

“A Journey in Yoga Nidra’ is a locally produced and newly released audio CD that guides the practitioner through a journey from mind awareness, resolution, body awareness, breath awareness, visualisation and finally to a deep relaxation . Let the relaxing sound track composed and arranged by the well-known Malaysian artist, Sesatre and the hypnotic voice of yoga teacher, Barbara Vadiveloo guide you through this traditional practice of deep and peaceful awareness.

Health Benefits
There are many people who testify to the health benefits of doing yoga. Celebrity instructor Ninie Ahmad blogged that:

Check out Ninie’s fun post also, it is very humuorous.

Many Christians who practice yoga readily admit to its health benefits. There is no dispute that doing yoga poses makes you feel good. It is interesting that the bible does not mention exercise but remember that at the time of Jesus, people travelled on foot in contrast to our society today.

It is safe to say that people then are generally healthier compared to people today. The bible says that for believers, the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so presumably God wants Christians to look after their body. I believe that yoga at its basic level can be an exercise which helps you achieve that.

However yoga at its deeper, spiritual level involves additional elements. For example, the first and second limbs are known as Yama and Niyama, and have to do with right behaviour at a personal and social level.

The elements of Yama include practising non-violence, speaking truthfully, exercising sexual control, being honest and generous.

The elements of Niyama include purity, contentment, discipline, spiritual exploration and surrender to the divine.

A full appreciation of yoga involves a moral and spiritual element which I’d say most yoga students are unaware of.

Author Deepak Chopra in his book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga says:

“When the fire of a yogi’s life is burning brightly, she is a beacon of light radiating balance and peace to the world…. The seeds of wisdom are sown when you surrender to the unknown.”
(p37-38)

In contrast the bible teaches that God is light and the true source of all wisdom. Contrast also the need for high level yogis to meditate in the wild and isolation with what Christian author Rick Warren says in his best selling book The Purpose Driven Life:

“It may seem easier to be holy when no one else is around to frustrate your preferences, but that is false, untested holiness. Isolation breeds deceitfulness; it is easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are mature is there is no one to challenge us. Real maturity shows up in relationships.”
(p134)

Summing it all up…
Yoga IN ITS TRUE FORM does not sit well with the Bible. The Bible does not specifically prohibit yoga, but at the same time warns that the devil is a deceiver and masquerades as an angel of light. As early as the Garden of Eden, the devil deceived Eve with the false promise that she would be like God if she ate the apple. Likewise the promise of some super spiritual power is at the heart of real yoga.

It is unclear whether the yoga classes offered in Malaysia are of that level (most likely not), but if you pursue yoga spiritually through meditation, then I believe there will be some risks.

“I am afraid just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”2 Corinthians 11:4

Back to Part 2
Back to Part 1

The goal of the Christian life is one of character development, to become more Christ-like, and to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit (which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control).

Character Development & Suffering
Christians know God and develop character through trials and sufferings. So the bible actually says to rejoice in sufferings, eg.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:2-4

See also Romans 5:3
“We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”

And Philippians 3:10
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.”

This is very different to the spiritual principles taught in yoga which is to try to find the god inside you. Yoga does not teach about finding God through life experiences, suffering and so on, but in Christianity spiritual growth means trial and suffering.

The key objective in Yoga is to achieve the union of the body, mind and soul. Bhagavad Gita is a Hinduism book and also a key source of yoga principles. The Hindu faith is based on a rejection of the material world. Because of our worldly desire it is believed that we live in misery and frustration. So the effort is to eliminate such desires. Indeed this is the way of Orthodox Hindu and Theravada Buddhism. The practice of authentic yoga entails a life of exile in caves and isolated places. It is the emptying of your mind from all worldly desires.

If yoga is to be pursued in its full form, it involves spiritual practices which are clearly in conflict with the teachings found in the Christian bible.

Yoga Poses
You’ve probably heard some Christian people say that yoga poses resemble the serpent but this is shallow at best. True Christians worship God in spirit and in truth, meaning worship comes from the heart and not from assuming a body position in itself.

Just think about it… when you wake up in the morning and start to roll around and stretch a bit, it may even resemble a yoga pose (let’s say the cobra pose). Does that mean that you have sinned against God?

Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini yoga focuses on psychic centres or chakras in the body in order to generate a spiritual power known as kundalini energy. It is conceptualized as a coiled up serpent lying at the base of our spine, which can spring awake when activated by spiritual discipline. Spiritual awakening through the arousal of kundalini force coiled at the base of the spine is the essence of this practice.

This is in conflict with the Bible teaching that spiritual awakening means to walk in God’s truth and wisdom, relying on the word of God and the Holy Spirit for power.

There are spiritual elements in the practice of Kundalini Yoga and followers of Yogi Bhajan (who introduced Kundalini Yoga to the US) even lay claim that “it has saved mankind before, is saving it now, and shall save it in the future.” This is in conflict with the Bible position that Jesus Christ is the only saviour and is “the way the truth and the life”. (John 14:6)

What about Hatha Yoga?
It is not purely physical either. Each asana is designed to create a certain state of mind and bring the seeker into contact with the “higher self”. The very essence of yoga is “to yoke” or “bind” the body, mind and spirit. As such it involves spiritual elements if practised in the way it was intended. However as a form of stretching and exercise, it can be purely physical and offers many health benefits.

To be continued in Part 3…

The Bible does not say that you cannot do yoga, but many Christians remain opposed to the practice of yoga. Why is this so? The reasons usually given are along these lines:

1. Yoga has its roots in Hinduism and involves the worship of Hindu deities
2. Certain postures in yoga can be likened to the serpent who is also our spiritual enemy

So against this background I’ve decided to take a closer look at the Bible to see what God really says. (This article is rather long so I will be publishing it in three parts)

The Greatest Commandment
God’s greatest command to his people can be found in Mathew 22:37

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.”

The cornerstone in Christianity is love and forgiveness. A question we should ask is whether yoga practice will take you away from this law?

Some Risks
When you practice yoga and start to improve, you may want to take it to a higher level. To take your yoga to a higher level will involve more yoga time and practice which if you are a Christian will come at the expense of your own time with God.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E… Just like you want to spend time you’re your boyfriend or girlfriend if you love him or her, God wants you to spend time with Him so that you will know Him better.

If your yoga takes away that time, then your worship is compromised.

Love your neighbour as yourself
Yoga is essentially inward looking. But Christianity is others-centred and God-looking. Jesus commands his followers to make disciples of all nations (Mathew 28:19). In doing so, communities are developed with love and fellowship to hold them together.

Yoga is about trying to find the Higher Self inside you so that a higher level of spiritual power can be attained. In contrast, the Christian’s power is drawn entirely from God, whose power is made perfect in a person’s weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Meditation
God seeks a loving relationship with His people and wants His people to know Him more intimately. And we know God through a number of ways, for example through meditation on God’s word.

In Psalm 1:2 the psalmist says:

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked…
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And on his law he meditates day and night.”

See also Psalm 63:6 and Psalm 77: 12,

Meditation in a Christian sense means to think about God, his goodness and his works in your life. It is conscious and focused on God – his character, his word and his works. In contrast the meditation in yoga is based on Eastern meditation methods involving the emptying of your mind. When our minds are emptied, we could be inviting other forces to take control of it. Demonic possession is known to occur through such meditation.

To be continued in Part 2…

Most of us are more familiar with the third or fourth branches of yoga, namely Asana and Pranayama respectively. Pratyahara, the fifth branch, is perhaps a little less familiar.

Pratyahara refers to sensory withdrawal. This means taking time to withdraw our senses from the world in order to hear our inner voice more clearly.

Pratyahara is the process of temporarily withdrawing the senses of the outer world so as to recognize the sensations of your inner world. It is also described as sensory fasting and comes from 2 words:
- Prati: Away
- Ahara: Food

If you stay away from food for a while, your next meal will most likely taste delicious!

Likewise, take time to withdraw from the world for a little while. You will find that your experience will be more vibrant thereafter. Within our awareness are the seeds of sound, sight, taste, scent and sensation. By going inside ourselves, we can experience these impulses more fully.

Pay attention to the sensory impulses you encounter during the day (especially those which nourish your body, mind and soul). Tune in to the subtler sounds, scents and sights you experience.

When you look at a flower, you imagine that you are seeing the flower outside of you. But you are actually experiencing it within you. In scientific terms, your eyes receive frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that trigger chemical reactions at the back of your eyes.

The ancient scriptures suggest that the entire cosmos is situated within the human body, therefore the source of happiness lies within each individual. By withdrawing our senses from external simulation, we are able to connect with this inner well of contentment, rather than relying on outward sensory stimulus as the source of our joy and contentment.