A look at Yoga

So i have been putting some thought into Yoga lately. I am working my way through P90x witch i love by the way , and it has a lot of Yoga in it. The hard core kind with the chanting and breathing techniques, and the ohms at the end in the lotus position. Well my discernment light went off at this. I pushed it aside and said to my self " i can do the stretches with out all the silly stuff". But i just couldn't push aside that feeling. So i decided to take it to scripture and do some research on the web and get behind the meaning of yoga!
I found out that Yoga has many forms and has been around since well before the birth of Christ. The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings,and is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning "to control", "to yoke" or "to unite" . Outside India, the term yoga is typically associated with Hatha Yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise. The poses were and still are used too help a hindu through long peroids of meditation. Many of the poses are symbols of worship to a spacific god. In India most of the idols are postured in asanas of some kind. Yoga is a huge part of the hindu religion.
So what about Christian yoga? Can you do the stretching and poses with out all the Hindu worship? I found many Christian web sites on yoga and how to practice it devoid of the easter mystesism. They claim at Yahweh yoga that its for "people to connect to themselves and God through the practice of yoga that is Christ-centered and enjoyed by all denominations of believers in Christ". Also an "Increased connection with God". Many of the people on the web site stated that they have made great friends and found that during yoga they feel closer to God and they are able to free there minds and hear God more clearly. It is very popular for churches to have Yoga classes, and well known pastor Rob Bell preached a sermon called "breathing" were in he states "In Yoga it’s not how flexible you are, it’s not whether you can do the poses, it’s not how much you can bend yourself, it’s can you keep your breath [breathes in and out] consistent [breathes out] through whatever you are doing. It’s your connection with God regardless of the pose you find yourself in. That’s integrating the divine into the daily." Churches all over America are joining in on Yoga; some play Christian music in the back ground and meditate on scripture as they stretch there bodies. Not everyone in the Christian camp is on board though. Some say "Regardless of the school or spiritual tradition, yoga practice tends to alter a person's consciousness in an occult direction."—John Ankerberg. They say leave the easter pagan practice alone you cant devoid it from the false religion.
not all of the nay sayers were Christians in fact there is a group of Hindus who wonder why Christians are stealing there religion?. "It was quite astonishing to see on the flyer “Christian Yoga! This Thursday night….” I could feel the wheels spinning in my brain. “Christian Yoga”, I thought. Now while Christians can practice yoga, I am not aware of any Christian teachings about yoga. Yoga is not a Judeo/Christian word! It is not a part of the Roman Catholic teachings and certainly not a part of protestant teachings. It is not found within the King James Version of the bible." Yogi Baba Prem continues in his blog From this I could conclude that “Christian Yoga” could only indicate one of two possibilities:
1) Christianity is threatened by yoga and is attempting to take over this system that “invaded their turf” pertaining to spiritual teachings and techniques.
2) Christianity is subconsciously attempting to return to the spiritual roots of civilization—the Vedic civilization." he wonders why we need to look for something outside our own religion too find peace and relaxation?
What does the Bible have to say about oga?. The Bible does not single out Yoga, but it does talk about acceptable worship. Look at Cane and Able, or the Golden calf in the wilderness. With the golden calf the people were looking for a viable symbol of the God who led them out of Egypt. Nehemiah 9:18 "Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies,". There sin was not in the fact that had worshiped another God but in that they had given God a form and this was the unacceptable worship. You see again in The days of the Kings of Israel that they worshiped in the high places, the sin is again not in every case that they were worshiping a false God (1 Kings 3:2-3,1 Kings 22:43).
There is no where in scripture where we are told to free our minds or to look inside ourselves these are eastern mystic beliefs and they are not Christian. we are told instead to deny our selves take our cross and follow Jesus (Matt 16:24). We are told too be full of the spirit and discern what is evil(Rom12:9,Eph 5:18). as for me i will leave out the yoga when i do p90x. I see no reason to take a non truth and work hard to try and manipulate it into something acceptable. If thats even possible.