Why I practice Yoga

The other day I invited a friend to go to a Yoga class with me, and while my friend had gone with me before, this time they hesitated. They said something about an article they read that said Christians shouldn't do Yoga, but they were fuzzy about the details. I was hurt and frustrated. I love Yoga, and I am unashamed to associate myself with it, especially as a Christian, because I believe Yoga has physical and spiritual benefits. I could pontificate about the goodness of physical Yoga, about how it strengthens and lengthens muscle tissue and helps restore damaged or tired muscles, but as the argument against Yoga was not physical in nature, my refutation needs to be spiritual in nature.

PS: I have not read the article, but I know enough about Yoga, having practiced it and studied Indian culture, that I am confident I can articulate three major objections. I continue to practice Yoga because I have wrestled with these questions and come to a place of peace and understanding about the nature of Yoga.

Objection 1: Yoga is a Hindu form of worship.

Response: Not exactly. This is how Huston Smith, writer of The Illustrated World's Religions: A guide to our wisdom traditions, describes yoga as, "a method of training designed to lead to integration or union. It includes physical exercises, but its ultimate goal is union with God. The spiritual trails that Hindu's have blazed toward this goal are four... The result is a recognition, pervading the entire religion, that there are multiple paths to God..." The four paths are knowledge, love, work, and psychophysical exercise (or Yoga as we in the West recognize it). So yes, Hindu's practice Yoga, but it's bigger than the poses we think of. But the practice of physical Yoga does have a goal. To clear the mind, back out of material reality and rest in oneness. When you start a class, a traditional instructor will ask the yogis [yoGEEz] (people in the room) to set an intention, and to focus on that intention during class. The goal of a Yoga class is to journey together, and apart. In a non-exercise setting, yogis would share their individual experiences after a period or periods of meditation. The goal of the instructor is not to judge the experiences, but rather to remind the yogis that the experience is to bring them closer to oneness with God, who is the unconscious behind the conscious existence of the material world. The only person who claimed to achieve that state, and anyone gave credit to, was Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. Which means that Yoga, as an exercise and mind clearing meditation, brought to its logical conclusions, super-cedes its religion of origin and transcends into something else. To say that Yoga belongs only to Hinduism, or Buddhism, is a denial of human nature. Yoga tells us that there is something about the material world worth drawing away from, worth turning the mind inward towards, worth emptying the self and seeking the divine. When I think on these things, I believe them to be true and I act on them. I may not take the traditional Hindu or Buddhist path, for my goal is not enlightenment, but to use Yoga to seek God is not a denial of the purpose of Yoga. Rather, it is the fulfillment of the practice. Yoga that does not seek anything is simply a way of moving the body, like riding a bicycle. And if some Yoga is simply riding a bicycle, then there is no harm in it.

Objection 2: Hindu worship music is played in Yoga classes.

Response: The choice of music is always up to the instructor. An instructor chooses the music and sets the tone of the room. They may accent the room with fragrances, lights or other physical elements, but this is no different from other forms of exercise. Crossfit gyms have their own smell (some may say stench), its often the smell of sweat, dust and rubber tires. These smells become soothing and comforting to the participants (yes, I just argued that the smell of tires, sweat and dust can be soothing and comforting!) as is the choice of music. Hindu worship music is not in English. You have to know something about the Ramayana and/or Hindu chanting to even know that you are listening to it. And if you know that specific music notes relate to words, numbers and syllables then you'd really be aware of what you're listening to. But if you know nothing about Hinduism, or Indian music theory, then it sounds like soothing music. Which is what happens when we listen to a traditional choir sing in a language we don't understand. We appreciate that they are worshipping God, even if we have no clue what they are saying. I won't make the argument that Hindu's are worshipping the Christian God, because the Hindu concept of God doesn't match up with the Christian concept of God, but I would rather make the assertion of what the listener sets their focus on. Is it the sound and syllable of the music? Or is the music simply a tool to focus on something else? The music, or lack thereof, is a tool to focus on something else, it is either an aid or a hindrance. It's country of origin does not determine it's usefulness, the person listening and moving does.

Objection 3: Yoga is influencing non-Hindu's to think like Hindu's.

Response: Does practicing basketball make me think like an American? Does playing cricket make me think like a Brit? Or playing soccer make me more European? If we believe that a set of physical motions determines how we think, move, feel and act then we should be extremely careful not to practice any motions that disagree with our philosophies. Which means I must talk about my personal philosophy, the philosophy and religion that has been given to multitudes of peoples and generations; the philosophy that lets me practice Yoga. " God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." God created our bodies. God created our countries. God created the mountains where Buddhists meditate, and the jungles, deserts and plains where Hindu's worship. God did not say we should avoid the mountains, deserts and jungles of other people, simply because they live there. He did not pronounce those places as evil, wrong or bad. Thus if I take a pose and name it after God's creation, I have not done something evil or wrong, but rather what I do with a pose and in the pose makes it good or bad. God gives us the freedom to move, he does not restrict our movement, but rather he asks us to reign in our hearts.

There is a very small letter in the New Testament portion of the Bible that addresses this very thing. Paul wrote it to a man named Philemon (hence the name of the letter). This letter is so short my blog has more words than the letter. But in this letter, Paul asks, though he could demand, a very small thing from the household owner named Philemon. He asks him to take back a runaway slave and accept him as a brother. This very short letter doesn't seem like much, but Paul's little request turned the order of the world on its head. According to culture, Onesimus, the slave in question, was a tool to be used by Philemon. Meaning Onesimus was expendable, literally the lowest person on the social ladder. Paul bases his request on one thing, "Perhaps the reason he was separated fro you for a little while was that you might have him back for good-- no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord." According to the social order Onesimus was not a man, and most certainly not an equal, which is what it means to be a brother in this setting. Paul bases his audacious claim on one thing alone. Onesimus is a brother in the Lord. Onesimus became a follower of Jesus when he met Paul (AKA became a Christian). Following Jesus means flipping the order of the world on its head. It's a removal of power and a system of equality, based on equality in Christ. Paul asks for Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother, because they are all brothers, all equals, in Christ. This is the basis for Paul's argument. This is why Paul asks Philemon to reign in his heart, while at the same time giving him some freedom to choose. Paul wants Philemon to do what is right, even though it sounds crazy. Even though Paul could order him to do it, Paul wants Philemon to do it out of love for Christ.

I practice Yoga out of a love for Jesus. I don't demand yogis and yoga instructors make their classes fit my tastes. I am not offended by the origins of Yoga, but rather I see the truth behind the origin of Yoga, seeking God. This is my honest and whole-hearted intent when I practice Yoga, to draw closer to my God and draw away from the material that so easily distracts. I mentally peal away the rough exteriors which so often cause friction between peoples and cultures. I look for the hearts of the people, and to be honest, Hindu's want to spend time with God! Is this desire wrong? Is the physical practice of seeking this wrong? I know that the heart and the mind behind this may not manifest themselves in a way that's easily understood by Western culture, but at our core we are all part of God's creation, even though we do not all practice being his creation rightly. This is the other part of the Genesis creation story, the part that many find offensive. That Man sinned, and separated himself from God. And while Man seeks to bridge that chasm, Man cannot do it unless God reaches out and makes it possible. This is the person of Jesus, God reaching out to Man saying, 'Come home! You are mine, come be with me. Come spend time with your brothers and sisters in the good world I have created for you!' But many of us would rather choose our hierarchies, our inequalities, split the world into good-enough or not-good-at-all and choose who and what gets into what God made for us.

When I practice Yoga, I am amazed at God's creation. I am reminded of my incompleteness, as my body stumbles, encounters tensional knots and slips out of place. I am reminded that God loves me, and all His creation, everyone He gave the breath of life. I am humbled by how often I forget the simple joy of breathing, and that so many others have been given this same wonderful gift. I am amazed by the intricacies of my own body, the positions I am capable of, and confronted by how many of my waking hours I'm unaware of the blessing of a whole and healthy body. When I practice Yoga, I set my intentions on God, and he leads me down the paths I need to go that day. Whether its the path to forgive a friend, let go of my work related anxiety, surrender my circumstances, finances, relationships, inadequacies and accept God's love for me. I also challenge myself to think of others. I am reminded that God loves the world, the whole world, everyone to whom He has given life, even those who reject Him, will not know Him and will choose to remain apart from Him. I pray for them. I pray they would be found by Him. By whatever circumstances He deems necessary. Through whatever road they must travel before they come to His road. That they would choose to walk with Him for the remainder of their days. And I hope to celebrate with them one day, when all the sin of our material world has been washed away.