Christians Today Practice Yoga Because They Need It
February 16, 2009 by Robert Joseph
Filed under Abandonment to Divine Providence, Christian yoga, Hatha Yoga, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Yoga and Catholicism
What is Christian yoga? Why should Christians practice yoga – or any of the other Eastern meditative and spiritual practices we discuss in these pages? Aren’t yoga, Zen, Qigong and so on based on pagan religions and therefore something Christians should avoid? And isn’t contemporary culture already obsessed enough with the body?
These, and many other questions, are often raised by people who see our little online newsletter.
Even people who are sympathetic to yoga and Christianity see them as two utterly unrelated enterprises. You do yoga for your body, and Christianity for your soul. Others say that “Christian yoga” makes about as much sense as “Christian sewing” or “Christian basketball.”
I’d like to take a moment to address just a few of these questions.