Apr 25, 2020
Yoga and Christianity
A Young Catholic’s Testimony
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So yes — we are in 2020.
Yoga is the trend at the moment.
Good relaxation. Happy thoughts. Body getting in shape. Inner Peace.
For everyone?
I wish.
The Benefits of Yoga (Pros)
As someone who learnt yoga for four years from the age of 16–20 — and is a Roman Catholic — I have had my fair share of horror stories. But — to be positive:
Yoga is a wonderful discipline.
You feel at peace and in harmony with the Universe.
Your body moulds itself into a very pleasing shape.
You find yourself at ease, working optimally, in the best of spirits.
Mental worries and physical disorders are healed and soothed.
Concentration power is at a lifetime high.
You should love yoga — it could add ten years to your life, on average.
The Truth (Cons)
All this happened to me for six months.
Then I started having problems.
I slowly started a long-term porn addiction (would go on for ten years).
My grades came down and I started failing my exams.
I was taken to a psychiatrist and given medication.
But the problems didn’t go. If anything, they increased.
Why did all this happen?
I have to admit that my yoga master instructed me to worship an idol of Shiva — Lord of the dance (Nataraja statue).
And I did it.
In all honesty, at that time, I was a Sunday Catholic.
I didn’t know the reality of Christ.
I did not know that our entire life on earth is a preparation for immortality — an unending life spent with Jesus Christ as His Bride in spirit.
I went to a prayer meeting for the first time in 2004.
The first thing the prayer group leaders asked me after the laying on of hands — Have you ever indulged in idol worship. I had to say, yes.
I found out several things that day.
That Jesus Christ is God for the past, present, and all future time, forever.
That idolatry is a very severe sin.
I was looking for answers, since my situation by then was so desperate that I was constantly visiting doctors and trying to come out of my porn addiction — to no avail. I had tried to kill myself twice because of the turmoil in my head. I didn’t know what was going on with me. Nobody did.
I was instructed by the prayer group leaders — to go for confession and completely renounce everything to do with yoga.
The reasons for that are simple.
- Yoga has five branches. What I was learning was Hatha Yoga — the yoga of the body.
- Yoga also contains a section called Raja Yoga — an ancient technique to unite your soul with the soul of Brahman — the Eternal.
- Hatha Yoga was a set of body exercises designed to activate the seven chakras — bodily centres of cosmic energy and lead a person to a state in which he is capable of entering Raja Yoga.
- Every pose in Hatha Yoga implicitly worships a Hindu idol. I wish I could be less blunt, but its true.
- Every bit of idol worship increases susceptibility to sins of the flesh. This was why I couldn’t get myself out of pornography and fornication.
- Yoga is a holistic discipline for union with the Divine Eternal being. As a Christian, you should know that this being is not Jesus Christ. And any spiritism or dabbling with spirits is deadly to the soul, mind, and body — even more so when you are a Christian.
I could speak about both my suicide attempts, but I won’t.
Let’s be more positive and focus on the richness inside the Christian faith.
Learning About The One True God
Our God loves us.
When we sin, He allows negative things to happen so that we can correct ourselves. I just didn’t understand what He wanted — for years.
I received the Holy Spirit in a personal prayer experience in 2005.
And things were difficult, because there were a lot of things internally which I had to face and change.
- Addiction to porn and compulsive habits.
- Shyness, inability to talk.
- An inferiority complex the size of Jupiter.
- Unable to speak in front of girls.
- Awkward behaviour in public — shyness.
- A complete lack of willpower and motivation.
And it was a shock to me that the real reason for all these problems — was yoga.
After I Stopped Yoga
I completed two post-graduate degrees.
Learnt how to play violin and sing 4-part harmony.
I became a fervent follower of Christ.
I entered a living, walking, talking, breathing covenant with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Experiences of God became common rather than novelties.
And I rested. Satisfied, full, and happy.
I was so thrilled with the Eucharist and the Mass that I started going to church every day.
And if you know me now, I think this is a problem now — I talk a lot.
And I have deep and fulfilling relationships with people — including those of the opposite sex.
And I see them as my sisters and not as sexual prey.
Conclusion
I know what you’re thinking.
OK, you had a bad experience — that doesn’t cancel my benefits with yoga? Right?
Sorry. Disagree.
Anything that blocks you from the Holy Spirit is sin.
And every Hatha Yoga pose has a spiritual significance.
Google ‘yoga and Christianity’ right now and see what people have discovered.
I have not run the controversial route — that I leave to authorities.
I have tried to be as mellow as possible.
If you really want to know the truth, Google “yoga and christianity”.
They explain it much better than I ever could.
And yes — the devil is real, and so are occult forces. Very real.
If you are a Christian — stay away from yoga.
Don’t wait till you attempt suicide to find out the truth about yoga.
Google it.
See what priests have to say.
Don’t take my word for it.
But trust the Catholic Church.
And enter into a relationship with the Eternal Father in the Person of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Peace!
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