Last year I became a Certified PraiseMoves Instructor
(www.praisemoves.com). PraiseMoves was
created by Laurette Willis in 2001 as a Christian alternative to yoga. In light of the exploding popularity of yoga
in the United States (even within our Christian churches), I thought it might
be a good idea to talk about this on my blog.
What is Yoga?
Most Americans think of yoga as merely exercise. But did you know that yoga is actually an
integral part of the Hindu religion? The
word “yoga” comes from an Indian Sanskrit word meaning “union with god,” or “to
yoke.” But do the Hindus believe in the
same God as Christians? A Hindu would
say yes. But the key difference is that
a born-again believer trusts in Jesus Christ as the Son of God for his/her
salvation, believing that He died for our sins and was raised back to life. If you were to travel to India today, you
would undoubtedly see Hindus performing yoga poses as an act of worship before
statues of any of their 330 million “divine beings.” I recently visited the BAPS Hindu Mandir
(temple) in Chicago, and was told by the tour guide that Hindus believe in
reincarnation. Yoga and meditation are
some of the tools they use in order to achieve purity so that they can move on
to “swarga” (heaven)… but if you don’t get it right, then you will be
reincarnated and have to try again. In
other words, like many other world religions, Hindus are attempting to achieve
salvation through their own good works.
But Christianity at its core shows us that “there is no one righteous,
not even one” (Psalm 14:3, Romans 3:10); and, “no one will be declared
righteous in His [God’s] sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we
become conscious of sin…. for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:20, 23)
When yoga was first introduced to the United States (most
notably at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago), Swami Vivekananda expanded on the
Hindus’ belief regarding improving one’s karma through reincarnation, to
espouse “an ‘evolution of the soul’ whereby the individual continues in an
evolutionary process to ‘manifest the god within.’” (http://praisemoves.com/about-us/why-a-christian-alternative-to-yoga/) In many yoga classes the instructor may bow
and say to the class, “Namaste,” which in essence means “the divine in me bows
to the divine in you.” Poses are named
the Corpse or the Cobra. A
meditation session in a yoga class may guide you to “empty your mind,” while
God’s Word implores us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
Even the breathing exercises in a yoga class (called Pranayama) are
intended to control one’s “life-force energy.”
And to top it all off, the “god of yoga” is called Shiva – who is also
referred to as “the Destroyer.”
Christian Yoga?
Despite the unsettling anti-Christian spiritual aspects and
origins of yoga, you cannot deny its physical benefits. Stretching your muscles, tendons, and
ligaments is extremely good for your health.
Deep breathing is also excellent for your body, as it helps deliver more
oxygen to vital organs. In addition,
holding your body in certain weight-bearing positions can not only improve your
strength, but even your bone density.
But if yoga is not a good idea for Christians to participate in, how do
we also find a way to benefit from these things? After all, the body can only twist, bend, and
move in so many ways. These facts have
spurred many Christians to adapt yoga into a “safe” format – they’ve
Christianized it by keeping the poses but changing the name to Christian Yoga
or Holy Yoga, and adding Scripture verses and praise music to their
classes. But is this enough to fully
separate it from “real” yoga? Perhaps
for some.
I have heard many Christians talk about how they are easily
able to ignore any overtly Hindu or anti-Christian segments of a yoga
class. They say, “I just think about God
instead.” However, I have also heard and
read testimonies of countless people who were too easily drawn away from the
Lord and His Truth because of their attendance in a yoga class. And isn’t it true for most of us that just
when we think we are strong, we find out how weak we really are? I think it’s also wise to consider who might be
watching you. “Be careful, however, that
the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees
you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be
emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom
Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 8:9-11) When others see you attending a yoga class,
they may conclude that it’s okay for them too, when in fact it may draw them
away from Christ and confuse them. I
have also heard from many Christians that they had a strange, unsettled feeling
(or a “check” in their spirit) when attending a yoga class. I believe that uneasiness is actually the
Holy Spirit pricking our hearts and our consciences, letting us know when
something just isn’t right.
PraiseMoves
While “Christian yoga” is a valiant attempt to make yoga a
safe practice for Christians, I believe the name in itself is actually a
blending of two incompatible belief systems/religions. It is truly an oxymoron, just like “Christian
Buddhist” or “Hindu Christian” would be.
On the other hand, PraiseMoves actually strives to redeem certain
stretches and bodily postures and make them worshipful to Christ. So even though some of the PraiseMoves postures
may look like yoga poses, the movements have been completely re-named (and new
postures have been created), and given a scripture verse or passage to go with
them. Hence, just as yoga is not “just
exercise” to a Hindu, PraiseMoves is not “just exercise” to a Christian. It is a tool to equip believers to know the
Word of God more fully, because we meditate on and even speak aloud scriptures
from the Bible while we do each posture.
PraiseMoves goes beyond the physical stress relief of yoga/stretching by
pointing its participants toward the only source of true peace – a relationship
with Jesus Christ. In fact, the
foundation scripture for PraiseMoves comes from 1 Corinthians 6:20, “For you
were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God’s.”
To give an example of a redeemed posture, let’s look at the Cobra
pose from yoga. The Sanskrit word for
this pose (“naga”) means “snake/serpent.”
However, PraiseMoves has taken this posture and re-named it the Vine
posture (pictured above). And the verse ascribed to the
Vine posture comes from Jesus’ words in John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the
branches. He who abides in Me, and I in
him, bears much fruit; without Me you can do nothing.” In addition, you will notice that there are
certain movements or postures that are purposefully NOT done in
PraiseMoves. For example, PraiseMoves
does have a Tree posture (pictured below) that is very similar to the Tree pose in yoga. However, we do not press our palms together
as they do in yoga (this is also seen in the “Namaste” greeting), because of
the Hindu’s spiritual significance placed on this act. For the Hindus, the meeting of the palms
acknowledges the sameness of the “Self or god” in each person. So in PraiseMoves we lift our hands toward
Heaven, acknowledging that the only true God is our Father in Heaven.
“PraiseMoves strives to balance flexibility, strength,
endurance and relaxation, while spiritually ‘focusing on things above.’” (http://praisemoves.com/about-us/physical-benefits/) If you'd like to find out more about PraiseMoves, please check out their website. They offer classes in many local areas, as well as DVDs and many other resources.
In Conclusion…
Please, draw your own conclusions. My aim is not to argue
with anyone, but rather to share my own stance, opinions, and findings. And while PraiseMoves isn’t for everyone,
stretching and strengthening exercises are!
In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that
everyone perform some type of stretching program 2-3 days per week. Of course, some people may feel that a basic,
purely physical stretching class is best for them. But if you are feeling conflicted, please
talk to the Lord about it and search the scriptures for yourself. God promises to generously give wisdom to all
who ask for it without finding fault (James 1:5).
May the Lord bless you in your pursuit of better health –
physically AND spiritually!
