ROC – Yoga and Orthodoxy

Today, the Orthodox Parents Group met at the Monastery and discussed with Fr Evangelo about Yoga and Orthodoxy. Below is a summary of the discussion.

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?” 2 Corinthians 6:14–18 NIV.

As Apostle Paul says, we as Christians should not be partaking in practices that are not Christian. This is even more so when these practices comprise a fundamental aspect of another religion which allows union of the person who exercises this practise with the god of that religion; and as we know, these gods of other religions are idols.

One of these non-Christian practices is yoga. Although in the Western world, yoga is considered merely an exercise, it by definition is “a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practised for health and relaxation”, according to Oxford Languages Dictionary, and “a Sanskrit word meaning ‘bind together’. In a technical sense it denotes an Indian system of religious philosophy aiming at the union of the soul with the Divine Spirit by means of concentration to the exclusion of all sense-perception. … The word is used loosely of a modern system of health culture with ascetic aspects”, according to Oxford Reference Dictionary.

As we can see from these definitions of yoga, it is not Christian, and it is part of the spiritual expression of Hinduism and its roots of Buddhism. But how then is it so widely considered in the Western world a gentle form of exercise, stretches and relaxation? And how is it that these bodily movements and stretches form part of the spiritual worship of Hindu gods, i.e. of idols? Do people who practise yoga as an exercise also participate mystically and unconsciously in idol worship?

Sometimes for such questions to be answered it is necessary to seek information and witness from people who have personally and consciously experienced what actually happens during yoga from a spiritual point of view, particularly so when they have practised it in its home land, India, in temples or under the guidance of the so called gurus. There are numerous such testimonies. After one speaks with these people or reads their experiences, one thing becomes clear: they all start thinking it is a form of exercise or simple meditation that calms anxiety or helps with depression; only to realise as they progress into it that they are opening themselves into influence from external forces, which are far from good. These external forces are in fact demons disguised in the form of the idol of a Hindu god – and the practices that invite them in can be simply called a form of magic.

One of these people who provide their own personal testimony after finding Orthodoxy, says “I wanted to learn how to calm anxiety and depression, how to sweep scattered thoughts. Visiting Buddhist meditation halls and Hindu ashrams, I was intrigued by the ‘spiritual fireworks:’ the ecstasies, trances, feelings, and visions. These are associated with all levels of meditation and yoga and increase with practice”. He goes on to call these experiences “a spiritual sea”. Indeed, these practices are far more than a simple exercise or a stretch. And this becomes more obvious to the participant the more he participates. “The more I delved into the meat of meditation and yoga, the more sudden and unexplainable urges I experienced to hurt myself. My soul was under attack. This was a very dark and unfortunate period of my life”, the same witness continues.

To think of yoga as a mere physical movement is tantamount to “saying that baptism is just an underwater exercise.” writes Swami Param of the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy and Dharma Yoga ashram in Manahawkin, N.J. Often, yoga teachers can tell you that each movement corresponds to the calling of a specific Hindu god. This in itself is a spiritual act involving the body and mind, which happens either unconsciously or consciously, and which in both cases takes the Christian away from Christ. “Separated from God Who is the source of Life,” writes Archimandrite Zacharias in his book Hidden Man of the Heart, “man can only withdraw into himself…. Gradually he is left desolate and dissolute.”

It is through this disguise that yoga has infiltrated the Christian world and is practised by many Christians who “don’t know what they are doing”. Even then though, they are gradually filled with a fear and coldness as a result of this practice. “Yoga is beneath this umbrella of Hinduism, and in many ways is the pole of the umbrella. It acts as a missionary arm for Hinduism and the New Age outside of India. […] Through yoga, little by little, one is harnessing shakti, which yogis refer to as the Divine Mother, the ‘dark goddess’ connected with other major Hindu gods. This energy isn’t the Holy Spirit, and this isn’t aerobics or gymnastics. Attached to this entire system are bhajans and kirtans – pagan equivalents to Orthodox Christian akathists, but for Hindu gods – as well as mantras, which are ‘sacred’ formulas, like calling cards or phone numbers, to the various pagan gurus and gods.”

And it must be noted that the expression “namaste”, which is used by yoga and Pilates teachers and students to greet each other, and has become so common nowadays, even on social media, means “I honor the Divine within you.” This is an affirmation of pantheism and denial of the true God revealed in the Bible. Here, it must be noted that both yoga and Pilates have the same roots in Hinduism and ancient Buddhism. Indeed, many people who practise Pilates as an exercise, often recommended by their doctor or physiotherapist, attest to putting together their hands in ‘prayer’ during or at the end of the session.

Similarly, buddhist-related meditation aims at emptying the self. But then, anything empty must be filled. And if it’s not filled with Christ, what is it filled with? As the same witness explains, “Buddhism does not profess to—nor can it—heal soul and body. Both soul and body are to be overcome and discarded. In the Orthodox Church, however, the soul and body are meant to be healed. Buddhism teaches that nothing has intrinsic value. The Church teaches that everything God makes has intrinsic value. This includes the human body. We are complex beings. The actions of our body, mind and soul are linked. And these linked actions are directly related to our relationship with God and the spiritual realm.”

It therefore becomes clear that such practices including yoga and forms of non-Christian meditation are psychosomatic practices which involve interaction of body, mind, and spirit(s), and pose many dangers for the participant, especially Christians, leading them away from Christ. “Yoga isn’t Scriptural nor is it otherwise part of our Church’s Holy Tradition. Everything we’re looking for, everything, can be found in and through the Orthodox Church. So what would we want from yoga?”

Let us all focus on Christ and the Jesus Prayer in order to achieve our aim: union with Christ. The natural state of the soul is like the fish in the water: to be in communion with God. That is why the tempter’s sole purpose is to take us away from Christ. And he uses many ways, some obvious others subtle, to achieve this. As parents we have the duty to protect our children from a very young age: expose them to Christ, immerse their lives in Christ. Not partake in practices that take us, and potentially our children who witness them and receive this example, away from Christ. St Anthony said that once the child forms his character in Christ, he will always come back to Him and use this experience of Christ as a base. Similar to placing the crib rails up to physically protect our baby, we must also put in place the spiritual rails to protect our child’s soul, until he is ready to protect himself. That’s our responsibility as parents. And these spiritual rails are the participation in the life of the Church, the Christ-like example we give to our children, our prayer.

‘He who has ears, let him hear’.

Reference: