Christianity is one of the 3 major religions, followed by over 30% of the world’s population. Religious belief not only significantly affects the believer’s daily life but also contributes to their perception of the world.
The loyal always worship and prevent actions that can damage their own God (Jesus in particular). And yoga is one of the taboos in Christianity. Until now, except for religious discussion, there has been no official statement about why should Christians not do yoga.
That’s why we are here to deliver the most unbiased view. First of all, let’s remind you of the “yoga” term.
What Is Yoga? Is Yoga A Sin?
According to most contemporary viewpoints, yoga is a series of body flexibility exercises. Practitioners perform different postures, helping to train and improve the strength of muscles and joints.
This subject systematically ranges from basic to advanced level. Any age can attend, but it is most recommended for practitioners aged over 20.
Besides practicing physical health, yoga is also considered a key to reaching inner peace. Learners must know how to regulate their breathing and keep their minds pure during posing. Therefore, meditation is also considered a typical form of yoga.
Religious barriers aside, when staying on the health aspect, you’ve probably gained the answer for “is yoga a sin”. It’s hard to claim that doing yoga is guilty to God.
In fact, it is considered helpful to the yogis’ physical and mental health. Let’s move on to its particular benefits.
Benefits Of Yoga For Health
Reinforce The Muscles
For yoga, flexibility is the ultimate element. The posing exercise will maximize the body’s flexibility. Therefore, over time, the arms, legs, back, or neck muscles definitely become more supple and strong. Joint strength is also enhanced.
Thanks to yoga, you will no longer feel pain or fatigue when exercising, like walking or jogging, or working for a long time.
Improve Heart And Lung Health
The exercise is not successful if you can not balance maintaining posture and keeping stable breathing. Breathing deeply and gently helps you to absorb oxygen steadily to your lungs.
This way, the lungs are refreshed, then pumping oxygen to the heart more efficiently. The circulatory and respiratory systems can cooperate in harmony.
Reduce Stress
To fully reach the ultimate phase of this pose, no distractions should linger in your minds. You can temporarily escape from the chaos and worries in daily life.
Once you dip your toes deeper, a peaceful and relieved mind as well as an optimistic spirit are just days to come. This improvement helps you always strengthen a positive attitude in life.
Keep Fit
Yoga is also an effective method of burning calories. Excess fat will gradually be consumed thanks to regular impact on the abdominal muscles and thighs.
In addition, yoga can stimulate digestion, helping you keep fit without obeying a strict diet. If you are patient, you will achieve a slim figure.
Avoid Ailment
Based on its specific advantages on different body operations, we can conclude its ability on ailment prevention. If you practice yoga regularly from a young age, you possibly avoid bone and joint diseases in middle age.
Yoga may also reduce the risk of heart diseases or obesity. Better yet, no depression stands a chance of impairing you with regular yoga practice.
Can Christians Do Yoga?
From the scientific perspective, we emphasize that there is no reason to clear this subject out of your life, no matter your religion. As we mentioned, yoga is just like stretching exercises.
And its effects on your physical appearance mostly do not concern any Christianity’s definition. So, if you are a Christian interested in yoga, change your mindset at the first step. Let’s regard it as daily exercise like other cardio, aerobic, or walking.
Please don’t pay too much attention to the hearsay of connecting to God that you heard before.
The issue needs to be viewed differently from the religious perspective. The faithful or leaders in their own religious community can seriously consider this issue.
In addition to the physical, yoga is seen to integrate yourself into the universe or connect to your inner spiritual signals. Many people also believe that they can connect to the divine (not Christianity’s God) through meditation.
And, of course, no loyal Christianity believer desires to access other gods apart from Jesus. These spiritual concepts seem contrary to the tenets of Christianity (such as praying to connect to Jesus).
To sum up, whether a Christian can do yoga depends on your level of religious devotion.
Why Should Christians Not Do Yoga?
What is the source of the spiritual controversy between yoga and Christianity? We have carefully listed the 4 main causes.
Yoga Derives From Hinduism
Yoga is said to originate in the Indian civilization from millennia BC. In particular, this form was born before Christianity’s appearance.
In Hindu thought, yoga is the ultimate cultivation practice that helps to communicate with the spiritual world. The name “yoga” can be roughly translated as “the binding of the mind and body under the maximum concentration to achieve the harmony of mind, body, and universe.”
Citizens of Hinduism have practiced these poses to destine themselves for the holy. And as you know, Hinduism worships various Gods, typically the three gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma.
It is fundamentally different from Christianity, in which Jesus Christ is the only one.
Yoga Has The Buddhism’s Influence
Yoga development has witnessed the influence of another Eastern religion – Buddhism. Based on legend, yoga poses help balance yin and yang energy, helping people to wake up and realize the bad habits of life.
Yoga brings people to a state of inner tranquility and prevention from karma or competition. It cultivates patience, virtue, and compassion. A dedicated Christian impossibly absorbs and applies another religion’s value in their life.
Yoga Poses
As shared, believers make the holy tangible via stretching postures and meditation. We emphasize that it is not the same as praying. During the procedure, people need to leave an emptiness in their minds.
It can be called self-dedication to Hinduism’s Gods or Buddha. Obviously, Christianity does not seem to teach its followers this way. And, of course, Christians will feel guilty if they have connected themselves with other gods, even if it’s just by accident.
View more: What Does Namaste Mean In Yoga?
Yoga Somehow Make Christians Drop Their Belief In God
What may happen if a Christian pursues this spiritual exercise? They may be convinced or suggested to become non-believers in any religion or be fascinated by another religion during practice.
They may feel that yoga brings a sense of freedom, peace, and relaxation to them. Thus, they can restart their awareness without Christian principles or regulations.
Furthermore, people often tend to practice yoga in groups. Thereby, mind-changed Christians can also convince other teammates to give up Christianity.
This situation is not significant, but it has happened in reality. Therefore, it is also classified as one of the reasons above.
Conclusion
We’ve made it as diverse as possible for the concern: Is yoga against Christianity. To wrap up, don’t hesitate to try this interesting sport if you do not prioritize religious behaviors in your life.
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