Spiritual Westernization of Yoga
and its Relationship with Christianity
KEELEY MILLS
Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Introduction
Humanity has been searching for answers and theories to our existence since the beginning of time. These explanations have led to the blooming of numerous religions. This religious journey for explanation has evoked the most powerful opinions and convictions, resulting in ‘justified’ wars, death, and devastation. But not all results have been negative. Rather, some effects have been positive such as feelings of belonging, meaning, and enlightenment. Theology and opposing debate saturate our world’s history. One of the many confrontations born from the battle of beliefs is the debate of whether the junction of yoga and Christianity is sacrilegious.
Presented strictly chronologically, yoga is traced back as far as 5,000 years ago and has origins connected with the Hindu religion, whereas, Catholicism and Christianity only date back 2,000 years. This 3,000-year difference would clearly trump the claims of connection by any other group, and put Hinduism as proprietor of yoga (Cullen, 2005). But is modern civilization really that vast? What does it matter that Hindus practiced yoga first? This is immediately reminiscent of two toddlers arguing over whom was in line first. Order of discovery, first or second, does not matter. All that is important is the discovery itself. It is distressing that society, as a cumulative, has not evolved enough to respect each individual’s experiences. Why does it matter that 5,000 years ago Hindus first established this religious practice (Cullen, 2005)? It doesn’t. Especially in America, where we pride ourselves and boast of religious freedom we should respect anything that allows someone to feel closer to God, Allah, Buddha, or whomever their deity is.
Union of Yoga and Christianity
The respect and acceptance of yoga are not morally compromising for every Christian. In fact, some Christians have literary expanded their personal religious practice to include both Christian teachings and yoga. Writings promoting Christian yoga or devotional forms of yoga have been around since the 1960’s (Cullen, 2005). Over time the spread and popularity of yoga has grown as Christians have accepted yoga and created their own practices. Susan Bordenkircher is just one example of a Christian who developed a personal yoga that contributed to her faith. She created her own asanas or postures with a theological twist. Where in traditional yoga, meditations are meant to focus on calming the mind; Bordenkircher turns that focus to Jesus and his presence in the individual (Cullen, 2005). She continues to make the minor tweak of “sun salutations,” a sequence of asanas devoted to the Hindu Sun God to mean “Son salutations,” again, honoring Jesus and bringing him to mind (Cullen, 2005).
While this troubled some traditionalists in her congregation, her priest, John Keller, reassured fellow parishioners, claiming the Bible actually reinforces yoga as a lucrative mode of prayer (Cullen, 2005). He states that the bible actually describes physical statures of the body for prayer, which can be synonymous with the yoga’s asanas (Cullen 2005). This modernization or evolution of yoga and Christianity has broken the stereotypical view of Christians and Catholics as being condemning and judgmental, and opened numerous people’s minds literally drawing them off their mats and into the chapel.
Bordenkircher was neither the first nor the last Christian to incorporate yoga into theological practice. Additional forms like hers, “Yahweh Yoga” (Miller, 2007) and “Yoga Devotion,” (Cullen, 2005) have abundant books, DVDs, and a broad following among Western civilization. This yoga Christian transition consists of minute changes like retracting Sanskrit, adding scripture, and dedicating the meditation to Jesus. This practice apparently improves the individual through quiet retrospection and mentally channeling the Lord (Miller, 2007).
Hindu Perspective on Christian Yoga
Not all Hindus are accepting and interested in mainly Western evolution of yoga. In fact many Hindus are very upset at the Western yoga practice, expanding outside of the Theological realm. Christian or not, The Hindu American Foundation, (HAF),is not happy about the yoga being promoted in America. The HAF released a statement about the two major fallacies pertaining to yoga’s practice in the Western Hemisphere. The first concern is that it is essentially physical (Sheveleand, 2011), completely, disregarding the historically rooted mental and spiritual capabilities that the practice has evoked for centuries upon centuries. Their second biggest discrepancy is the notion that yoga and Hinduism can be separated. The HAF feels this separation cannot be made (Sheveland, 2011). Western entrepreneurs of yoga are at fault (Sheveleand, 2011). Their pursuit of money and profit, greatly supported by America’s knack of performing cosmetic surgery on external cultures and traditions, led them to cut and edit yoga to be presented to Americans as the next shallow exercise fad, obviously void of religion.
This displeasure and rage is understandable as it draws back to the struggle of respect often found in pious differences. As a woman brought up in the Catholic faith, I am familiar with the superior attitude that exists in religion, including my own. I am not blind to the discrimination and disdain that many religions experience from other devouts in our society. Not only has Hinduism been misjudged and viewed with religious stigmas, they’ve also had to watch as American culture has become infatuated and hypnotized with yoga, a practice deeply rooted in their faith, as the latest fad.
Hindus and Christians Actually Agree….That Yoga is Blasphemous
Pronouncing the same qualms of religious affiliation, certain Christians echo feelings of the Hindu American Foundation. While standing on the same side of the fence, purist Christian theologians such as Albert Mohler would be sure to make known that the line was still drawn. Mohler adamantly denounces all Eastern practices, including mediation and yoga (Sheveland, 2011). While very offensive and ignorant, he supports the fact that HAF and other purists are trying to clarify about yoga and religious affiliation. Mohler, and other purists like him, contend that “Hinduism is not like a recipe ingredient that can be extracted from yoga” (Cullen, 2005). This other religious affiliation immediately disqualifies any Christian connection. He acts as if the combination of Christianity and yoga, with the presence of its Hindu History will result in a chemical explosion. Spoiler alert, no spontaneous combustions have occurred.
As previously acknowledged, his self-righteous views make him very audible and offensive, pronouncing that yoga is “UnChristian” and that we, humanity, “are called to meditate upon the word of God…not to meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables” (Mohler, 2011). Mohler continues on to say “through participating in yoga, you violate Christian beliefs, compromising your soul” (Sheveland, 2011). Using theological fear tactics of damnation, many purists see Christianity as a strictly solid context. Once you venture outside of that realm of burning bushes, talking snakes, and virginal mothers, you’re in unsafe territory, clearly perturbed, and therefore denouncing Christianity.
I don’t know what Mohler envisions when he prays to God, but from his actions it’s an angry bloodthirsty personification. In my 21 years I can’t say I have experienced even close to one percent of what this world has to offer, but I know from the beauty I’ve seen, people I’ve met, and the experiences that whatever higher power has granted me, yoga and the mental capacity granted through its practice will not send me to the fiery pits of hell. Nor will I defy my beliefs. I can confidently state a practice acclaimed to strengthening holistic presence will not distance my relationship or anyone’s relationship with their personal god.
Of Course the Catholics Have an Opinion
Other traditional theologians, like Mohler have trouble with yoga because Hinduism is a religion involving the worship of multiple deities, polytheism (Miller, 2007). Christianity, being monotheistic, believing in one God, also promotes the moral code of the Ten Commandments. The First Commandment, relating to monotheism, also denotes the worship or acceptance of any false idols (Miller, 2007).
Catholicism, similar to Christianity, follows the Ten Commandments and the rejection of yoga as a religious affiliated experience. It was addressed as a serious matter when in 1989 the Vatican verbally declared through a written deed, signed by Pope Benedict XVI, that the gratifying feelings yoga evoked from the individual is not to be mistaken as spiritual (Cullen, 2005). As if that wasn’t enough, they felt the urge to again, in 2003, release another proclamation clarifying the disapproval of contemporary practices, such as yoga (Cullen 2005).
Catholic and Christians both accept the fact or promote the choice that we are granted from God free will. That free will is ours to do with how we please. This should be called to mind when conversations turn into debates about yoga and its claim to faith. What is hard for me to understand is that these people are so blinded by their words and the need to prove they’re correct that they are missing an important and beautiful thing: the strengthening or deepening of a spiritual relationship. The ability of this to occur transcends thousands of years and millions of miles. Connecting humanity through one shared practice.
Extreme Christian Views
The negative reactions from some in the Christian community on yoga continue on. Losana Boyd is a Christian who actually re-found Christianity through the yearning that yoga made her feel. Instead of gaining mental relaxation from the practice, she said that it made her further aware of the missing link in her life (Boyd, 2011). Boyd continues to explain the inadequacy of yoga as spiritual, and actually qualifying it as blasphemous in treating the “mat” as sacred. In her mind, that only exists at the altar, where the body and blood of Christ is received (Boyd, 2011).
While Boyd has strong beliefs of the inabilities of yoga toward religion, there are others who express themselves in a more brutal and bizarre manner. Some extreme Christians feel that through channeling the body and referencing the feeling of pleasure dangerously encourages immoral behavior. Basically, yoga, or becoming aware of physical and mental gratification will lead to sex. (Yoga is UnChristian, Says Baptist Leader, 2010). These conservative Christians feel that by bringing physicality into worship, leads to awareness of our bodies, which automatically results in the body being reduced to its precisely to its parts. While I disagree with that dim view of humanity’s mind capabilities, strangely enough, that view actually has some ground with the nature of the next extremists. Believe it or not, but there is now “Christian pole dancing” (Yoga is Unchristian, Says Baptist Leader, 2010). They claim that through seductively dancing to worship music and the word of God they are taking care of his temple, their bodies (Yoga is Unchristian, Says Baptist Leader, 2010).
Then of course there continues to be even further multiplicities, much like Mohler, who exceed the beliefs that everything outside of their religion will burn in hell. These Christians feel that there are only two foundations of divine clarification: God’s Holy origins versus the Devil’s evil origins (Cramer p.12, 2011). Basically, yoga, having the Hindu involvement, would qualify it as the latter. “Yoga’s focus on self-purification… is a ticket to hell. There is no comfort for God in it” (Cramer, 2011). They feel that the meditation method that occurs during yoga cannot praise and worship the Lord. I feel that they are wrong. It is impossible that any of these people can claim they understand what every person feels when they pray and meditate. One thing that all these groups do solidify and prove is the vast range of spirituality that we all can feel and how different each of our paths are to get there.
Can’t We Just All Get Along?
What I noticed about religion along time ago is how extreme the similarities are between many of them. In my mind the stories are all quite the same, there is a god who is responsible for creation and then a prophet or messiah sent to save us all from ourselves. And in our communities, religions, we all join together to pray, meditate; ask for forgiveness, protection, thanks, all things of that nature. This holds true to the translation or break down of yoga.
Teresa Watanabe explores these ideas even further. “Isa” which is translated to “Lord” in Sanskrit, can be understood as “Jesus” in the Bible (2004). The star that led the three wise men to baby Jesus in the story in the New Testament can be understood as the star of wisdom, that Hindus recognize as the third eye that is received through the practice of meditation (Watanabe, 2004). She evens goes as far as to claim that Jesus visited India during his “lost years, 13-30” and participated in yoga (Watanabe, 2004). Watanabe may present some bold ideas, but she’s definitely moving in the right direction. She’s demonstrating to analyze everything, be open to it all, be Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and be open to yoga. Being cognitive and aware is the only way we can expect to grow or gain anything, such as enlightenment or spirituality.
Christian Yoga Spiritual Breakdown
The most reassuring or powerful support I found was in the writings of Pastor Copevhaver. He took up yoga as a meditation practice and found that turning down the dial of your surroundings and being a new comer to yoga helped him better understand his religion and his practices of worship (Copenhaver, 2011). Both theories of religion and yoga teach that body and mind are not separate entities and that we can practice worship through both.
The practice of pranayama, yogic breathing exercises, has been affirmed by many Christians as effectively silencing the mind, granting one the ability to center themselves and discover the company of God more abundantly (Sheveland, 2011). This practice of slow breathing helps us to become aware of everything in our presence, our place, our being, and Christ (Sheveland, 2011). All these act entirely as testaments to yoga having the ability to intensify religious relationships, not hurt them.
Finally, the Most Important Part, How I feel
“Ours is the most permissive society history has ever known” (Snell p.2, 2011). America, the land of the free! When expressing that in the Declaration of Independence did we need to include a subparagraph under religious equality? Really, today the only thing outlawed is to outlaw something (Snell, 2011). Eastern insights, among various others, can contribute to theological thoughts (Weaver, 2011), just as Western intellect contributes back. The past, present, and future of the world entirely can open the door to new concepts. Yoga, as a specific example, provides a chance to better understand Christianity and all religions by teaching appreciation and recognition of both Western and Eastern traditions. At the same time, yoga’s inclination is towards divine livelihood. It yearns for the connection between intellect and body (Sheveland, 2011). While some Christians feel yoga is not a spiritual experience or an answer to any religious longing, they cannot and do not have the ability to speak for the personal experiences to every individual. Spirituality is a different and unique experience for each individual person
Interpretation, being a broad concept, has led certain members of all faiths, including myself, to take these harsh reactions and exclamations not as denouncements, but as a remembrance to honor our beliefs when participating in yoga (Cullen, 2005). All of these people, while some erratic, some conservative, and some uncanny, all support my theory of the inability to limit spiritual practice. While many are convinced that their ways are correct, they are still illuminating the vast different forms that people can connect with whatever divine power they recognize. What one-person experiences on a yoga mat can be what another feels on their knees in a church. Hopefully, through practices like Christian Yoga, the world will slowly begin to realize this.
References
Anderson, M. (2011). God Has a Wonderful Plan For Your Body. Christianity
Today, 55(8), 34-38.
Boyd, L. (2011) THROUGH YOGA TO CHRISTIANITY. First Things: A Monthly
Journal of Religion & Public Life, (210), 15-17.
Copenhaver, M.B. (2011). My Wandering Mind. Christian Century, 128(12),11-12.
Cullen, L. Stretching for Jesus. Time, 166(10), 75.
Miller, L. (2007). Namaste. Newsweek, 150(12),16.
Sheveland, J.N. (2011). Is Yoga Religious? Christian Century, 128(12), 22-25.
Snell, Marilyn. “The world of religion according to Huston Smith.” Mother Jones
Nov.-Dec. 1997: 40+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13
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Watanabe, T. (2004, Dec 11). BELIEFS; A Hindu’s perspective on Christ and
Christianity; A new book complied from the works of a guru who died 52
Years ago offers thoughts on Jesus’ teachings and their unity with yoga.
Los Angeles Times, pp. B.2-B.2
Weaver, W. (2011). YOGA’S PERKS AND PERILS. First Things: A Monthly Journal of
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Yoga is UnChristian, says Baptist leader. (2010). Christian Century , 127 (21),18.
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