2 Corinthians 6:15 (ESV) says~~ “What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?”

Yoga - looks inward, not UPWARD!

The decline of the American evangelical church has actually been traced to the Second Great Awakening and Charles Finney’s Revivals…but those could be books for another day! What is happening now makes a snow avalanche in Colorado look tame! Here in Springfield we have a church-based hospital promoting the practice of Reiki Massage for healing! Several other churches here and across America included “Christian Yoga” in their programs. Not to be outdone, we have the Chatham school system teaching Yoga in their Physical Education! (By the way, would the Ball-Chatham consider letting Christian quarterback Tim Tebow come in and tell kids how to stay chaste and pure in a corrupt, perverted world? No way! He’s a Christian!)

Yes, there is something rotten in the state of Christianity. To understand this trend towards not just Eastern Mysticism but immersion into the pagan religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, we have to know what both Reiki and Yoga are.

The Reiki practiced in Springfield and only certain other medical centers is down by a so-called trained “Reiki Master” who is versed in the art of sending “Healing Energies” around the world into the patient, using the “Seven Chakras”. This is done by the laying of hands in specific ways and other-worldly meditations to treat certain illnesses.

THIS IS NOT IN THE WORD OF GOD!

Chakras are so-called “energy centers” allegedly from the base of the pelvic system to top of the head. “Tantric sex” is an extension of this pagan eastern practice. They also allegedly hold the “key to life” and energy in the Universe!!! Have you ever heard such heresy! Do some professing Christians need to be reminded that Jesus is NOT just the “Key to Life” but THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE (John 14:6)?! Do they need to be reminded that “all good things come from the Father of Lights” (James 1:17)…and this includes the True Source of Energy – the Holy Spirit?!

Like Reiki, Yoga is body-centric and depends on the surrendering of one’s mind to another level of consciousness. Christians are not supposed to empty their minds and use their body as a vehicle to connect the physical to some sort of Higher “Source” or spirit! On the contrary, blessed is the man who does NOT walk in the counsel, culture, conformity of the ungodly…and his delight is in the Law of the Lord…on which he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2).

Yoga has exploded in gyms, churches and schools!

More and more churches are using Yoga as part of a fitness program, as some of their members (who are more culturally diverse) see the rest of the outside world participating.  Fitness clubs already have this for their members. Why parents at the Chatham middle school and others are not protesting their children being indoctrinated into Hinduism/Buddhism by the inclusion of yoga into the phys/end curriculum is mystifying! One only has to look at the positions and know they are not harmless physical exercises!

Participants in so-called “Christian yoga” will say they practice “hatha” yoga (which is supposed to be only the physical discipline part of it). They will insist it’s not the full Hindu practice of “kundalini” yoga….and I believe them. HOWEVER, by its very nature, the physical and the spiritual in yoga cannot be separated. While some people may think they can substitute the monosyllable “om” chant with Psalm 23…it simply does not compute!! Every physical position in yoga signifies a specific part of that eastern cult, whether Christians in post-modern American Christianity deny it or not! True yoga adherents and Hindus are laughing under their breath at our people who think they can compartmentalize Christ and think purely of this as the fine art of stretching and good health!  Personally, I can’t comprehend a person reciting “the Lord is my Shepherd”, while putting the index finger and thumb in a circle with an ankle behind your head!

LOOK TO THE CROSS...NOT YOUR NAVEL!

Am I saying all Christians who practice yoga are unbelievers? No! It does mean that the level of Biblical discernment is in questionable shape! If you speak to former Buddhists and Hindus they will explain the folly AND RISK of leaving one’s mind and consciousness, no matter how innocent it may seem, susceptible to the powers of the air, when our call is different. Christians are to look to Jehovah Rapha – the God Who heals, through intense prayer and intercession to get His blessings on our ailments…and He may direct us to the right doctor, in such an event. We are to look to Christ as our only discipline – the Author and Perfector of our Faith. We are to reason together with God (Isaiah 1:18 ) Who has made our scarlet sins as white as snow. We are to be totally conscious at all times why the Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)….not let our brain go slack and give the devil yet another opening to attack our souls.

Being a True Disciple of Christ is not blind following. It’s conscious, firm and uncompromising decision made with body, mind and soul. All components of the human condition are in play. Jesus said the Greatest Commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and MIND”! Anything which deviates from this well….you decide…