Jesus Yoga

This is hilarious, though it shouldn’t be. In Yahoo, Yoga, and Yours Truly, Albert Mohler reports that his inbox is filling up because the Associated Press made people aware of a post he wrote about Yoga. I saw the original article when he wrote it and wondered if he was making too much out of it. Basically, I have the same concerns he does about Yogo itself, but I figured most of the Christians practicing Yoga were actually just “twisting [themselves] into pretzels or grasshoppers” only for the exercise rather than true Yoga. But look at the following e-mail he received:

I get more out of yoga and meditation than I ever get out of a sermon in my church. My favorite image I use in yoga is that of Jesus assuming a perfect yoga position in the garden of Gethsemane as he prays. How do we know that the apostles and early Christian guys did not use yoga to commune with Jesus after he left?

This woman clearly sees something more to Yoga than simple exercise, leaving me to think that people who practice Yoga are insane. But what I find particularly funny is the number of people who jumped on Albert Mohler for what he wrote. It’s one of those things that you wouldn’t think would matter that much. So what if Albert Mohler thinks they’re doing the wrong thing. I suspect they’re jumping on him because they feel guilty and think he may be right.

And the thing is that when people of God have been accepting of the practices of other religions in the past it hasn’t taken long for them to completely embrace the false religion. Just look at the history of the Jewish people. The married women who believed in idols and their children followed after idols rather than God. In the case of Yoga, what we would expect to see happen is that people will first embrace Yoga, then in hopes of getting an even better spirituality they’ll start trying the religion it’s associated with. Just like this thing about Jesus being in a perfect Yoga position in the garden of Gethsemane. The Bible never said that. What it does say is that he sweat drops of blood. It says that he cried out to the Father. A man going through that kind of turmoil isn’t going to be found sitting cross legged with his palms turned upward. He wasn’t reflecting on his inner being; he was talking to God.

The fact is that the Bible tells us to meditate, but not on ourselves. We are to meditate on the law of God. So for you Yoga folks out there, instead of contemplating your belly button or what direction your energy is flowing, I suggest you get in the Word and study it.