Episode 39 - Yoga & Martial Arts - Real Truth about Real Stuff Part 14

Some Christians say that under no circumstances whatsoever should a Christian practice Yoga or martial arts; Some say that it's okay to practice them as long as you divorce yourself from any “spiritual aspect” of the practices, and just concentrate on the exercise aspect. And in the case of martial arts, besides the middle eastern spiritual components,  some Christians have an issue with other Christians practicing them because of their violent nature – even if it’s just for self-defense. So what are Christians to do? Should we avoid yoga and / or martial arts completely, or is there a way to practice them without compromising Biblical Truth? Tune in and find out!

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Transcript

Episode 39 – Yoga & Martial Arts

           Welcome to the Proverbs 9:10 Ministries podcast, No Trash, Just Truth! We’re your hosts and co-founders of Proverbs 9:10 Ministries, Rose Spiller and Chris Paxson. Rose, I’ve heard Christians say that under no circumstances whatsoever should a Christian practice Yoga or martial arts; I’ve heard them say that as long as they divorce any “spiritual aspect” of the practices away from the exercise that it is fine to do either; and in the case of martial arts I’ve heard it said that Christians should not only avoid it because of spiritual components in some of it, but that they should avoid it altogether because of the violent nature of it – even if it’s for self-defense.

          I’ve heard all of those things too; that’s why we’re talking about it. So, let’s start with Yoga. I remember several years ago, after you came back from visiting your son, you had some conversations with some young adults at church who were practicing. You didn’t hound them about it or anything, you just talked with them about what you’d heard on a radio program while you were driving. And it wasn’t received as any type of a warning at all, was it?

          No. And I’m not sure in all cases there needs to be a warning – but some people think there needs to be. Let me explain. I was driving to NC by myself and as I went, I was listing to some talk radio. I have no idea what station, or what the program was … it may have been a local program for all I know, because it wasn’t familiar. But two men were talking about Yoga. And one of them was a former university professor who used to also be a Yogi.

          You say, he used to be? He got out of it?

          Yes. He became a Christian and once he started delving into what the meaning of the differeng yoga poses were for, what emptying your mind is all abaout, what “Om” means and the like, he quit. When he inquired into it, it shocked him.

          I’ve heard that the idea of different yoga poses are done to invite demons into your body.

          That was one of the things he said. He also talked about the kundalini serpent and the chakras, like we covered in our episode on alternative medicines.

          To recap that part of the alt medicine episdode, The belief is that there is an omnipotent energy that gives life to every living thing. The Japanese and Chinese spell it differently but call this “Ki” or  it’s called “Prana” by Asian cultures. The belief is that inside our bodies are seven “chakras” or “wheels of life.” These chakras are energy centers starting at the base of the spine and there are seven of them. Most call this energy “Kundalini energy” and they picture the Kundalini as a serpent goddess at the base of the spine, the first chakra, coiled up. These chakras are the “energy centers” that get blocked and that blocking impedes the energy from freely flowing upward through the 7 chakras. And that results in mental, emotional and physical problems.

          Yes. And it’s believed that opening the top one fully supposedly gives you access to a “higher consciousness.”  They call that the “kundalini awakening.”

          Yes, because Kundalini can finally move all the way up through the chakras without being impeded. We said it then, and we’ll say it here that this doesn’t in any way line up with Christianity. None of it does. Christians don’t believe that we have a goddess called “kundalini” or any other name, living inside of us that needs to have us open energy centers to be let out so that we can be spiritually awakened.

          The Holy Spirit resides in Christians. He “awakens” us to new spiritual life by regenerating our hearts. John 6:63 says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” God does the work to establish the relationship with His people. He acts first. We don’t act first (like trying to open our chakras to awaken Him!) That’s totally backwards.

          You mentioned that the guy you heard on the radio program talked about the meditation in Yoga. It’s eastern meditation, and they tell you to empty your mind. But the bible never says we’re to empty our minds. 

          No, it doesn’t. The Bible says we’re to meditation on the Word of God. But in Yoga classes, meditation is done to ultimately reach what practicers of it refer to as f”inal liberation” or “enlightenment.” The yoga class starts and ends by chanting “Om” (pronounced “Aum”). The idea is that it creates a vibrating frequency that’s the same as the “basic sound of the universe”, so by chanting it, you’re acknowledging your connection to nature and all other living beings, human and animal. This is pantheism – the belief that the Universe is “one” and basically that “everything is. God.” 

          Right, and the practice of saying “Om” is rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism. And “Om” (AUM)  represents the union of the three gods, - A for Brahma, U for Vishnu and M for Shiva. Chanting it is an invitation for these three gods to come into your soul. At it’s core, yoga is an exercise in spiritual development – but not Christian spiritual development. This is far from Christianity.

          It is. And in figuring out if it’s for us, as Christians, we need to ask “What’s the goal of yoga?” And the answer for true yoga adherents is to reach Moksha – or in other words, Nirvana -  the liberation from worldly suffering and the cycle of rebirth and reincarnation, leading to an enlightened relationship with the false gods of the Supreme Brahma, or Lord Vishnu. 

          You used the term “true” yoga adherents. You’re talking about those that practice yoga seriously; the people who practice it as more than just doing exercises on a mat every week. For them it’s a self-disciplined life of austerity that revolves around the Five Principles of Yoga which are Proper exercise, Proper relaxation, Proper breathing, Meditation, Proper diet and Positive thinking. 

          Right. The diet can be something as little as some bread, water and maybe a few vegetables, and many yogis use laxatives or enemas – some (at least in earlier times) recommended swallowing long strips of fine muslin along with those for a more thorough cleansing. For strict adherents like those, the things you just listed are the first steps to the 8-Fold Yoga Path which is trying to development the mind, body and soul to get rid of problems that are supposedly “self-imposed, by trying to “transcend” to a higher level of consciousness, seeking union with a false god. But today, a lot of people, especially Americans, think of Yoga as just another form of exercise. 

          The history of how Yoga came to America and turned into something people consider just another form of exercise is interesting. Ideas from the Orient were brought to America by people like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in the mid 1800s and by a Hindu monk from India named Vivekananda who came to plead for help for starving people back home and ended up staying at and leading yoga at a “spiritual retreat center” opened by two women in Main. He became popular enough to speak at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. 

          And largely, Americans weren’t happy about yoga. It was more prominent among the elite members of society, including President Woodrow Wilson’s daughter Margaret. It eventually made its way to Los Angeles and it seems that somewhere in the 1950s is started to morph slightly (for some people) into more of a beauty/exercise routine. And in the 60s became a little more popular because of the ceremonial sex and the drugs used to enhance meditation, and by the mid 1980s many yoga studios left out the religious aspects and focused on the exercise and physical and psychological benefits, until only 2% of Americans practiced any form of it. So, how did it become what it is (largely) today? 

          Some well-known yogis put the religion back in it, and re-introduced Americans to not only the health benefits, but the religious practices yoga came from. So, Chris, there are all kinds of yoga. And they all have roots in false Eastern religions. Let’s talk about what things a Christian should consider about doing yoga as exercise, because obviously, a Christian isn’t going to practice the religions.

          There are definitely some things to consider. Basically, there’s seven kinds of yoga and each has it’s issues. All of them are based in Easter religions, New Age or the occult. They’re a mix of believing we are all part of god, pantheism, karma, liberation from reincarnation by reaching Nirvana, releasing a false god named Kundalini who lies within you, and we could go on and on. NONE of these ideas is Christian. Not all! 

          And, Christians are to meditate on Scripture meaning they’re supposed to think deeply or careful about something. It flies against what meditation in yoga is supposed to do, even if you’re told it’s just supposed to relax you. Christian meditation is thinking about and considering – it’s mental exercise, not mental relaxation! A Christian should never think of any part of yoga as some way to grow spiritually. Not ever!

          A lot of people say that hatha yoga (probably the most popular yoga used for exercise purposes) is all about the physical postures and breathing; therefore, it shouldn’t be wrong for a Christian to participate. But the postures and breathing in hatha yoga are part of a means to the rest. They were never meant to be separated out of the other steps to reaching Nirvana. True practicers of yoga say that you can’t divorce yoga postures, or any part of it, from its religion. In fact, they’re often offended at the idea of divorcing the two.

          And, there’s what’s been termed “Christian yoga” or “holy yoga” where they say “Jesus” instead of “Om” or tell you to meditate on a Bible verse. Can Christians “redeem” yoga moves and make it Christian? In yoga, the whole idea of chanting a word or phrase is to help you transcend your mind and emotions and ultimately merge or become one with a false god or with the universe. This is not the God of Christianity, and Christians do not believe that “all of the universe” is God. 

          In addition to that, to tell people who know that you are a Christian that you’re going to yoga class is endorsing yoga. To open a business called “Christian yoga” is endorsing yoga. For people who don’t know anything about it, it’s confusing. We should feel free in our Christian liberty to stretch however we’d like to, to participate in exercise, to calm ourselves through breathing, and even contemplate the Scriptures in silence, but we should do it in a way that does not identify with yoga. For anyone who’d like to think about this a little more, there’s a small booklet on Amazon that 99 cents. It’s written by a man named Mike Shreve, an ex-kundalini yoga teacher, now a Christian. It’s a short read and gives a lot of things to consider if you’re thinking about doing yoga.

          Moving on to martial arts, let’s start with Tai Chi because for the same reasons as we put forth about doing yoga, Tai Chi cannot be severed from it’s false spiritual roots in Taoism. The Taoist belief in a universal energy called chi or ki depending on the language of origin. Chi is believed to be the binding life force in the universe, existing both externally and internally, moving through invisible channels in the body called meridians. Taoists believe in the yin and yang and balancing the universe.

          They believe that the universe is held together by this chi. But in Colossians 1:16-17, we’re told Jesus does. The scripture says, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” A good while ago, Chuck Norris who is a Christian came up with an alternative to Tai Chi. Unlike the “Christian Yoga” or “holy yoga” people, he named it something totally different – Slow Flo. 

          At the beginning of this episode, we said there were different ways Christians looked at doing martial arts. Those reasons are – all of it is wrong because their roots are in Eastern religion, that it’s okay to do them if you divorce them from the religious parts, and that Christians shouldn’t do them because of the violent nature of them. We’ve already talked enough about practices steeped in other religions, so lets give a rundown of a few kinds of martial arts that have a sprititual component to them:

Aikido. Aikido means ‘the way to union with the universal force.” This impersonal force is known as “chi.” The goal of Aikido is to control both self and environment. It is steeped in Eastern mysticism.

Judo and Jujitsu. Judo involves many grabbing and throwing techniques. Jujitsu con­centrates on the human joint locks and con­cerns itself with striking and maneuvering pro­cedures. Judo has a slight spiritual origin, while jujitsu was designed as a type of war fighting with virtually no spiritual link.

Karate. Karate is primarily a physical martial art but in some schools involves eastern meditation. It’s at this point that Karate becomes spiritually danger­ous. 

Kung Fu. There are different styles of Kung Fu. The more tra­ditional forms associate with Buddhist roots, and the less traditional forms concentrate more on the physical aspects. 

Ninjitsu. The worldview behind Ninjitsu is pantheism (all is God), which con­tradicts the Christian view that God is not the universe but is the Creator of the universe (Gen. 1:1-2).

Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is a physi­cal, sport-oriented form of the martial arts. It is one of the most compatible forms of Eastern self-defense with Christianity.

          Once again, whether a Christian should participate in one of those martial arts depends on whether there’s an Eastern religious component like or not, and sometimes will depend pri­marily upon the instructor because just like we said in our podcast about alternative medicine, the terms for all of these are interchanged by some leaders and the religious aspects may be brought into something by an instructor, just because they want to or because they don’t really understand the origins. 

          So, If the instructor pro­motes Eastern religion in any way, the Christian should avoid that school. 

          Let’s talk about the view is that the martial arts are not compatible with Christianity because of their violent nature. Many Scripture passages do speak out against violence. In Matthew 26:52 Jesus said, “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” But, other Christians point out that when Jesus spoke with the Roman centurion, He did not say being a soldier was wrong. Also, in Luke 22:36, Jesus instructed the disciples to take a defensive sword with them. 

          These verses and others say that the Bible does not condemn self-defense and that the use of force is sometimes justified. The issue of self-defense is something should be done according to each individual believer’s conscience.

          So, in light of all of that, we should say that in regards to martial arts without a religious component, Christians should fight about whether to participate or not. Instead, each one should pray about his or her own position, and be gentle when talking to others.

          And that’s where we need to end today. Like we said at the beginning, whether these forms of exercise and self defense can be harmful or not, and whether they line up with the Bible or not can be confusing, but we hope this episode has shed some light on things Christians should take into consideration before delving in to any of it. 

          If you have any questions or comments about today’s episode, please leave them on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to today, or on our website proverbs910ministries.com.

            Have a blessed day!

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