Is Yoga Anti-Christian?

These recent comments are getting all kinds of attention right now.

Long-time yoginis are never shocked when these ideas are expressed because well....it's kinda true. Yoga does take you to new heights. Is that a bad thing?

I have practiced yoga for over 3 years now. I have practiced it in various local gyms and studios. I have gone to classes in churches and rec centers. I have sat beside practicing Hindus who prayed before and after class. I have sat beside nice Christian ladies who discussed the pot-luck at church last week.

Here's what I've come up with.....

Yoga, like many activities, is viewed in many ways by many different people. For some, it is good exercise and a means of stress reduction. For some, it's a fun activity with a social component. For some, it is an extension of their religious practice with far-reaching meditative goals. For some, it is a small component of their overall mental and physical health regimen.

For me? It's all of the above.

I came to yoga during a time in my life when I was very depressed, lacking in flexibility and slightly overweight. Yoga helped me come to peace with all those things. Yoga, at one time, was the only thing that got me out of bed every morning. It was an activity that made me feel good and pulled away all those things that hurt me......both mentally and physically. Yoga helped me find my strength. It helped me discover my body. Yoga taught me how to breathe, educated my sexuality and gave me a non-medication way to work through panic attacks.

I think, at least in some small way, that yoga helped save my life.

And yes, from a religous perspective, I have reached great heights in my practice with my breathing, postures and meditation. Was I close to God? To the Hindi god(s)? To some Higher Power? I'm not sure. But I can say, the feelings and release I have experienced in yoga have never been found in church in all my life. Not by me anyway.

Does that make me bad? Anti-Christian? Believing in false gods?

Well....I hope not.

But what's more important than all that is what yoga does make me feel. When I finish practicing, I feel strong. I breathe deeply. I don't have bad thoughts. I don't ruminate in my past hurt. I smile more. I wave people into traffic. I eat well. Basically, I feel great!

Now since I'm not a Fundamentalist, I'm not sure if any of that is okay to say and feel. But to be fair, how can it be wrong? If yoga can get me to those places, can't it do the same thing for practicing Christians? Or really anyone who wants to get to greater understanding with anything in their lives? Yoga may have its roots in Hinduism, but it has stretched its fingers out to many other cultures. Just like sharing the foods, religions and social habits of other cultures, yoga opens us up to a small piece of our vast, beautiful world.

I, for one, am all the better for it.

~Namaste~