WHAT IS HOLY YOGA?

Holy Yoga is experiential worship. The intention? To deepen your connection to Christ — through God’s Word, worship and wellness. Through this practice, instructors blend traditional yoga postures with Scripture meditation, bringing the most important commandment to life:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  – Jesus (Mark 12:30)

Holy Yoga embraces this verse in its entirety, facilitating a holistic worship experience. The holy yogi presents her entire being to God as a living sacrifice — through the complete devotion of heart, soul, mind and body.

The word yoga means “to yoke with”. On the physical plane, there’s the yoking of breath and movement. But Holy Yoga takes this to a higher level. It is the yoking of your spirit with Christ, through worship.

Holy Yoga provides world-class yoga training where people’s lives are transformed by the Living God and equipped to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. (quoted from the Holy Yoga website)

 

Holy Yoga class of women worshiping God - photo by Holy Yoga of Connecticut
Women worshiping Jesus at a Holy Yoga class in Connecticut.

 

SHOULD CHRISTIANS DO YOGA?

If you type this heading into your search engine, you’ll find a variety of YouTube videos and articles warning Christians to stay away.

Why is this? Holy Yoga welcomes Christians and non-Christians alike, and the meditation is always Bible based. So, what’s the fuss about?

I also used to think that yoga — even Holy Yoga — should be shunned. I understood this practice to be spiritual and a part of the Hindu religion. As a Christian, I abstained — not wanting to partake in the worship of Hindu gods. Little did I know that the discipline of yoga began hundreds (if not thousands) of years before Hinduism.

 

REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

Yoga, when used as a tool for worshiping the Most High God, offers spiritual and physical benefits. Flowing through the various postures helps focus the body’s energy while keeping the mind and heart fixed upon God’s presence.

Holy Yoga instructor training - woman worshiping God in Child's Pose
Ali in her favorite worship posture — Child’s Pose! At Holy Yoga instructor training in 2016.

Can yoga, as a practice preserved for centuries via Hinduism, be redeemed by the blood of Christ and offered to God as an act of worship?

Yes! Just as Paul, in Athens, used “the altar of the unknown god” as a springboard for the gospel, these ancient stretches can also be used to point others to Christ. And, there’s extensive information available on this topic. I’ve compiled a bunch of it, including a missionary’s perspective, which I’d love to share with you. Please follow this link if you’re interested: Christianity and Yoga.

 

EXPERIENCE HOLY YOGA FOR FREE!

How about trying your first class for free? As a Registered Holy Yoga Instructor, I offer beginner’s classes on YouTube. Just follow this link to Holy Yoga with Ali.

And while you’re at it, perhaps you need some basic yoga gear to get you started? I’ve done the searching for you. Just take a peak at these three yoga essentials for your first class.

 

RESOURCES ON HOLY YOGA

cover photo of Brooke Boon's book - Holy Yoga - Exercise for the Christian Body and SoulBrooke Boon, Holy Yoga’s founder, also provides a marvelous beginner’s guide to Christ-honoring yoga in her first book: Holy Yoga – Exercise for the Christian Body & Soul .

May God bless you and lead you, as you seek His ways and His truth.

In Christ, Ali 🙂