If I am a Christian, then the fact that I do yoga to enhance my physical condition, or meditate to help me clear my mind, do not change my beliefs in Christianity or remove or weaken my faith. My primary concern only lies with wondering if new Christians are adept at discerning where breathing and meditation end, and a newfound religion begins. Like many things in life, perhaps the answer lies in each individual’s ability to have boundaries that are adjusted to his or her maturity level as a Christian. The important issue here is not that as a Christian, Muslim or Jew I participate in a yoga or meditation class at the local health club a few times a week, but how committed am I at practicing the principles and laws of my faith and religion? TD Jakes
Can Christians do yoga? Sure, and they can even bring their Christian faith to it and make it part of their practice in the spiritual life. The exercises themselves are like the “hardwareâ€. By itself, it’s neutral and can receive many different kinds of software and be used in different ways. For example, when a Christian brings his or her own faith understanding to it and employs these as a way to release tension and stress from the body and calm the mind so that one can encounter Jesus with greater focus of attention in meditation, yoga becomes an aid to Christian prayer. Father Thomas Ryan.
My belief is whatever practice it is, whether it’s ashtanga yoga or meditative practices or any discipline, the discipline itself is nothing more than a gardener tilling the soil to plant a garden. It brings fertility into us. Spirituality is determined by the focus and intent of the practitioner and not the practice. So spirituality is determined by how we act, how we interact with other people, how we live our life….Just to clarify, yoga is not a religion; yoga is a philosophy or a way of life. David Swenson Ashtanga Yoga Teacher