Can Christians Practice Yoga?

The transglobal yoga industry has prompted widespread discussion on the cultural exchange of yoga's “ancient” practice. One such question is commonly asked within both Christian and yoga communities: can Christians practice yoga? 

This presentation analyzes four American Christian-based yoga organizational responses to this question. Each organization provides a brief response on their websites claiming that yes Christians can do yoga, however the spectrum of their claims vary. Holy Yoga explains that yoga is a “spiritual discipline” and it is a “misconception that yoga is religion” (holyyoga.net). YogaFaith cites the permissibility of yoga due the “various postures of prayer found within the Bible's ancient text” (yogafaith.org). The Yoga Abbey's yoga programming seeks to “infuse the practice with meaning” and “embrace curiosity” (theyogaabbey.com). Ignatian Spirituality & Yoga, formally called Ignatian Yoga, place significance on being “educated about both traditions and practice Yoga with respect and prudence” (ignatianspiritualityandyoga.com). These responses point to a subset of the yoga industry called “Christian Yoga.” 

Christian Yoga is a contemporary phenomenon emerging from 19th-century Europe and America that involves the integration of Christian theology and praxis with the embodied practices of modern postural yoga. These tensions assume yoga to be inherently religious, making it incompatible within certain Christian frameworks due to yoga's non-Christian origins. However, because of the complex origins of modern psycho-physical yoga and yogic philosophy, these practices raise important questions about religious authority, authenticity, and cultural adaptation.