What is Yoga?
The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word, yuj, which means “to yoke, join or unite”. Yoga began as a meditative practice and slowly evolved to include many other disciplines, including the physical postures (asanas) so popular in the West. (See history of Yoga below) Today, yoga is commonly practiced for uniting the mind, body, and spirit.
A Short History of Yoga
-3000 BC Stone carvings of what appear to be yoga postures
-2500-1600 BC Harappan culture– yoga develops as a meditative practice
-800 BC Upinishads mention service and study (karma and jnana yoga) as paths to spiritual growth
-300 BC Maitrayaniya Upinishad outlines a Six Step spiritual growth plan (pranayama-breath work, pratyaharia -sense withdrawal, dhyana – meditation, dharana- concentration, tarka – self reflection, Samadhi- absolute absorbtion) that later became core of Patanjali’s philosophy
-300 BC Bhagavad Gita lists Bhakti Yoga (devotion) along with Karma Yoga, Jnana yoga
-400 AD Patanjali compiles The Yoga Sutras collecting yoga philosophies, proposing the “Eight Limbs of Yoga” (yama – self-restraint, niyama –self-purification, asana – posture, pranayama -breathwork, pratyahara-sense withdrawal, dharana – concentration, dhyana – meditation, and Samadhi- absorbtion)
-300-400 AD Tantra Yoga emerges countering dualism with integration and embrace of the human body as helpful to spiritual growth
-900-1000 AD Hatha Yoga is introduced
-1300-1400 AD Tejo Bindu and other Upanishads are introduced adding concepts such as root lock (mula bandha), balance, undisturbed vision, abandonment, quiet, space and time to Patanjali’s philosophy
-1930s T. Krishnamacharya begins teaching yoga in Mysore, India
-1959 Fr. Henri Le Saux & Fr. Jules Monchanin found a Christian “ashram,” Shantivanam (“Forest of Peace”)
-1960 French Benedictine monk, Jean Marie Déchanet writes Christian Yoga
-1964 S. Pattabhi Jois begins his own school of Ashtanga yoga,
-1966 B. K. S. Iyengar published the book “Light on Yoga”
-1968 Fr. Bede Griffiths a British-born Benedictine monk (and student and friend of C.S. Lewis) became the director of Shantivanam
-1969 Swami Sivanda Saraswati travels across US, spreading the yoga philosphy
-1974 Iyengar founds Ramamani Memorial Iyengar Yoga Institute
-1995, Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP, publishes Prayer of Heart and Body: Meditation and Yoga as Christian Spiritual Practice
History of Yoga and Christianity
http://www.christianspracticingyoga.com/history-of-yoga-and-christianity
Can Yoga be Christian?
You and I think nothing of adopting and adapting technologies to support Christian worship and the outreach of the gospel. We do it all the time. If you felt safe enough to venture out… You might slip into a church building that had formerly been retail space, sit in a chair just like the one in local theaters, sing hymns and other song forms that were originally designed for other purposes, listen to beautiful music played on instruments that might have been meant for symphony orchestras, read words from a screen made for a sports stadium and hear the Bible explained with the assistance of sound equipment that could have come from a nightclub or business convention center. You may sense an encounter of God in the music, and the display, and the Word all facilitated by adapted technologies. Even in the smallest actual or virtual gatherings of believers, some use of outside technology is present.
The practices of yoga are also “technologies” designed to prepare the human person for meditation, contemplation and spiritual growth. Christians are wise when they adapt those aspects of this technology that support of their physical and spiritual health. You and I share the same anatomy and psychological makeup of any human in any culture. What relaxes the body and mind for prayer in one setting, often works in another, and can advance God’s purposes in our lives.
Are You a Certified Yoga Teacher?
Yes, I am a registered yoga teacher (RYT500) with Yoga Alliance. And all of my partner-teachers are fully-trained and competent to instruct in their areas of expertise.
