Source: Religion News Service
MOBILE, ALABAMA, July 15, 2002: This report from Religion News Service provides insight into what happens when the Hindu practice of yoga is attempted by those of other religions. The article states, in part, “A few years ago, Susan Bordenkircher wasn’t comfortable doing yoga. It wasn’t that she got bent out of shape by any of the asanas — downward facing dog, half lotus forward fold or the scorpion, to name but three yoga positions. She just wasn’t sure if it was an appropriate activity for a Christian. Long associated with mysticism and Eastern religions in particular, yoga is denounced by some who claim it promotes pantheism and worship of self.” … An 1962 yoga book called “An Invitation to Christian Yoga,” included, “sketches and written instructions for 25 yoga postures; each one is prefaced by a verse from the Bible. …also a Christian adaptation of ‘Salute to the Sun,’ a series of movements devout Hindus perform at dawn as thanksgiving for a new day. Roth offers ‘The Salute to the Son,’ a series of movements designed to accompany the Lord’s Prayer.” … “In recent years, yoga’s popularity has boomed as many have searched for a few minutes of stillness and for low-impact exercise that fosters flexibility and strength. Celebrities, too, have joined the masses on their yoga mats. With the ancient exercises’ contemporary resurgence, Bordenkircher urges those interested in practicing yoga to choose their instructors carefully. “It can be very destructive. I’ve really literally sat there and just prayed for discernment’ at some seminars, she said, noting that she feels uncomfortable with those who suggest that humans possess divine power. Cecil R. Taylor, dean of the School of Religion at the University of Mobile, said he would advise those interested in taking a Christian approach to yoga to ‘make sure it’s thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Christ.’ ‘You’d be able to judge a lot by checking your spirit,’ Taylor said. ‘Sometimes people just instinctively know, ‘This is just not what I ought to be doing.’ They don’t know why. It may be theological perceptivity.’ ”