This last Saturday, I was a guest on Moody Radio's “Up for Debate” to discuss with a so-called “Christian yogi” whether or not Christians should do yoga and whether or not so-called “Christian yoga” is actually yoga (it is!).
You can listen to the debate here:
TWO POWERFUL TESTIMONIES
Since the show aired, I have received several remarkable testimonials and I wanted to share them with you. Both of these are from women who are believers, and who became involved in yoga and their lives were affected adversely. What do you think?
1. “Drawn into a Lifestyle of Sin”
(From Danielle on our Facebook page)
“I listened to the podcast. As a Christian going through a divorce in 2007, I used to go to non-Christian Yoga at the local YMCA to ‘ease' my mind and soon was drawn into a lifestyle of sin without feeling guilty at all…
“When I stopped going to those Yoga classes is when I closed the door to the spirituality grip it had on my mind.
“Once I closed that door, I opened the door of my heart to the Holy Spirit once again and He changed my life.
“I was looking into ‘Christian Yoga' because I liked the postures and stretching and came across the PraiseMoves website. I realized that Yoga and Christianity do not belong together.
“I purchased your DVD and now I do PraiseMoves and fill my mind with Scripture and keep my body fit.
“I wish the woman who called in and listens to her own music while still in the Yoga Classes realizes is opening up herself to being in the spirit realm of the demonic — I would suggest she start doing PraiseMoves!
“Loved your answer to her, Laurette: about the ways the body is designed to move and how the enemy twists what God originally designed for our benefit and His Glory and being yoked to the Lord!!!!!!!
“I know this is lengthy but I love your candid testimony about being watched and sucked in and not wanting to cause your brother to stumble! I am blessed to have ‘found' PraiseMoves and I am incredibly blessed by you, Laurette!
“I disagree with Susan (the ‘Christian yogi') about having the words Christian and Yoga linked together…it's like linking Christian to bar or Christian to the Lambata or Zumba! Thank you for holding fast to the truth!
“Uh! Oh! Susan on the podcast said Yoga is just a word….does she know the scripture that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…and that we are accountable for every word we speak….?”–Danielle Ray, New Jersey
2. “A Form of Godliness” – Lukewarm and Dangerous
(An email from a sister we'll call “Melissa” in Pennsylvania)
Hello Laurette. Just wanted to let you know that I sent the following e-mail to “Up for Debate.”
“Hello there. I just listened to the Up for Debate podcast regarding Yoga and wanted to comment.
“I am a born again, Spirit-filled believer in Jesus Christ. I was raised in a Christian home and have served God with all of my heart. But, like many 40 something-year-olds, hit a bump in the road called a mid-life crisis.
“While doing music ministry with a gentleman, whose wife taught Hatha Yoga, I became emotionally entangled with him, to my detriment. Thank God, this relationship was severed before anything physical transpired and before my family was totally destroyed.
Yoga thru Exercise DVD
“However, in my quest to find a quick fix to recover from all the stress that ensued, I began doing yoga with p-90x. I fell in love with the practice and yes, became somewhat addicted. I began doing Yoga online, at work on my breaks, and everywhere I went. I was not trying to run from God, I was trying to reconnect with Him. I would even recite scripture as I was doing the Yoga postures, but knew in my heart, by His Spirit that this was not something I should be doing.
“I was being satisfied by something other than the Lord and that something was Yoga. It was the substitute for the time I would have normally spent, reading the Word, journaling and pouring my heart out before the Lord.
The True Motive of Yoga
I, like Laurette Willis, acknowledge that the true motive of Yoga, (the missionary of Hinduism to the West) is to draw us (our entire culture) away from our first love, Jesus Christ.
“In my attempt to find an alternative to Yoga, I discovered Laurette's PraiseMoves. What a blessing it is! I am planning on becoming a PraiseMoves Instructor. I do believe that as Christians, we need not be unequally “yoked” (Yoga) together with unbelievers. We need to come out from among them and be separate.
Be Not Deceived
“The word of God says that in the last days, even the very elect will be deceived. Unbelievers are seeking something real, and yes, Yoga is real, just as much so as is the power of God Almighty.
Of course, God's power surpasses that of the enemy!!!!!!! The problem is, when we allow Yoga in because it is linked to the power of satan, it serves to create satisfaction apart from God, self-sufficiency, of sorts. I know, because I experienced it. It is very deceptive and many precious people are being led astray.
“The gentlemen and his wife which I mentioned earlier, were both raised in the church and heard the truth of the gospel, however, her involvement in Yoga as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher ERYT has led them down a path of New Age Philosophy. They live sinful, undisciplined lives and worship creation instead of the Creator, they are working hard to welcome others into the fold of free-living, mindfulness and sin. They actually believe in reincarnation.
How did this happen, except they allowed Yoga in and it twisted the truth, causing them to believe a lie!
Lukewarm and Having a Form of Godliness…
“I fear for the church who practices Yoga!!! It seems that the mega-churches who have allowed Yoga in, have begun to cater to the enemy. Rather than winning the lost, they are watering down the Gospel, making it attractive, sugar coating it, so to speak, with something that is familiar. Don't entertain familiar spirits.
The enemy of our soul is using Yoga to get a hook into Gods' people to lead us to live in a state of lukewarmness; fit and calm, having a form of godliness, but denying the power…not recognizing our fallen state apart from Christ but rising to a state of ‘Higher Consciousnesses,' becoming God ourselves (what a fallacy). Sounds much like what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden. They believed the deceiver and we all have suffered because of it. We must learn from history.
“I am interested to know if Christian Yoga instructors can report salvation and healings occurring, as a result of people attending their classes. I know that PraiseMoves regularly has reports of unbelievers receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord, as well as many experiencing physical and emotional healing.
“Ok, I shared my heart. Thanks for reading!”
God Bless,
Melissa in Pennsylvania
WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!
Christian Yoga? NO!
PraiseMoves – The Christian ALTERNATIVE to yoga!
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Click the link to meet the HINDU FOUNDER of so-called “Christian yoga.”
Christian yoga is an oxymoron!!!
Be ye not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind! Amen and well said Laurette!!!
Years ago as a Driver Helper, I helped deliver a package to a yoga center. I felt so uncomfortable and couldn’t wait to get out of there, but I did not understand why. Fast forward to today, now that I have been standing in the gap for my family, I have learned so much regarding spiritual warfare that now I have wisdom, knowledge and understanding. I realize now that what I sensed was a demonic influence in the air of that facility. It felt peaceful – but it was a deceptive “peace.” I am so grateful for Laurette’s ministry.
Thank you for sharing, Laureen. I agree. To many, I realize we seem foolish, but to the spiritually-discerning believer such as yourself, it makes sense.
How can there be a “deceptive peace”? Well, the enemy of our soul has a counterfeit for everything the Lord has. He is not a creator, but takes what God has created to bring people to the feet of a false idol. After 22 years in yoga myself (ages 7-29), I found that to be true. God alone in Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. In Jesus Christ alone can we find the “missing peace” we crave. For those who want to know more and experience the proof for themselves, please see: http://praisemoves.com/about-us/a-very-special-invitation/
When I was in a time of darkness, I started doing Yoga, and I loved it. I looked forward to getting up in the morning and starting my day with it because it energized me and there was little opportunity for exercise. I had tried Pilates, as well, but found the pace too rapid for my breathing.
Then, when I came back to the Lord, I found I could not do the Yoga. The music and the symbolism set off an alarm in my spirit. I kept the DVD set (Yoga and Pilates), thinking I was just not strong enough to handle the Yoga, and my daughter started doing it recently. She doesn’t like the Pilates; she likes the Yoga stretches.
Before she started the Yoga, she was eager to do Bible studies with me. Now, it’s like pulling teeth to get her to sit down and do them, *even though she really enjoys them when she does*.
I have asked her to stop doing the Yoga, and she agreed to if I found an alternative. I did, and it is on its way. I previewed the one I chose to make sure it was not using the same positions as Yoga, and am satisfied that it does not. I believe even the elimination of the hand positions destroys the “offering” of the position to the false god (demon, in my belief), and that is good, but we as Christians have to be especially vigilant against the emptying of our minds. If there are no thoughts there, then what are we taking captive to Christ?
Ironically, when I was at my chiropractor just two days ago, he asked me if I do Yoga. I told him I don’t, and he said the reason he asked was that I have a very calm, quiet energy. Praise the Lord! That is the Holy Spirit in me, and I know because no matter what I did before I returned to my Lord, I could not achieve that peace I had known before I strayed, no matter what I did.
I believe the Holy Spirit lives in Christians no matter what we do, BUT we can tamp it down in us; we can quiet it by refusing to listen. I would advise any Christian who intends to or is doing “Christian Yoga” to approach the matter prayerfully, with your Bible open and a heart to listen to the Holy Spirit.
II Corinthians 10:5 says our weapons are not of the flesh, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of castles (strongholds, fortresses, bases of operation) the enemy builds in our minds. Our spiritual weapons (especially the spoken Word of God) cast down *imaginations* and every high thing that exalts itself against what God says is true about us. (This is a paraphrase based upon what I have learned in my own experience).
God does know your heart; learn His.
[…] You can hear the debate and read two astounding testimonies from women who listened to the program HERE. […]
Hi Laurette!
I recently purchased the original PraiseMoves DVD and found it to be an anointed one. I feel there are some things that were not sufficiently addressed in the radio interview and I would like to add them here. Please feel free to use my comment in whatever way you see fit.
First, as a student and lecturer in the arts, using music, drama, dance and much more as tools for worship and evangelism, I have seen, first hand, how, specifically in dance, the movements we use can either agree with or counteract the words we say. When a dancer performs a dance to a song and their movements lift out and emphasise the words of the song, it has the power to break yokes and bring people to repentance. That is why I agree with you that the name “Yoga” and the names of the different yoga poses, as well as the poses themselves, cannot be used with the lable “Christian” attached to them. This, in my understanding, is not a sufficient redemption of the practice of yoga. Especially since the poses support the words that are used to describe them, and point to deifying of one’s self.
We need to understand that body language is exactly that, a language, and when we explore the scriptures regarding how God wants to be worshipped, He himself prescribes the postures we need to use in worshipping Him. These include lifting of hands, clapping of hands, bowing, kneeling, prostration, to name a few. This tells me the language of the body is just as important to God as the words we speak when we worship Him. That is why the idea of “Christian Yoga” doesn’t fly with those who are serious about making the distinction between what is God’s and what is satan’s. With the body we paint a physical picture, and as the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” Even God said, “My people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”
I believe that the postures you have developed along with Holy Spirit do exactly what I have just described, and this is what makes the PraiseMoves workouts as powerful and as anointed as they are. When our mind and our body agree with our spirit, they will speak the same language, and, as a unit, declare the Truth of God into the atmosphere around us and into our lives. This is how we invite Heaven down to Earth and lift up the gates of brass so that the King of Glory may come in! (Psalm 24:7-10)
Second, regarding the comment made by the “Christian Yoga” instructor, Susan, I think, as well as one of the listeners who called in, that “God knows our hearts”… well, in my experience, that holds the very real and very grave danger of becoming a “Christianese Cop-out”. God wants us to know HIS heart, instead of us expecting Him to know our hearts. Yes, He knows our hearts, He knows that our hearts can deceive us. That is why He wants us to know HIS heart, so that we can live and move in HIS story. Everything is about Him, after all.
He urges us in Isaiah 6:11and 2 Corinthians 6:15-17 to “come out from among unbelievers” and be separate. So there should be no correlation between the Truth and the counterfeits. This is why I agree with how you have developed PraiseMoves, as an ALTERNATIVE to yoga. The world needs to see that we are a race apart, not shunning or rejecting them, but doing things differently to them. If we simply borrow something from Eastern mysticism and stick a “Christian” lable on it, how are we different? We serve the living God Who created the Universe and everything in it! Why, as beings created in His Image, would we not be able to develop and create our own methods of physical training that glorify Him? The enemy is the copy-cat who takes what is God’s and sticks another lable on it! We shouldn’t be copying anything he does!
Thank you for your obedience to Holy Spirit and for your very honest testimony. I pray that Holy Spirit will continue to use you in teaching people to worship Father God as He desires for us to do so, and also that He will put His words in your mouth when you are challenged by those who are deceived and are trying to put new wine into old wine-skins. May your light so shine that others will see it and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven!
May your relationship with your Father and Creator grow from glory to glory and strength to strength and depth to depth. You and your ministry are truly a blessing!
Shalom!
Claire Roos
South Africa
[…] can hear my debate on Moody Radio and read two astounding testimonies from women who listened to the program […]