Why Yoga and Christianity Are Compatible

 This post is based upon my upon and my experiences.  The Catholic Church has no official teaching about yoga and you can find Church authorities (priests, bishops, lay theologians, etc.) who fall on both sides of the issue.  

There is only one God.  
The main reason I hear stated as to why Christians should not engage in yoga is that it originated as worship to Hindu gods.  True as that may be, those gods do not exist.  There is only one god, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  How can I worship Gods that I do not believe exist?

Intention matters.
No yoga class I have attended mentioned religion or worship.  There were some very vague mentions of spirituality, but nothing that couldn't be used to refer to the Christian God or that was inconsistent with Christian worship.  I am sure that there are yoga classes and teachers that refer to Hinduism, Buddhism, or make questionable religious comments.  By all means, Christians should avoid those classes.  But if you remove Eastern religion from yoga, all you have left is an exercise.  I imagine that some forms of modern dance, ballet for example, may have particular moves that are similar to ones done in ancient pagan rituals.  And certain foods might have been eaten as part of various religious practices.  Stripped of their intent, these are bnot inherent evil. 

Your body is a temple.
God expects us to care of the bodies he gave us.  If we are in pain and there are specific movements or stretches that can help relieve that pain, I can't imagine He would be opposed as long as our intentions are pure.  After all, He created our bodies and the many ways in which they can move.  Some studies have found yoga more effective than painkillers in treating back pain.  I see movement, including the movements involved in yoga, as a natural way God gave us to take care of our bodies.

What's in a name?

Many yoga "postures" are not unique to yoga.  Throughout my life, in various P.E. and exercise classes, I've started and ended class doing stretches - stretching my hands to the sky, touching my toes, the "butterfly stretch", a sitting back twist, "hurdler's stretch".  These are some of the exact same movements done in yoga, developed separate from yoga and with a different name.  Why, when we use the Hindi names and put them within a "yoga" class, do these stretches suddenly become questionable?  If the names bother you, rename downward facing dog "tunnel" or tree" pose can become "one-legged balance" (although I hardly think there is anything harmful about the names as they are).

Adaptation.

Throughout the centuries, Christians have taken elements of secular society and changed them to be a reflection of their faith.  They were never completely separated from the culture or the world; if they had been, how would they have been able to change it? When I do yoga, I pray.  Often during those difficult postures which I have to hold for what seems like an hour (but in reality is only 30 seconds), I pray the "Hail Mary" (often several times).  At the end of each yoga class as we lie on the floor and relax after our hard work, I always say an entire decade of the Rosary.  I've also had friends who spend their yoga practice repeating scripture passages that are particularly  important in their current spiritual life.  In fact, there are specific Christian yoga classes that incorporate scripture, contemplation, and Christian prayer with physical movement.  I've joked back and forth with a fellow Catholic yoga practicer about translating the postures into Latin, or doing a "Rosary" with a specific posture assigned to each prayer (which would be verbally prayed at the same time).  

What do you think?  Do you practice yoga?  Do you believe that Christianity and yoga are at odds?  Feel free to disagree with me, but please include your reasoning and, as always, be respectful!