A good way to think about this is to compare yoga to gift-giving on Christmas. The origin of that practice goes back to pagan gift-giving during winter rituals. Does that matter today? If you aren’t giving the gifts to celebrate a pagan deity, the answer is probably no. The same logic could apply to yoga. [2] X Research source
There are still some Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainists out there who practice yoga with a guru/yogi to engage in prayer or religious rituals. That’s a far cry from what happens at most gyms and yoga studios these days, though.
If you’re in a class or doing a video tutorial and you’re asked to visualize something, repeat a mantra, or open yourself up to an energy, that’s a red flag that what you’re doing goes beyond just fitness.
Again, it’s not super easy to come to this conclusion for most Christians. Still, if it feels that way in your heart, don’t do yoga.
One way to think about this is that if you do yoga while reciting a Christian prayer, in an effort to keep your body pure for the Lord, or simply as a way to get in the right headspace before church, you are engaging in godliness.
Just as a note, yoga and meditation don’t really have anything to do with one another, outside of the fact that both practices are popular with Hindus.
Based on this homily, it seems like Pope Francis leaves the door open for Catholics to perform yoga, so long as they don’t use it as a substitution for actual worship. The comparison he makes to catechism is interesting. Catechism is a decidedly Catholic practice, and putting yoga on the same level seems to imply that it’s okay if you remain a devout Catholic.
Remember, if you follow a guide or take a class and people start asking you to open yourself to energies, chant a mantra, or visualize something, it’s time to stop just to be safe. Trust your instinct here. If you think God wouldn’t be happy with you doing yoga, don’t do it. If it doesn’t feel like there’s anything wrong with yoga, go for it!
