Interesting article. Have a read and let me know what you think? http://www.christiantoday.com/artic...il&utm_term=0_cd2c7a54cd-34eae56cae-113259257 Personally I have never practiced Yoga.
I practiced yoga for a brief period in the past. It can be divested of the Hindu philosophy that normally accompanies it. and, as an exercise, it has much to recommend it. Like many of the martial arts of Japan and China, the culture which produced yoga attached some spiritual ideas, but they are not necessary to practice it. One doesn't have to be a Taoist or a Buddhist to learn Tai Chi or Shaolin styles of Kung Fu.
I agree with Peteprint. I dont see anything wrong with yoga's stretching exercises. I think its important with these things to remember the Gregorian missional method which is unique to Anglicanism. Pope Gregory the Great, in his Letter to the Abbot Miletus, urged the him to abandon the practice of destroying pagan temples utterly. Instead he believed that the worship centers could "be converted from the worship of devils to the service of the true God". I think that should be our guiding light here. If there are pagan practices that have something beneficial to them we should redeem what is redeemable in them. There is a christianized yoga program that is practiced at a local church called "Holy Yoga". Here is a link for more information: https://holyyoga.net Understand this is not an endorsement of the program. I do not practice it and have not reviewed it except at a very cursory level. I just wanted to show that there are christians who have found a way to practice yoga techniques without having to compromise their religious scruples.
The idea of clearing the mind and imbuing it with stillness has a long history in the Christian tradition. I doubt evil needs a quiet mind to prosper; no killers and criminals are spending time clearing their minds in the morning with prayer. Regarding Yoga and it's spiritual origins, much of what is taught today is not from the Vedic scriptures and is mostly a modern invention. This podcast explains how modern Yoga was influenced by the West's interest in physical fitness. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03zb820
In the West, "yoga" is usually taught as a physical exercise program (sometimes with some spray-on feel-good talk that is largely inoffensive). I personally have practiced it, sometimes regularly, and believe that it is a healthful practice. Sanskrit names for many of the postures are still in use, and they may sound creepily pagan or esoteric at first, but they just mean things like "side-angle pose". As far as its historical association with meditation -- well, I more or less agree with Ide. Meditation is not an invitation to demons to do anything, it is a mental discipline. And speaking strictly for myself, I have -found that the practice of what is called "meditation" or "contemplative prayer" has made me more resistant to several of the various demons of the modern world -only learned to pray sincerely after disciplining my mind through the practice of meditation. In other words, the physical exercise is probably good for anyone, and I sincerely believe that disciplining your own mind is not a religious practice but may help some to sin less and deepen their prayer.