00:49 Someone shared the gospel with a saved person;
01:08 Hateful Street Preacher example;
02:29 Biblical Definition of "Preach" or "Preacher" ;
06:29 Acie Burleson chimes in;
06:56 Lance Rowe says not to stand by idly!;
07:28 Monty Simpson God's love must be preached;
08:24 Corey Costelli gives a train example;
08:51 John Roush chimes in;
09:16 Mandy Stork, follow the Lord's leading;
10:24 Muslims having service inside a Christian church!;
11:05 Texas Muslim capitol day - interrupted by Christine Weick;
12:29 Preacher arrested for reading the bible at DMV;
13:39 Examining the Captive audience doctrine;
14:55 My first experience Street preaching the cops shut me down;
15:59 Jonny Gaston from Reach My City Audio;
18:17 Matthew Foutch preaches the Love of Jesus;
20:16 Brandon Hooks If we love people, tell them the truth;
21:51 Stephen Barrett from Holy Fire Japan - Be led by the Spirit;
29:24 Acts 5:27 Obey God about Preaching and not man;
30:19 Philippians 1:15 At least Christ is being preached! ;
The Christian Yoga Deception: Uncovering the Hidden Dangers
Welcome back to Coffee with Conrad! I'm your host, Conrad from ConradRocks.Net. My heart burns with a passion for you to have a deep, spiritual relationship with the biblical Jesus, the God of the Bible. The God who declared, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3, KJV), and who warned us against worshipping Him according to the ways of the heathen, saying, "Learn not the way of the heathen..." (Jeremiah 10:2, KJV).
It grieves me to see how easily we, as believers, can be led astray, sometimes even with good intentions. Today, we're diving into a topic that has become increasingly prevalent in modern church culture: Christian yoga. Is it really okay for Christians to practice yoga? Let's explore the hidden dangers lurking beneath what often seems like a harmless form of exercise.
My Journey and a Word of Warning
For those who are new to my podcast, my background is probably a bit different. I was raised in a cessationist denomination, a belief system that holds that the gifts of the Spirit ceased in the first century. However, my personal experiences painted a different picture. I encountered the supernatural firsthand, both the good and the terrifying. I experienced demonic attacks and things that science simply couldn't explain. These experiences, detailed in my book "Open Your Eyes: My Supernatural Journey," which you can find on Kindle, taught me a profound truth: the spiritual realm is real, and we must be discerning about what we allow into our lives.
One of the things I experienced early on, even as a child in a Christian home, were terrifying night terrors and even an instance where my own hand seemed to try and suffocate me while I slept. Later, dabbling in New Age practices led to even more unsettling experiences, including what some might call astral projection. It wasn't until I encountered God in 1995 and truly started pursuing Him that I understood the dangers of dabbling in Eastern religions and practices. Just as God warns in the Bible, these seemingly innocent pursuits can open doors to demonic influence.
I feel a deep responsibility to warn my people, as Revelation 18:4 (KJV) urges: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." This is why I'm addressing this topic of Christian yoga today.
The Allure and the Deception of Christian Yoga
A quick search online will reveal numerous positive posts about "Christian yoga." It's a clever marketing tactic, really – placing the word "Christian" before a clearly pagan practice. But let's be clear: yoga, at its core, is a Hindu spiritual discipline. The very word "yoga" means "to yoke" or "union" – a union with the divine in the Hindu context. It's akin to suggesting "Christian Buddhism" or a "Christian Ouija board" – the foundational principles are inherently incompatible. You can't really have a "Christian demon," can you?
The proliferation of positive content around Christian yoga often points to a financial motive. I recall reading about a pastor who spoke out against it in his 10,500-member congregation, and the local yoga instructors were up in arms, fearing the loss of their livelihood. This echoes the story of Demetrius in Acts 19, who rallied the silversmiths against Paul's teachings because they were losing money from the diminishing sales of idols of Diana.
Sadly, Christian yoga is now so widespread that it's being offered in churches, even Christian schools. A friend of mine, Kevin Riordon, shared a shocking story on Facebook about his daughter being forced to do yoga in her Christian school! This is the very environment parents entrust to nurture their children's faith, yet they are being subjected to practices rooted in another religion. This highlights a significant issue: biblical illiteracy within the church and a disregard for clear scriptural warnings.
This post goes beyond this podcast, offering video testimonies of individuals who have experienced negative consequences from yoga, podcast episodes exploring the subject in more depth, book recommendations, and links to relevant news articles. It's a hub of information for you to explore at your own pace. In this podcast, I want to highlight some key insights from these resources.
Stretching vs. Yoking: Understanding the Core Difference
One of the most common arguments in favor of Christian yoga is, "God doesn't really mind if I stretch." While stretching is a physical activity that can be beneficial for the body, it is fundamentally different from yoga. As mentioned, yoga is about "yoking" or "union" – a spiritual union within a Hindu framework.
Consider this definition: "Yoga, a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation." It's crucial to understand that the physical postures (asanas) in yoga are not merely stretches; they are often intended to pay homage to Hindu deities and invoke their specific properties.
One woman who practiced high-level occult yoga for 15 hours a day shared her harrowing experience: "I got hit with spiritual warfare... because it opens you up to a different dimension... I thought I was becoming enlightened because I was feeling good... but just because something feels good, it doesn't mean that it's coming from a good place... it truly is witchcraft." Her testimony, which you can find on my blog, details the demonic terror she endured, including waking up choking herself and experiencing suicidal thoughts.
These experiences eerily mirror some of my own from my past. In my book, I recount a time as a young boy when I felt a hand, seemingly not my own, trying to suffocate me in my sleep. This resonates deeply with the experiences of those who have unwittingly opened themselves up to negative spiritual influences through practices like yoga.
The Biblical Mandate Against Syncretism
The Bible is clear about not worshipping the Lord according to the ways of other nations. Deuteronomy 12:29-30 (KJV) warns: "When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise."
Furthermore, Exodus 20:3-5 (KJV) explicitly states: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."
When we perform Hindu yoga poses, we are contorting our bodies in ways that were originally designed to pay homage to Hindu deities. While practitioners of Christian yoga may claim they are not worshipping these gods, the origin and intent behind these postures cannot be ignored.
The Kundalini Serpent and Spiritual Awakening
Disturbingly, research suggests that the physical postures of yoga can awaken what is known as the Kundalini serpent at the base of the spine – a spiritual energy in Hindu philosophy. Once this energy ascends the spine and reaches the head, it is believed to lead to a heightened state of consciousness or enlightenment within the Hindu worldview. However, for Christians, this is a dangerous concept that aligns with Eastern mystical beliefs rather than biblical truth. You can find accounts of "Kundalini deliverance" online, highlighting the negative spiritual consequences some have experienced.
The typical progression for those who get involved in yoga often starts with the perception that it's a cool exercise with medical benefits. They may initially try to separate the physical from the spiritual aspect. However, the exposure to the environment, the instructors (who may unknowingly or knowingly be Hindu evangelists), often leads to curiosity about the spiritual side. This can act as a gateway, eventually leading to demonic oppression, as evidenced by increased suicidal thoughts, drug and alcohol abuse, and ultimately, a desperate cry out to Jesus for deliverance.
Kevin Riordan aptly described yoga as a gateway: "The devil doesn't play fair... he'll prey on a person's ignorance... he's waiting for you to open the door so he can get in." Just as some consider marijuana a gateway drug, yoga can be a gateway to Eastern spiritual practices and potential demonic influence.
Rejecting Knowledge and Generational Consequences
Hosea 4:6 (KJV) says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee..." When we reject the clear warnings in Scripture about not following the religious practices of other nations, we open ourselves and potentially our families to negative consequences.
The concept of generational curses is also relevant here. Exodus 20:5 speaks of God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. When families dabble in the occult, even unknowingly, the Bible suggests that these negative spiritual influences can be passed down through generations.
The Meaning of "Yoke" and the Invitation of Spirits
Stephen Bancarz powerfully stated, "The word yoga means Union, so I'm a Methodist, therefore I'm yoking myself to spirits." Anytime we submit to a philosophy, behavior, or practice that is contrary to God's commands and intrinsically connected to a non-biblical spiritual system, we are potentially opening ourselves to demonic oppression. Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) reminds us, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Many yoga poses are named after Hindu deities, and holding these positions is meant to invoke the characteristics and essence of those gods. Additionally, the chanting of mantras literally invokes demonic entities.
The Hindu Missionary Effort and Yoga's Role
It's eye-opening to realize the deliberate missionary efforts of Hindu organizations. India's Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the world's largest Hindu missionary organization, announced in 1979 that their mission in the West had been met with "fantastic success," with Hinduism becoming a dominant world religion and the "end of Christianity" drawing near.
Central to this effort are yoga teachers. A quote from Dave Hunt's book "Occult Invasion" and a documentary called "Gods of the New Age" both highlight that yoga teachers are considered the "front missionaries" of Hinduism. Hinduism Today, in an open letter to evangelicals, even stated in 1991 that a "small army of yoga missionaries is ready to go to the west."
With an estimated 70,000 yoga instructors in over 20,000 locations across America teaching 35 to 40 million people, the reach and influence of this Hindu missionary effort through yoga are undeniable. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, many yoga instructors are introducing people to Hindu spiritual concepts.
Testimonies and Warnings from Those Who Escaped
Numerous individuals who have come out of yoga share similar experiences of negative spiritual consequences. The term "yoke" in yoga explains the yoking of energies or spirits that are invoked to deepen the practice. These energies are invited in through poses that worship deities and through the repetition of mantras that invoke specific spirits.
Heidi St. John interviewed Jessica Smith, who came out of yoga and explained that yoga has its own doctrine, the Yoga Sutras, which is antithetical to the Bible and can be seen as a guidebook for sorcery and divination. Even the poses alone are believed to activate the spiritual realm. The yoking in yoga is about opening oneself spiritually to the spirit of yoga and ultimately seeking to become one with the Hindu concept of god – a stark contrast to the Christian understanding of our relationship with God.
Stephen Barrett from Holy Fire Japan cautioned against using yoga studios as an evangelistic outreach, noting the lack of fruit from such attempts and the potential for spiritual contamination. Denise Richards shared her personal experiences of levitation in dreams, being chased by spirits, anxiety, and depression as a result of her yoga practice. Deanna Connelly emphasized that Christian yoga is an oxymoron, akin to being a "Christian Hindu," and that even Hindus recognize the incompatibility. She warned against the attempt to manipulate the life force through yoga breathing, which takes us out from under the protection of the blood of Jesus. Johnny Gaston from Reach My City likened Christian yoga to "Christian tarot cards" or "Christian witches" – a repackaging of pagan practices that does not make them godly. He affirmed that yoga is Hinduistic and that Christians should simply stretch for physical benefit.
What do you think?
What do you think about Christians practicing yoga? Feel free to leave a comment on the blog post,
If you know someone who might be wrestling with this issue or involved in Christian yoga, please share this podcast and the blog post with them. It's crucial that we, as believers, are not deceived by practices that have roots in other religions and can potentially open doors to negative spiritual influences. Let us be discerning, rooted in the Word of God, and committed to worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth.
Thank you for joining me on Coffee with Conrad. Remember, Jesus rules! Until we meet again, dig deeper and go higher in your walk with the Lord. Amen.
