Yoga is Demonic? [Spirituality & Religion]

A view held by many conservative Christians is that yoga is "demonic". Without discrediting the argument with the "all religion is fake" counterclaim, can you give your position on the topic and why?

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LadyGrace

There seems to be much confusion in this forum about this subject. That is not meaning you, personally. Satan is the author of confusion. The Bible mentions the words "meditate" and "meditation" 20 times (18 in the Old Testament and 2 in the New Testament). However, it is important to differentiate between what the Bible means when it speaks of meditation, versus what is generally called meditation today.

The meditation that most people speak about and practice today has its roots in Hinduism. This form of meditation (often practiced in various forms of yoga) is self-centered (meaning, looking inward). Its ultimate goal is to better oneself and become united with the "ultimate or higher reality." The practitioner is told to assume various postures, repeat a certain mantra, control his breathing, empty his mind, etc... [i]in order to reach this goal and attain salvation[/i].

Now, on the other hand, what the Bible calls meditation is the complete opposite. Biblical meditation is [u]God-centered[/u] (looking outward and upward to God) (Ps 63:6)(Ps 77:12)(Ps 143:5) and primarily focused on His Word (Ps 119:15,23,48,78,148). In the Old Testament, where "meditation" is mentioned the majority of the time in the Bible (especially in the Psalms), two different Hebrew words are used: "hagah" meaning "to murmur, moan, growl utter, speak" and "siyach meaning "to ponder."

I believe if any Christian is confused, the absolute way to reverse that, is to seek answers in the truth of His Word...on any subject. We must be careful of our sources.