The hell is wrong with yoga??? It is a awsome self weight exercise and cardio program. Better for you than running.
Yoga originated as meditative practice in Hinduism with some spiritual goals that are a bit more than just the more generic “mindfulness” you might find in your typical modern fitness class.
(It’s also found in Buddhism and Jainism,)
The physical stretches and poses are great for healthy, low intensity exercise; and meditation is a thing that exists basically in every religious flavor you’d like; so it’s certainly possible to make even a “fundie-approved” version, but eh. Good luck with that.
Ultimately it could have been lumped into “other beliefs”,
Los of churches actually have “Christian Yoga” classes which, oddly enough, is usually just the exercise with nothing religous about it.
It’s this word thing where they show how something beneficial can work without involving spirituality.
I remember way back in the day. middle school late 90’s, maybe. MTG was “the devil” or something, so somebody found us an alternative that involved bible heroes and verses.
it was a terribly unfun game with a lousy system for winning, and I think I knew exactly one kid who had a deck with it; though he just put the cards over his MTG cards to hide the fact that he played MTG (yes. the pastor’s kid was a really bad influence.)
Don’t try to understand the mind of a fundie christian.
I’ve heard sermons that claimed “psychology” was a religion. Their problem with yoga is similar. (It has connections to hinduism. At least that’s part of it.)
A lot of megachurches have classes/programs that are almost exactly yoga, but by a different name. The name they give it escapes me.
Hell. There are shops on Amazon that sell yoga stuff (mats, balls, shorts, whatever) without calling it “yoga” balls or “yoga” mats so christians don’t feel sinful buying it.
And yes, they’re just retailers buying yoga gear wholesale (or drop-ship or whatever) and listing it without using the word “yoga.”
Edit: Googling to find if there’s a common name for the christian version of yoga, I found this god-awful thing.
‘‘Don’t get sucked into this horrible devil religion that Yoga is! Instead, Take My copywriten and trade marked program instead. good news, for a fee we can train YOU to be a certified bottom of the pyramid scheme block so you can teach ‘‘downward facing GOD IS LOVE’’ to your local collection of suckers, saps, rubes, and marks!!’’
The term “yoga” in Hindu practice refers to a lot more than just the physical exercises. The idea that one just goes to a yoga studio for workouts doesn’t mesh with traditional practice at all. There’s a lot of spiritual components that get left out by the upper middle class white women who run studios.
