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Yoga was my gateway into idolatry. At first, I thought it was just stretching exercise; I had no idea I was stepping into a religious system that worships false gods. The studio was adorned with statues and images of Hindu and Buddhist deities, and each pose - though marketed as fitness - was actually a bodily offering to a so-called god. The deeper I went into yoga, the more I invited these idols into my life. My home slowly filled with statues, paintings, incense, and mantras devoted to these so-called “gods” and “goddesses.” But thanks be to the one true God, who rescued me from that darkness. He opened my eyes, forgave my sins, and delivered me from the bondage of idolatry and polytheism. In seminary, I learned what Scripture plainly teaches: there are no other gods. The spiritual realm is real, but it consists only of God, His angels, and demons. The “gods” I once honored were either demons masquerading as divine beings, or lifeless inventions of the human imagination. The Bible could not be more clear: “Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols.” Psalm 97:7 “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.” Psalm 96:5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;” Isaiah 45:5 “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” Psalm 115:4-8 I once bowed before idols; now I bow before the Lord alone. There is only one God, and He will not share His glory with another. Our purpose is to glorify God, and we are commanded to not worship other gods or have idols. Yet yoga is all about making our body into the image of other gods. This is not just stretching, and anyone who is honest about taking a yoga class where their posture was corrected by the yoga teacher, will admit that these are not natural stretches. Each yoga pose is specifically designed to mimic and glorify a Hindu deity. For example, the Warrior 1, 2 & 3 poses in the Sun Salutation Series, are literally the pose of the Hindu Warrior god, Virabhadra. The Sanskrit name for Warrior Pose is Vīrabhadrāsana. Asana means “pose” - so Vīrabhadrāsana means posing as Virabhadra - an incarnation of Shiva - who murdered the yagna (fire sacrifice) of Dakshas, the son of Brahma. When you do the Warrior Pose in a yoga class during the Sun Salutation Series, you are acting out this murder scene. We are commanded to glorify God with our bodies - not to use our bodies to pose as a pagan deity. How is it glorifying to our one true God, to use our bodies to mimic a Hindu god? We cannot redeem pagan practices. The passages about meat being acceptable in 1 Corinthians after it has been prayed over in pagan temples, does not give us liberty to use our bodies for idolatry to pagan gods. Yoga is not analogous to the redeemed meat; it is analogous to the pagan temples and pagan prayers. Believers are also warned not to engage in pagan practices if it could cause someone else to stumble. Well, if professing Christians engage in yoga classes (including “holy yoga), a new believer may stumble. That person may think yoga is fine, and end up at a secular yoga studio which are filled with statues and symbols of polytheism. “Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” Romans 14:20-21 “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” 1 Corinthians 8:1 How to Avoid New Age & New Thought Deception a.co/d/0DDm3SQ