Hi Lovelies,
So I actually had a conversation with one of my followers who brought a heavy topic to my attention.
They asked me, “Well I see you practice yoga but you are a woman of faith so how does that work?”
I was taken back by this question at first I really didn’t know how to respond. I had to talk to my mom who reassured me that there was nothing wrong with the practice.
But I still had this thought in my head like is yoga really a sin?
I’ve always held God in a high place in my heart and my Christianity is apart of who I am. For those of you who follow me, you know how important faith is to me.
It has been instilled in me since birth. Many of you who are religious also know that there are some who believe you can’t practice yoga because it goes against our religion.
This person I spoke with claimed that there are other exercises I could try that don’t involve Hinduism. Mind you Hinduism is both monotheistic and henotheistic (belief in one God without denying the existence of other Gods).
This person had lost their faith a few times and found their way back to God.
Personally it took me some time to realize that it is their journey and belief and not my own to discern what is sinful and what is not.
Do you know how many yoga poses or Asanas there are? There are 84 yoga poses in existence.
Many yoga poses and modifications of poses are imbedded into modern fitness practices like Pilates and gymnastics and even something as simple as touching your toes can be labeled as a forward fold.
Joseph Pilates the creator of Pilates workouts actually combined western fitness practices with eastern fitness practices which included yoga, tai chi, and martial arts.
Movements like such as splits, handstands, deep backbends are involved in gymnastics and yoga while the barrier to get into gymnastics is more difficult.
You are completely entitled to your own opinion but it is my understanding that the only difference between these practices is the intentions you set.
If your goal is to improve your balance and flexibility and relieve stress that’s great and if your goal is to worship God during a vinyasa that’s great too!
The bottom line is yoga is for "every body."
I don’t know about you but I’d rather not let anyone else’s beliefs limit what I am capable of achieving.
And before you ask, yes I also do pilates and H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training), cycling, strength training, and dance fitness. But I also love doing yoga.
I have done yoga at the gym, at home, at school, at the beach, and even tried goat yoga!
When I do it I focus on the movement and my overall well-being nothing else but that’s just me. I practice meditation and most of you know I love focusing on breath-work.
I was speaking with a friend who asked me about my meditation and I told them how I use it to calm my anxiety, reduce stress, and become one with God in my mind, heart, body and spirit.
My friend also agreed that nowadays it’s like you can’t even meditate or breathe without disobeying God.
And it’s honestly sad that many Black Christian women and men feel this way.
Like you “can’t even breathe?”
It is in my heart that we cannot continue to live in bondage and be psychologically oppressed but adapt body liberation instead.
So I say this again with my chest and for the people in the back YOGA IS FOR EVERY BODY!
How you choose to take this statement is up to you.
I am proud to say I challenge myself to do yoga to improve my well-being. I used an app called FitOn which is free to download and this is in no way sponsored.
Just thought I'd share for those who are interested.
After years of doing yoga on and off again, I am in no position to stop now.
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This was an interesting read. When I first started doing yoga, my dad said it was sinful and that anything spiritual or mindfulness related was bad. He even called me a spiritual narcissist once! I just told him I wasn't going to stop doing something I really loved. It took me about 7 years to fully accept him for who he is, but I never stopped doing yoga. I've been drawn to yoga for as long as I can remember, even as a kid. I'm not going to stop just because someone thinks it's a sin.