This week I had yet another new shock to the system. While standing in line to
order a Number 3 meal at the local McDonalds®, I noticed an interesting new
promotion that is taking place. They now have Adult Happy Meal. This is pretty
cool because the kids always got some pretty neat toys. The adult meal also
comes with a prize, but I was kind of shocked when I found out what it is… a DVD
on Yoga.
Well on my bag for my Big Mac®, I found a handy URL telling me more about this
and I checked it out.
Here is what they say…
15 Minutes of Sane
Feeling stressed? Try Yoga. It helps relax the mind and rejuvenate the body
and spirit. Plus, it's great for improving flexibility.
Your exclusive McDonald's® Yourself!Fitness® Yoga DVD offers four different
15 minute workouts to help improve your mood and your energy level. You can
customize your Yoga workout by choosing a language, difficulty level and
your area of focus – flexibility, stress relief, balance or strength. (1)
The eastern thought of New Age mentality is not
only entering the burger joints of America, but it has made a strong
entrenchment in a place not as suspecting… our churches today.
Christian yoga - the marriage of the
ancient practice of exercise, breathing techniques and meditation with
Christian spirituality - is exploding in popularity. Organizations that
certify Christian yoga instructors are seeing an increase in enrollment, and
classes with an openly Christian focus are popping up in churches and
studios across the country.
Christian yoga is also a thriving business. Boon will release a Holy Yoga
DVD set later this year that has already been picked up for distribution by
the Home Shopping Network and QVC. Yahweh Yoga plans to franchise throughout
the Valley, co-founder DeAnna Smothers said. (2)
It amazes me today that so many New Age / eastern
occultist practices are entering the church today under so many guises. And you
know what; it's easy. All you have to do is slap the word “Christian” on it and
WHAMMO, its gotta be good and right with God, because it’s “CHRISTIAN.”
I have been reading many of the sites that promote Christian yoga and they fight
tooth and nail to make yoga seem ok.
The Outstretched philosophy is simple: we
believe God will bless our sincere efforts at deepening a relationship with
Him. He wants our fellowship and appreciates creative approaches to seeking
His face. This is why Outstretched is dedicated to a Christ-centered pursuit
of physical healing and spiritual growth through a practice of yoga.
This Christian approach to yoga simply allows us to combine these two
essential goals: becoming physically healthy and spiritually healthy. We
become more spiritually healthy through the yoga practice by calming our
minds and quieting ourselves to the point that we can tune out the world's
frequency and tune into God's frequency. (3)
So what is Yoga?
The word YOGA means UNION, the union of the
physical self with the spiritual self, a tricky concept to grasp. Yoga is
one of the six fundamental systems of Indian thought collectively known as
Darsana, it has it's origins in pre Vedic times, the oldest record of Indian
culture and in the view of some considered sources, believed to have arisen
at the beginning of human civilization itself.
It was not until 200 B.C. (There is uncertainty surrounding this date) that
it was organized into a system in the classic treatise The Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali which, though only a brief text of ten pages, managed to embody
the essence of practical wisdom, bearing witness to Patanjali's
transcendence. (4)
You can do more research on the origins of Yoga,
and they all say the same thing. It is a Hindu religious practice and is one of
the ORTHODOX systems of Indian thought known as Darsana. In this research you
will not find Moses bringing the practice down from a mountain top no matter how
hard you look. Yoga is an eastern religion. These people pushing some sort of
Christian form are strongly deceived. ...
In order to understand where New Ageres / eastern occultists are coming from we
must understand the heart of the movement. It is pretty simple to sum up. The
god of the New Age / eastern occultism is one where all is god and all is one.
So not only are we part of the all, the New Agers / eastern occultists believe
that we are also god. It is a form of monism and pantheism all rolled up into a
nice anything goes package. So with that said; god is good and bad, light and
dark, male and female, salt and pepper. The New Age god is an impersonal god,
that is because every rock, stick, flower, bug, person sitting next to you is
all part of god and is god.
The God of the Bible though is a loving caring personal God. He sent his son
Jesus to die on the cross for us and to atone for our sins.
Here is what God’s Word says…
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
I would encourage you to not delay in receiving Christ as you Savior today if
you have not already done so. He died for your sins, and rose from the dead. He
offers you eternal life, but that's your choice to make. I hope you will
consider doing that today.
Sinners Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I know that I am a sinner in need of a savior. I need your
forgiveness through Jesus Christ who died on the cross just for me to cover the
sins that I have committed against you. Please forgive me of my sins and come
into my heart. I want to live for you Lord Jesus and from this day forward be
known as a Child of God. Thank you for forgiving my sins and coming into my
life, in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen
If you are a Christian, but have fallen away from the Lord, come back to Him.
Our Heavenly Father is a good and loving Father. Just ask and commune with Him.
You see, He never left your side, we just left Him. Reach out and renew your
relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior today.
If I can be of any help in answering any questions, please contact me at
ray.gano@prophezine.com
Ray & Tracye Gano are the Executive Directors of Prophezine. Prophezine deals
with Bible Prophecy and World Events from a Pre-trib, pre-millennial,
dispensationalist stand point. They currently serve close to 20,000+ (and
growing) people world wide with a weekly newsletter, daily news updates,
community based website and internet radio show. Please visit Prophezine by
going to http://www.prophezine.com
Endnotes:
1 - http://mcdonalds3.promotions.com/yourselffitness/page.do?page=yoga.html
2- http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/0928ar-christianyoga28-ON.html#
3- http://www.christianyoga.us/home.htm
4 - http://www.omshop.com/aboutyoga_origin.asp