Make Yoga Weird Again

Catholic Alternatives to anti-Christian exercise

When I was young, yoga was not the mainstream fitness staple that it is today. The spiritual aspect of the practice was more intact and retained a healthy bit of the self-limiting oddness factor. “Everybody” wasn’t doing it and every doctor wasn’t recommending it. I enjoyed meditating, watching family members do head stands, and occasionally trying the poses in my kids illustrated guide, but I was not at all interested in the level of physical discomfort (and contortions) required.

As an older teen, I was quite active but perceived yoga to be for middle-aged women involved in New Age spiritual practices. I was also heavily invested in New Age but was still a teen with an interest in not being perceived as weird. I wanted to be spiritually enlightened without the hippie part. The women wore big amulets. Their male counterparts wore hemp sandals. Not judging—and not at all a dig at cool sandals. My daughter once called me a Catholic hippie and I knew what she meant and it’s fine. I’m generalizing to illustrate what my cultural perspective was at the time. I loved sports and fitness. Yoga just wasn’t that cool yet.

I inevitably found my way back to yoga as a physically beneficial practice and then left it again after repeated joint injury, making a final departure as a committed Catholic when I discovered its unbreakable bond to occult spirituality.

Yoga has now become so popular and pervasive that even mainstream medical doctors are recommending it as a part of healthy lifestyle. Many Christians have embraced it and modified it and baptized it. Because I spend so much time in the world of natural healing, I see references to it almost daily. Seems like there’s an unspoken consensus that this is THE way to manage mental and physical stress.

I disagree.

Yoga is not only spiritually compromising but also contains some unhealthy physical aspects including unsafe poses and breathing patterns which are rooted in spiritual practices and not exercise science. I know some will want to discuss this so I’ll direct you to resources in an article I wrote about my experience studying to be a Pietra Fitness instructor HERE.

I have also been involved in the SoulCore apostolate for almost two years and I can say with confidence that there are ways to glorify God and heal the body without connection to the occult. These two resources are excellent and have brought me closer to Christ, peace of mind, and bodily healing.

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Pietra Fitness

I am currently in training to become a Pietra Fitness instructor and find the program truly rooted in a solid foundation of Catholicism with a deliberate and specific detachment from the spiritual practices of yoga. The physical exercises used in Pietra Fitness classes are designed to increase your flexibility, develop your muscle and core strength, and increase your range of motion, posture, and stability… without occult roots. If you’re interested in reading more about the program and why it is not yoga, please check out my recent article:

Pietra Fitness: A Catholic Response to Yoga

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SoulCore

I am a SoulCore leader and can verify that it is not yoga. Nor do the founders consider it a yoga alternative since it was created on its own merits and structure. SoulCore is an apostolate that intentionally engages the whole person in the sacred experience of the rosary. Integrating the prayers of the rosary with core strengthening, stretching and functional movements to nourish body & soul and encourage deeper reflection on the virtues. A gentle path to grow in virtue and cultivate interior peace. You can search for classes local to you or try out their online studio HERE.

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I know some of you are involved with yoga and this is not a dig at you or your level of goodness. It is an invitation to consider another way. You can be well without recourse to an exercise rooted in anti-Christian spirituality.

Some others will object to any movement which has a resemblance to or “feeling” of yoga. *waves at Sue Brinkmann* Though I disagree that bodily movements in themselves are dangerous, these are important concerns and I welcome the conversations.

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