Is Yoga Religious? Let's Dialogue About It

THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
By John Sheveland

WASHINGTON - Who owns yoga? That unexpected question arose last year when the Hindu American Foundation identified what it views as two serious misconceptions about yoga that are widespread in the West. The first misconception is that yoga is only about physical exercise. The second misconception is that yoga can be dissociated from Hinduism. Yoga appropriators are largely to blame for this dissociation. Can a Christian honestly and faithfully develop a yoga practice if yoga indeed has Hindu roots? (We might add that it also has Jain and Buddhist roots.) Whatever form the debate about yoga takes, let it rest on the foundation of real encounter and the reciprocity of dialogue. [link]