Was Jesus a Yogi?

Yesterday I read this really interesting article on Yahoo! about a Southern Baptist leader in Kentucky who has made a bit of a stink about members of his church practicing yoga. Oddly enough, while at work the other day I overheard one of the yoga instructors talking to a guy about teaching yoga at his church and she was trying to convince him there is nothing Satanic about the practice. Unless my studies of world religions are inaccurate, the last time I checked there is nothing incredibly spooky about yoga except maybe the ridiculous flexibility some practitioners gain through consistent practice.

All joking aside, the yoga that exists in the United States is really just a watered-down blend of ancient Eastern traditions that predate common era by about 1,500 years. It is important to understand that "yoga" is not a religion like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Yoga holds several meanings in different contexts, the two of which are most relevant to our discussion now which are "union" and "discipline". In Eastern traditions the goal of yoga is to transcend the limited concept of "me" or "self" and realize the larger self or the divine within. So far to me that sounds beautiful, not Satanic. There is a large emphasis on the arduous discipline of calming the mind in such a way that we awaken to the presence of divinity within and around us always. In spiritual terms, this is the goal of yoga. Due to the emphasis of yoga being placed on calming, controlling and sharpening one's own awareness, it clearly is an asset to ANY spiritual practice no matter what dogma one has assigned themselves to.

Maybe it is just me, but the spiritual implications of ancient yoga sound pretty appealing. Even if we toss aside the idea of awakening to our own divinity, the watered down commercialized version of yoga most of us do here in America holds remarkable physical, mental and emotional benefits. The combination of a calming environment, deliberate physical poses and conscious breathing create the perfect elixir for alleviating some of America's most rampant ailments: an aching body and an over-stressed mind. It is my recommendation as a fitness professional, a person who deals with people all day long and one who does yoga on a weekly basis that we all give yoga a shot. Whether you're a Christain, Muslim, Jewish, Taoist, Buddhist, Hindu, Shinto, Agnostic, Atheist or whatever else you want to call yourself, you can reap the wellness benefits of yoga and if you're lucky, you might have a shift in your consciousness.

Oh yeah, and to answer the question in the title: look up The Four Margas and tell me if Jesus did not embody all four paths...