Explore our Writers’ Perspectives
Yoga as Sabbath
Sabbath teaches that each week has a rhythm of work and rest. Taking a day a week is a little bit like savasana, restoration pose, at the end of a yoga class.
Can a Christian Practice Yoga? My perspective.
This beautiful and ancient gift of yoga was never meant to be exclusive, belonging to one person or a specific group of individuals; that in itself would be “un-yogic.” Yoga is inclusive, meaning that all are welcome no matter what walk of life you come from.
Yoga the Broomtree
This desert has precious little shade. If you’re caught out in the desert in the afternoon, shade can mean your survival.
Yoga, Greek Poets, and the Apostle Paul
One of the Bible verses most often quoted in regards to why Christians practice yoga is Acts 17:28: “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” What we don't usually talk about is that this verse did not originally refer to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul is quoting the Greek poet Epimenides, who is actually talking about Zeus.
Interview with Seva Award Winner Joanne Spence
One of our long-time members, Joanne Spence, is one of the Seva Award nominees. Joanne is the founder of Yoga in Schools in Pittsburgh, PA, where she has been providing yoga therapy to students, teachers, and mental health patients for over ten years.
In anticipation of September’s Yoga Journal, we interviewed Joanne to get a sneak peek into her yoga journey.
Breathing and the Valley of the Dry Bones
It's like a passage from The Return of the King, when Aragorn commands the army of the dead to fight for him. Except that instead of a green and ghastly army, this army is vibrantly alive, resurrected with the breath of God.
from Déchanet's letters to Thomas Merton on Contemplation
Hungry Bodies, Hungry Souls: What does Yoga have to offer to Christians?
As a young Christian I was taught to spend time each morning to read the Word of God, pray, and be quiet as the spiritual foundation of each day. No one mentioned bringing the body into that quiet time. Physical exercise was not something my Christian teachers would have mentioned. Important, maybe, but not on a similar plane to the spiritual disciplines.
Passage Meditation Technique
Passage meditation has helped deepen my intimacy with Christ and his Word, and continues to assist me in my slow, grace-led growth in holiness.
Experiencing the Promise of Sabbath: Balancing Mind, Body & Spirit
While searching for the meaning of Sabbath I found the spiritual practice of yoga. It has been a perfect marriage. While still foreign to many American Christians,
Christian Yoga: The Lost Teachings of Jean-Marie Déchanet
Know what you know and feel what you feel...
Finding Christ Through Yoga
I teach Christ-centered yoga because I want to share the transformative power of moving prayers with my communities of faith.
Jean-Marie Déchanet: the Father of Christian Yoga
If you search for "Christian" and "yoga" in a library database or Google, you'll inevitably run across a book called Christian Yoga by Fr. Jean-Marie Déchanet. Originally published in French in 1956, Christian Yoga is one of the oldest books available considering the intersection of yoga and Christianity, and in many ways, Fr. Déchanet became the Father of today's movement of Christians practicing yoga.
So who was Fr. Déchanet?
In Which We Discuss the Relationship between Asana and Meditation
Yoga in the service of meditative prayer expresses a balance between the horizontal and vertical dimensions.