If you have ever wondered whether Christians can do yoga, you are not alone. It is one of the most common questions we hear and for good reason. Yoga did not originate in the Christian tradition, and there is a lot of confusion and fear around what it means for believers to step onto a mat.
But I believe the better question is not where something began. It is who it belongs to.
And Scripture gives us a clear answer. Everything belongs to God.
John 1:3 (NIV) says,
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
If everything that exists was created through Christ, then there is no space, no movement, no breath, no practice that stands outside of God’s creative power. Everything that exists has goodness within it because it comes from Him.
God’s Good Creation and the Ministry of Reconciliation
In 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 (NIV), Paul writes:
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
That means our work as followers of Jesus is not to abandon what has been distorted by the world. It is to join God in redeeming it.
We are agents of reconciliation.
So if yoga has been used in ways that turn hearts away from God, that does not mean we throw it out. It means we reclaim it. We restore it to what is good, true, and holy.
All truth is God’s truth.
All goodness is God’s goodness.
And all creation belongs to Him.
What “Yoga” Actually Means
The word yoga means “to yoke” or “to unite.”
In its most basic sense, yoga is about integration of body, mind, and spirit. It is a practice of becoming whole, of bringing back together what has been fragmented.
Does that sound familiar?
It should, because it echoes the words of Jesus in John 14:20 (NIV):
“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
Yoga, when practiced as a Christian, becomes a way of living into that reality. It is a way of aligning our whole selves with God. When we move, breathe, and pray, we unite body, mind, and spirit in worship. We exist fully in one moment with God in a world where it’s all too easy to exists physically in one place but mentally in many places.
This is not about another religion. It is about returning to wholeness in Christ right here, right now.
Embodied Prayer Is Biblical
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s people have always used their bodies in worship.
- Abraham fell face down before God (Genesis 17:3)
- Elijah bowed with his face between his knees in prayer (1 Kings 18:42)
- David danced before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14)
- The angels in Revelation 7:11 fell on their faces before the throne in worship
These are postures of prayer expressing humility, praise, surrender, and joy through the body.
When we bring our body into worship, we are not adding something foreign to our faith. We are reclaiming something ancient and biblical.
Practicing with Discernment
Of course, this does not mean we engage in every aspect of yoga without thought. Like everything in life, we need discernment.
Reading this very article on the internet right now requires discernment for you to look at sites that are edifying and honoring to yourself and others, and not at ones that lead to suffering or sin.
Yoga is the same way. There are ways to engage it that bring life, and there are ways that can lead us astray. The same can be said of eating, spending time with friends, intimacy, and nearly everything we do as humans.
As Christians, we are called to be thoughtful about how we practice everything. Our intention matters. We have a video about some things we avoid in yoga if you would like to learn more about how we approach this faithfully. You can find it here.
What About Yoga’s Origins?
Some people worry about practicing yoga because of its roots in other faith traditions. That is a fair concern, but it is also worth remembering that God has been redeeming and repurposing cultural expressions for His glory from the very beginning.
Paul does this in Acts 17:28 when he quotes a poem originally written about Zeus:
“For in him we live and move and have our being” (NIV).
Paul did not avoid the language or ideas of his culture. He used them as a bridge to reveal the truth of God.
The same happens throughout Scripture. When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham already knew what a sacrifice was. That did not come from a uniquely “Hebrew” practice, it was common in the ancient world. God met him and all of Israel in the Old Testament law in the cultural language of the time and reformed it into something redemptive.
If everything was created by God, nothing truly originates apart from Him.
So rather than rejecting something because it has been misused, we are invited to discern and redeem it, restoring it to its created goodness.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga in Scripture
Yoga includes what are known as the “eight limbs”, a framework for holistic living that integrates body, breath, ethics, and meditation. And while the language may be different, the truth behind each one can be found in Scripture (NIV):
- Yama (ethical discipline) – “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31)
- Niyama (personal discipline) – “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16)
- Asana (posture) – “Honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:20)
- Pranayama (breath) – “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4)
- Pratyahara (withdrawal) – “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)
- Dharana (focus) – “Fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2)
- Dhyana (meditation) – “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises” (Psalm 119:148)
- Samadhi (union with God) – “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4)
None of this replaces Scripture. It simply helps us embody what we already believe, making our faith something we live and move through, not just something we think about.
So, Can Christians Do Yoga?
Yes.
Because everything good belongs to God, and everything can be redeemed for God’s glory.
Christian yoga is not about worshiping another god or gods. It is about worshiping the one true God with our whole being: body, mind, and spirit. And it’s about experiencing the full life God created you for.
It is a space of prayer, reflection, and restoration.
A place to breathe deeply, stretch faithfully, and meet God in the body you have been given.
Your body is not a barrier.
It is a place of worship.
