Question: Do you have any information about yoga that would be helpful to my son who is going to give an informational speech about the dangers of yoga from a physical and emotional perspective?

Answer: These definitions, written from an occult perspective, show what yogic teachers believe about their practice. Notice that yoga is not spiritually neutral. Nor can the physical exercises be totally separated from its spiritual roots:

YOGA - 1. Sanskrit yoga, "union"; to join together) a philosophy that teaches the union between one's self and the one source; oldest science known today, and discipled way of life to those who practice it; objective is to attain at-one-ness with the divine spiritual essence within man;

2. (Vedic) union of the individual soul with the GODHEAD; methods are taught on how to harness the mind to the universe;

3. (Upanishads) lessons on how to make the CONSCIOUS MIND and five SENSES stand still by holding them back, which leads to a more satisfying life;

4. most common types of yoga are: RAJA and HATHA; other schools are: BHACTI (buctee), JNANA, KARMA, MANTRAM, LAYA.[1]  

YOGA. Sanskrit yoga meant to link, join, or unite, like the English derivative "yoke."  It was the term for sexual union between the Tantric sadhu and his yogini, or Shakti, in imitation of the  union between Kali and Shiva (Hindu goddess and god).  As Kali's consort, Shiva bore the title of "Lord of Yoga."

The practice of yoga was supposed to develop magic powers collectively called siddhi - in northern Europe, sidh or seidr, "magic."  The fully developed sage could walk on water, change base metals to gold, understand all languages, heal diseases, cast out demons, and so on. The Moors called such a person a sidi, "hero." In the myth cycles of Moorish Spain, the title itself became a name of the greatest known hero, El Cid.[2] 

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In A Twist of Faith (chapter 4), Tantric or Kundalini yoga is explained and compared to contemporary witchcraft:

"Wiccan leader Starhawk -- founder of the Covenant of the Goddess -- spreads the lures of pagan empowerment to Christian groups and seminaries as well as covens. As a witch, she teaches the timeless rituals of earth-centered spirituality. Yet her power is no different than the impersonal Hindu "prana" power taught at the Re-imagining conference. In fact, Starhawk's words seem to echo those of the Korean theologian Chung Hyun Kyung. "Relax and feel yourself rooted in the earth," she tells a counselee. "Feel the energy enter.... move up through your body... up past your head, your Third Eye....out the top of your head."

"Church  counselors who use similar formulas for healing may call this energy "the Holy Spirit" or "Jesus."  Christian labels make these rituals acceptable. Once they are introduced to a church, few realize that they match Starhawk's seven steps up the spine to the Third Eye as well as what Hindu and Buddhist teachers call kundalini -- the feminine force of tantric yoga.

"The original kundalini ritual shed its harsh disciplines and deadly practices when it was introduced to Western seekers who preferred a tamer version. Soon it blended right into all the other pantheistic practices that "empower" modern feminists and holistic healers.

"'The Chinese ch'i, the Hindu prana, and the Hawaiian mana [remember the mana song at the re-imagining conference] are clearer terms for the idea of an underlying vital energy that infuses, creates, and sustains the physical body," says Starhawk.""  This "energy is... central to magic." It "can be molded, directed and changed.... It is the basis for Chinese acupuncture and Hindu yoga, as well as psychic healings, worldwide."

"Energy we can mold and direct. That fits the bill. Like Tracy, feminists have found the key to power on their own terms: cosmic energy -- earthy power that becomes power from within. Goddess/Me, Me/Goddess. Power that will accomplish 'my' will.

"No lie pleases Satan more! He doesn't mind humoring seekers long enough to bring them into his domain.....

"When Christians begin to follow the advice of yogic counselors, they open the door to a spiritual domain that doesn’t separate the physical from the spiritual. Read Deuteronomy 18:9-13, then prayerfully consider the words of Psalm 1:1-3. Notice the three progressive steps in the first verse, and remember that a Christian who... 

• follows a pagan counselor,

• will stand with others who reject God’s Word,

• and will eventually mock or scorn both God and His followers.

But to those who choose to follow God without compromise, He promises peace and strength to triumph no matter how hard the battle:

“Blessed is the man --

     Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

     Nor stands in the path of sinners,

     Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.”  Psalm 1:1-3

References:

1. June G. Bletzer, The Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary (Virginia Beach: The Donning Company,1986), page 694.

2. Barbara Walker, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983), page 1097.

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