Yoga and Christianity: Are They Really in Conflict?

Nearly 30 years ago, soon after I moved to North Devon from London, I started teaching yoga in the local Salvation Army hall and soon encountered a problem. Apparently, some of the churchgoers complained that yoga was a cult, and my class was kicked out of the hall after just a few weeks.

I was pretty annoyed, so I wrote to the local newspaper. They contacted me and ran a piece the following week. To my great surprise, it made the front page — and even the billboard outside the newsagents.

The next day, I was inundated with phone calls from national news outlets. By the end of the week, I had been interviewed on radio and TV, and featured in national newspapers. (I was even one of the topics on The News Quiz on Radio 4 that week.)

I also received a lot of personal correspondence. The local post office delivered letters addressed simply to “Japanese yoga teacher, Bideford”. Most were supportive, but some included leaflets claiming that yoga was “the devil’s work”.

Fast forward nearly 25 years to just before the Covid pandemic, when I needed to find a new venue in the next town. One of the Anglican churches I contacted again refused to let their space for a yoga class.

By this time, I was a pro. I casually sent a quick email to the local paper — and here we go again. The same thing happened. This time the reaction was even bigger, perhaps because yoga is now mainstream. I was even interviewed on Radio 2 on the Jeremy Vine Show. Having been through it once before, I knew what to expect. I felt more detached, and honestly, more amused by the reactions. Thankfully, many people came out to defend yoga.

Not long after, a subtler but similar incident occurred. When I was enquiring about hiring a hall from a local Methodist church, the secretary quietly said that yoga was fine — but I shouldn’t teach meditation. (!!)

I don’t take these incidents personally anymore, but I do think it’s very sad.

Of course, these experiences have been rare. Over 30 years of teaching, I’ve taught in many church halls. (In fact, my teacher training took place in a Baptist church hall in North London.) I’ve even had a vicar in my class — she once changed into her dog collar straight after class to conduct a funeral — as well as other members of the clergy, and even a church theologian!

One person told me that their church hall is used weekly by a Sikh group for worship, and their vicar fully supports people of different faiths using the space. Another shared that they met a Hindu family on holiday in Greece who attended the local Greek Orthodox church on Sunday, saying, “God is the same whether you worship in a church or a temple.”

We already live in a deeply divided world. Why do we need churches and religions to divide us even more? Don’t all religions teach love, kindness and tolerance?

I love this quote by Sathya Sai Baba:

There is only one religion, the religion of Love;

There is only one language, the language of the Heart;

There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity;

There is only one God; He is omnipresent.