Question: Is there
any reason for a Christian to be concerned about doing Pilates
exercises?
Answer: Our research
has shown a significant link between Pilates and yoga. In fact,
according to the Pilates Method Alliance, the founder, Joseph Pilates,
based his exercise program on “yoga, Zen and ancient Greek and Roman
physical regimens:
Around 1914, Joseph Pilates was a
performer and a boxer living in England and, at the outbreak of WWI, was
placed under forced internment along with other German nationals in
Lancaster, England. There he taught fellow camp members the concepts and
exercises developed over 20 years of self-study and apprenticeship in
yoga, Zen, and ancient Greek and Roman physical regimens. It was at this
time that he began devising the system of original exercises known today
as “matwork”, or exercises done on the floor. He called this regimen
“Contrology.”
In his book, Psychic Forces and Occult Shock,
John Weldon says this about yoga:
The physical exercises of Yoga are designed to prepare
the body for the psycho-spiritual change vital to inculcating this idea
in to the consciousness and being of the person. Hence, talk of
separating Yoga practice from theory is meaningless. Those who do Yoga
exercises alone run the risk of spiritual warfare entering their lives.
Startling confirmation of the non-Christian
spiritual nature of yoga came to us via email from a staff member at the
Classical Yoga Hindu Academy. This individual wrote:
We have been wondering when some Christians would wake
to the Yoga/Hindu connection. How is that “yoga” has crept into
innumerable institutions?
While we would strongly disagree (and challenge you) on
the evils of Yoga/Hinduism, as Hindus we are just as upset that our
sacred Yoga teachings and practices have been divorced from our
religion.
Further caution regarding the dangers of yoga comes
from the book Occult ABC by Dr. Kurt Koch. Dr. Koch says,
There are many Christians who believe that it is
possible to participate in the first stage of Yoga without harm. It is
merely a matter of relaxation exercises. This technique of relaxation
and those emptying exercises so highly spoken of by the Yogis lead to
the inflowing of another spirit…. All Christians who are allowing
themselves unsuspectingly to be led astray into Yoga should take note of
Galatians 5:1: “Be
imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children….”
Because of this Yoga/Hindu connection to Pilates, we cannot recommend
this particular exercise program to Christians.
You
may also find it helpful to read several articles on Yoga at our website
(www.johnankerberg.org)
including this one: “Yoga Theory and Practice: Separable? Part 1
http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/new-age/NA1201W1.htm
