s yoga sinful or against Christian teachings?

I have never been comfortable with the attraction of some Western Catholics and other Christians for methods of prayer from Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Although the Philippines is part of Asia, it’s Christian tradition came from the West. Buddhism and Hinduism have never had strong roots in the country. I don’t know very much about contemplative prayer in Islam.

The Catholic Church has many traditions of prayer, including contemplative prayer. We can mention the Benedictine tradition, for example, Carmelite spirituality, Ignatian spirituality and many more. Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians have a strong monastic tradition.

Yoga, insofar as I know anything about it, seems to emphasize certain physical positions. We have traditional positions for praying, especially kneeling. During Mass we stand, sit and kneel. We also had traditions that were very strong before and marked us as a special group such as fasting, especially during Lent, and abstaining from meat on Fridays. (The former Spanish Empire, including the Philippines was exempted from the latter). I think we have lost something important by more or less abandoning those.

I have never been very impressed by those who profess to be Christians but ask us to admire the religious practices of other faiths while neglecting their own. There are different viewpoints on Catholics using yoga. My own tendency is to stay away from it. As a Catholic I have the Bible, the Word of God, the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Seven Sacraments, the rich prayer traditions and spirituality coming from St Benedict, St Ignatius, St Teresa of Avile, St Thérèse of Lisieux, and so on. I can sit, stand and kneel while praying formally. I can walk while praying informally. I can pray while travelling in the bus, on a plane or ship or wherever. I really don’t see any need for something esoteric such as yoga, which is associated with a faith where Jesus Christ, God who became Man, has no place.