One of my youth leaders introduced me to a Hot Yoga class, bikram specifically. They'd been bugging me for a while to try it and I kept putting it off but lately I had been getting the question is Yoga ok or is it a more worldly way to worship other gods? SO.... wanting to answer with understanding of going myself and for simple fun with some of my youth leaders I went.
It was 90 minutes long and wow it was INTENSE! Seriously. It was hard, but good. Anyways here's what happens to me in that setting. My mind is supposed to stay focused on the poses and to rest and relax. lol! Well that's the furthest thing it's doing. It's really really hot in the room and by the end literally you are drenched with sweat. It gets so hot at one point near the end I can barely breathe let alone do a pose. So in my mind I find myself silently begging the instructor that she would open the windows just an inch to let in some air. But to no avail. Then I have this physical and spiritual revelation of the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man begging from hell to Abraham, " Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire." Luke 16:24. I encourage you to read Abraham's response in the following verse. Look it up.
I'm having this thought, that I have water and freedom to leave, but a moment sets in in my distress of heat and pain, that when we enter eternity those that reject God now will live forever in that isolation and extreme heat. And there will never be anyone to open the window for them. Wow... this desperation made me feel theirs in that moment and I felt overwhelming sadness that life is a reality. What are doing with it before it's too late. I also looked around the class filled with such order and peacefulness. Everyone so vulnerable in nothing but tanks and shorts, dripping sweat, hair pasted to their heads, lying down in complete submission to the leader. Complete peacefulness. I thought, wow... we don't even honor God really in this same devotion and stillness, we seldom bend a knee let alone lie face down on a hard floor. We can barely pray for 5 min. Don't get me wrong... I loved the order and stillness... I was racking my brain trying to think how I could incorporate this with prayer and meditation... lol. You know I'm not kidding. :)
Also the respect given to the teacher in complete obedience and effort to succeed despite the heat. Do we do this in our spiritual journey? Do I listen and trust my teacher (our Lord) with such devotion. Even when troubles and ailments of heat being turned up around me, do I press on to finish well, staying focused? Or do I roll up my mat and leave? No one left. No one dared. It was powerful to me.
I was also looking to see for myself in this class if I was pulled by any other spiritual forces or felt as if I was submitting to something evil as some wondered? I think it really depends on the yoga class and specifically the instructor. There are so many different kinds and I can't comment on all of them, but this one specifically was fine. They simply talk about the pose and then are completely silent. It was really no different than the most intense stretching class than I've ever been in in my life. Now again, I KNOW that it's not the same for all yoga classes. And you do need to be really careful. Don't give the enemy a foothold and it's the spiritual forces that are at war. I would encourage you to pray about it God will show you with conviction if you're in the class and it doesn't feel right. Honor Him and don't participate. If you still aren't sure invite a godly woman you know and respect to join you for one class to see what she says.
You see before I went into it I seriously prayed for a great protection of His Spirit, His armor over me, not knowing what I was going in to. God honors this.
As a teacher for God, I can sit and point fingers and say it's wrong but if I can't speak with an understanding to the specifics what good is that to my listeners? I want to be a great teacher of life in all things for His Glory. One that doesn't just talk about it but lives it. That all would know now... there is only one way to escape the heat of hell. That is Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
And when you give your heart to Him and He begins to live in you and love you. And you open your heart to trusting this love things in you begin to change and it's glorious!
So much so, that I can honestly say to put the list of sorrows from hell in order, to me it wouldn't be the intense heat, lake of fire, complete darkness, utter agony and pain, isolation, or even maggots eating away to me... although, that stuff is awful!! To me it would be the absolute absence of God and His presence forever. Even the thought of that in this moment makes me fill up. To not have Him forever... we have no idea what that will mean and I believe it is then that He will need to wipe the tears from our eyes as we see those we long to know the way that have rejected Him banished forever. May we reach in new ways to all those around us while we can, as our life is short. We are called to share this good news that there is a way of life for eternity!
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