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Honestly, I don't see their point about it being bad. Before I read that, I thought of yoga as a way to stretch and relax. It seems to me, that if you think of it as that, it should be fine.

Here is the best definition of yoga that isn't completely westernized.

"The literal translation of the word yoga is "yolk" meaning unite. Yoga is the union of the various aspects of our being, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Yoga is a journey of self-discovery and ultimately union with the Divine. It is an ancient system of relaxation, exercise and healing with roots in Indian philosophy. It is not a religion, although its concepts lie at the heart of every religion."
Thats from this link:
http://www.medfinds.com/areas_of_expertise_definitions.html?definition=Hatha Yoga

When I say "westernized" I mean that in North America yoga is mainly treated as a form of relaxation and excercise but if you look at the roots of yoga based in India, that isn't really the purpose. In India yoga is associated most often with the Hindu religion and it is designed to "yolk" you with the "divine" aka the Gods and Goddesses.

It is good that you are concerned about your testimony of Christ and being a witness of His life. As Christians we have been united with God through Jesus and it doesn't take us to perform yoga to be yoked with Him. Also, some people from India(including my Christian friend) would be confused if they saw a Christian practicing yoga because of its ties with Hinduism.

I hope I wrote that all out ok. Sorry that its sort of long....in short, you probably shouldn't practice yoga. And in regards to relieving negative energy, its called sin and Christ is the only way to overcome it.

Well what is stress but fear? Some fear is logical (like for example both your parents have lost their jobs and they can't pay the bills) and some is not. Fear isn't classified directly as sin but we as Christians are called to not be afraid.

Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. - Psalm 55:22

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. - 2 Tim. 1:7

Fear can be a negative thing and it can be positive. The reason why we fear(the bad kind) things is because we believe that those things have power over us to do ill(like losing your house will put you out on the street). We are called to fear(the good kind) the Lord,to recognize that He is almighty and all powerful and to trust that in whatever we are going through, He will take care of us.

"Nothing good never comes out of fear. That fear can one day turn into hatred. Look at what happened to the Druids. They were nearly wiped out because the Early Christians feared them and their magick."

I think that when we fear things we are in belief that the thing which we are fearing has power over us. I don't think fear(or reverence) is bad, it just depends on what you are placing that in.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." Part of Psalm 111:10

You should PM me Dark Angel so we can talk about this without clogging up this thread about yoga ^_^

meditation is apparently "bad" (but depends on what type)
but i dont think yoga is..its just stretching

The Bible tells us to meditate, but to meditate on God's word.

Don't do the whole Buddhist Zen thing, because is against Christianity.

I think your mom is just worried that you might go to extremes.

I do yoga, and it is very healthy. I look for podcasts that have nothing about Zen in them at all, and I am fine.

Also, there are Christian yoga things (clubs, gyms, classes, videos... stuff like that)

You can totally do yoga.