A new fitness craze called Christian yoga is gaining a devout following, but not everyone is a believer, according to a Local 6 News report.

Local 6 News featured Christian yoga teacher Cindy Senarighi, who takes the ancient practice from India and gives it a "Bible Bent," according to Local 6 reporter Lauren Rowe.

"We do the sun salutation but we're worshipping the Son, Son Jesus Christ," Senarighi said.

However, the spiritual side of yoga is causing some controversy, Rowe said.

Subhas Tiwari, a professor at the Hindu University of America in Orlando, said Hinduism is at yoga's core. Yoga was practiced 3,000 years before the birth of Christ, mostly in India.

"If you give me a recipe and I alter the ingredients of that recipe and give it back to you, am I giving you the same thing? Clearly not," Tiwari said.

Baptist Seminarian Dr. Russell Bush goes as far as saying yoga can be dangerous, Rowe said.

"I warn people against it," Bush said. "It opens you up to the influence of something that is not Christian."

Even the Vatican said in a 1989 document that yoga can "degenerate into a cult of the body." The document was signed by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

However, millions of people practicing yoga in gyms, schools, churches and studios have found middle ground, Rowe said.

"We have people of all religions coming to our classes, we don't teach religion, we teach yoga," an instructor at Full Circle Yoga in Winter Park said.

Students of the classes may hear the Hindu names for poses like Adho Muka Svanasana translated as downward facing dog. But, the spiritual connection made during a yoga class is up to the individual, according to the report.

Doctors said yoga can lower blood pressure, improve digestion, increase strength and flexibility and help you lose weight and get a good night of sleep.

Yoga also teaches reflection through meditation, which in some form, has been practiced by leaders of all religions for thousands of years.

Viewers were urged to check with their churches to find Christian yoga classes.

For more information, please click yogajournal.com.

And here are other sources of information provided by Local 6 News:

Cindy Senarighi
Christian Yoga Teacher
St. Andrew's Lutheran Church
900 Stillwater Rd.
Mahtomedi, MN
651-429-7704
Cindy Senarighi has been taking yoga for many years and recently started leading Christian Yoga classes. She substitutes some of the Hindu ideas (like the Sun Salutation) with Christian ones (the Son Salutation, as in Son of God). She says Christian Yoga is a wonderful, mindful way of connecting with god. Her classes, held inside a church sanctuary, are packed.

Professor Subhas Tiwari
Hindu University of America
Econlockhatchee Trail
Orlando, Fla.
407-275-0013
Professor Tiwari teaches yoga and philosophy at the Hindu University of America. He says yoga is Hinduism and that Christian Yoga is a type of religious schizophrenia. He says when people co-opt yoga and put new labels on this 5,000-year-old spiritual practice... it is insulting and ineffective.

Russell Bush, PhD
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
100 North Wingate St.
Wake Forrest, NC
919-556-2225
bush@sebts.edu
Dr. Russell Bush is the academic vice president at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is critical of Christian Yoga because, he says, it combines two different beliefs -- Christianity and Hinduism. He says yoga is incompatible with Christianity and urges Christians to stay away from yoga.

Janel Touissant
Does Christian Yoga
White Bear Lake, Minn.
Janel Touissant is a busy teacher, mother and wife who juggles work, family and a very hectic schedule. She often feels stressed out and says her Christian Yoga class is her savior. She looks forward to the class to connect with her Christian faith - while getting some exercise. She's tried regular Yoga classes but says they lack the spirituality she enjoys with her Christian yoga. She says it's one hour a week she can connect with God, Jesus and her faith.

Document: In 1989, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, signed a document saying the practice of Eastern traditions like Yoga can "degenerate into a cult of the body." It warns Christians not to mistake yoga's "pleasing sensations" for "spiritual well-being." Here is the link to the document: http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/meditation.htm

Susan Bordenkircher
Leader in Christian Yoga movement
251-621-6733
Susan Bordenkircher says Christian Yoga is taking off. She estimates that there are hundreds of Christian Yoga classes now across the country. She says a national association of Christian Yoga teachers is now forming. Its Web site is www.christianspracticingyoga.com.