Yahweh Yoga in Newsweek!
Beliefwatch: Namaste
By Lisa Miller
Sept. 17, 2006

A decade ago, book publishers discovered a fertile market in the growing number of liberal-minded Jews interested in Buddhist meditation—the publishers called them "JewBus." Rodger Kamenetz started the craze with a book called "The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India," and soon Jewish meditation centers were open all over the West Coast. Meditation, the JewBus argued, did not detract from their Jewishness; rather, their identity was enhanced by the practice, by silent reflection and a mental reaching out toward God.

Fast forward. Janine Turner, formerly of the television show "Northern Exposure," has just come out with a DVD called "Christoga: Yoga Filled Body ... Christ Filled Soul." The DVD promises that a regular Christian yoga practice will "improve your ability to perform activities of daily living." In Alabama, a woman named Susan Bordenkircher teaches thrice-weekly yoga classes at her Methodist church—classes that are sometimes filled with as many as 60 or 70 people—and last year published a book called "Yoga for Christians" with a major Christian publishing house. In Arizona, a woman named Deanna Smothers last year started Yahweh Yoga, which, among other things, offers certification programs for people who want to be trained in Christian yoga. What makes the yoga Christian in most cases is simply this: the teachers replace chanting in Sanskrit with the saying aloud of Bible verses; they ask their students to dedicate their practice to Jesus.

Some orthodox Jews didn't like the JewBus, and some fundamentalist Christians don't like Christian yoga practice. Yoga, they say, has its roots in Hinduism—an ancient religion that is, among other things, polytheistic. It is impossible to blend the two without violating the First Commandment, these Christians say. That's why Laurette Willis developed exercises called PraiseMoves, which look like the ancient yoga asanas, or positions, but aren't: Willis's poses have names like Angel and Prayer Warrior, and each is tied to a specific verse in Scripture. Willis believes that yoga is the dangerous entry point for a lot of non-Christian beliefs, including New Age superstition and astrology. Pope Benedict XVI might agree. In 1989, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he wrote that some spiritual practices, including yoga, "can degenerate into a cult of the body." The "pleasing sensations" one gets from yoga, he said, should not be confused with "spiritual well-being." But is it idolatry? Only your inner god knows for sure.

Yoga studio for Christians coming soon
Chandler Republic, July 20, 2006
"Most Christian people have not practiced yoga because they were not sure about the Eastern influence, and they shied away from it without putting a face on it," said Smothers, who co-owns the studio with her daughter, Courtney Kutta, a Chandler resident. MORE >>>

Yahweh Yoga Gets Own Home
July 15, 2006 Ahwatukee Republic

ABC TV 15 Live Telecast October 17, 2005

Trinity Broadcast Network
Half-hour special Yahweh Yoga for Stress and Back Care
To be aired five times in July 2006 (Please check your local listings)

Christian yoga class a blessing, instructor says

Susanne Tso
Special for The Republic
Mar. 9, 2007 12:00 AM

DeAnna Smothers' yoga studio is attracting clients looking to stretch their Christian faith along with their spines.

A 25-year yoga practitioner, Smothers opened Yahweh Yoga in west Chandler last year to help people improve their health in a spiritually nourishing environment. Yahweh is a Hebrew term for God.

People of all faiths are welcome; however, the yoga classes are set to contemporary Christian music and accompanied by Scripture readings.

Smothers said the health benefits of yoga were largely bypassing the Christian population, which generally believed yoga was a religious practice rooted in beliefs contradictory to Christianity.

"I saw so many people who were ill and refused to go to yoga because they thought it was a religious practice. It's not a religion but it can be used by a religion," she said.

"We show how yoga fits into our faith, not how our faith fits into yoga."

Smothers tested the Christian yoga concept at an Ahwatukee dance school in 2005 and demand for her classes quickly exceeded available space. That, plus the need for evening classes, prompted her to open a two-room studio, which she is now contemplating expanding to accommodate bulging class sizes.

She and her daughter, Courtney Kutta, co-owner of Yahweh Yoga, and eight other yoga teachers offer an assortment of classes ranging from gentle moves for beginners to rigorous postures for more seasoned practitioners. They even offer a hip-hop yoga and yoga for children.

Including the church-based classes they lead, the team has about 700 students.

"Christian yoga is here to stay and it's being taught in churches all over the country," said Smothers, who says Yahweh Yoga is the only exclusively Christian yoga studio in the nation. It's also a Yoga Alliance-certified training facility and draws students from as far away as Singapore who come for the 16-hour course that leads to a Certified Christian Yoga Teacher certification.

"At this time, there is no other studio that is teaching Christian yoga advanced studies," said Smothers, who also advocates healthy eating and teaches classes on nutrition. "In my opinion, there's nothing you can do that's healthier for you."

Contact Susanne Tso, an Ahwatukee freelance writer, at sctso@fastq.com.

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Yahweh Yoga combines yoga with Christian spirituality
If you are interested in yoga and dedicated to the Christian faith, you now have the opportunity to learn how to practice and/or teach yoga with a different twist.

Yahweh Yoga, which according to its owners is the first Christian yoga studio in the country, recently opened its doors in Scottsdale. It is offering classes for individuals who want to learn how to experience yoga within the context of their Christian faith.

“We created Yahweh Yoga to bring together physical and spiritual health,” explains Deanna Smothers, who together with her daughter Courtney Kutta created Yahweh Yoga a little over a year ago. “We believe that peace and longevitiy, grace and strength, joy and flexibility, faith and wellness are all intertwined. Although the health benefits of yoga have long been extolled, Yahweh Yoga brings Christ to the center of every practice, just as he is the center of our lives.”

“Our philosophy is really quite simple,” adds Kutta. “Our bodies are the temple of God, so what better way to honor him than by glorifying him through Christian yoga.”

Yahweh was the Hebrew name for God in the Old Testament, and so Yahweh Yoga stands for the essence of what the founders are bringing to the public – God and Yoga. “The very appeal to students of all ages is the combination of physical, mental and spiritual health that embodies their faith,” says Smothers. As one student stated, “you can go to other places that get just physical, you can go to Bible study and just get spiritual, but here you can kind of do both.”

Smothers explains that for sometime Christians have been tentative about practicing yoga for fear it conflicts with their faith. “Now, however, there is a trend that's sweeping the country – Yoga for Christ-centered individuals. It's becoming as popular as mainstream yoga, and will likely double the number of people practicing yoga within the next 10 years.

Yahweh Yoga offers a variety of classes, from basics to gentle to flow and power, all set in the context of the Christian faith. Yoga classes are conducted in an environment of Christian music, scripture reading and prayer. There is no New Age influence or mysticism reference or chanting. The focus is on the Christian faith, explains Smothers.

All Yahweh Yoga instructors are certified Yoga Teachers (CYT), Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT) and Certified Christ Centered Yoga Teachers (CCYT). The original Yahweh Yoga team is made up of four experienced instructors, a yoga specialist in anatomy/physiology and a Christ-centered spiritual advisor.

The idea of a Christian-centered yoga originated nearly 20 years ago with a commitment of mother and daughter to practice yoga. Blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit and the Christian faith, the two women formed a business partnership and created the first certified Christian yoga studio in the country. Their dream was to reach the young, the old, and people of all faiths with the significant health benefits of yoga. They were convinced the practice of yoga in the Christian context is not only compatible but complimentary.

Apparently, they are on the right track. The Yahweh Yoga phenomenon has not only influenced the development of several church-based Christian yoga groups in the Phoenix area, but has caught the attention of potential investors throughout the country, says Smothers. “Before our first studio was even a year old, we received inquiries from California to Michigan about franchises. We are thrilled with the prospect of the future potential but are committed to grow wisely and conservatively, “ says Smothers.

Smothers and Kutta are confident that within the space of five years they'll have dozens of franchise studios across the nation and introduce thousands of people to Christian yoga.

Mother and daughter are also involved in outreach programs, speaking engagements, Bible studies, as well as curriculum and wellness seminars that focus on yoga specialties and therapies, conscious eating, massage and stress management.

For more information on Yahweh Yoga, and class schedule, visit www.yahwehyoga.net or call Courtney Kutta at (480) 753-HOLY (4659)

—Lydia Enderle Bell