Book: "Unearthing Yoga's Ancient Roots"

"Unearthing Yoga's Ancient Roots" Book Purchase

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Dr. Alana Arguello, boldly ventures into the controversial territory of yoga and its compatibility with Christianity. This book goes beyond a simple critique of yoga; it encourages believers to think deeply about how we interact with the world, especially in areas where spiritual and physical practices intersect. By exploring the origins and implications of yoga through a biblical lens—and incorporating insights from history, archaeology, cultural anthropology, psychology, and science—this book seeks to provide Christians with the understanding and wisdom needed to approach this complex issue with both grace and truth. Whether you are a longtime practitioner of yoga, a curious skeptic, or just someone looking for a good exercise routine, this book will challenge, educate, and motivate you to make wiser choices and live biblically.
Listen and learn from Dr. Alana Arguello.
--Dr. Ron Rhodes, Th.D. President, Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries

Dr. Alana Arguello tackles one of the most significant issues in today’s world—the tendency to believe something is good because it is popular. Exposing the largely unfamiliar history behind the practice of Yoga and incorporating her own powerful history before accepting Jesus Christ, Dr. Arguello reminds us that trendy is catchy, but knowledge is power. Utilizing an insightful, informative, and engaging style of writing, Dr. Arguello shares the importance of biblical discernment in recognizing how even seemingly “normal,” healthy activities may include unseen elements below the surface. Anyone wanting to know more about the underpinnings of Yoga and related disciplines or routines should read this book.
--Wendy L. Patrick, J.D., M.Div., Ph.D.
Author of Why Bad Looks Good: Biblical Wisdom to Make Smart Choices in Life, Love, and Friendship and President of Black Swan Verdicts Threat Assessment and Consulting.


Most evangelical Christians, I would think, believe that the central function of the Church is to be a witness for Jesus Christ on the basis of God’s revelation in the Bible. What they may not realize is that many worship and devotional practices in churches today have their origin not in biblical teaching but in ideas that actually run contrary to what God has revealed. Alana Arguello (DMin Apologetics, Veritas International University) points out that many of these items are connected to perennial notions of finding God inside of yourself or becoming a part of him, ideas that are commonly found in— but hardly restricted to— Eastern religions. She courageously examines the philosophical and theological background of what is happening in churches today by exposing their ancestry in the most ancient cultures of humanity, and, most importantly, she demonstrates that their meaning has not changed over time, except for the substitution of Christian nomenclature. Many Christians are wondering why the Church is not effective in speaking God’s plan of redemption to the world today. Arguello shows us that a large part of the reason is that the world has made itself at home in our churches at their very centers—how we are taught to understand God and how to relate to him. This book will help you recover what the church is in danger of losing.
--Dr. Winfried Corduan, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion at Taylor University



For decades, waves of deception have emerged from Eastern philosophies and practices that have taken the West by storm, often dressed in familiar Western garb and appearing harmless for mass consumption. Dr. Alana Arguello has given us well-researched and valuable data regarding Yoga and its practice, especially for Christians who wrestle with the question: Can I practice Yoga and still be faithful in my commitment to Christ and His Word? If you seek to inform and equip yourself (and loved ones) to think through the critical issue of Yoga, this book is for you!
--Dr. Joseph M. Holden, PhD
Pastor, Scholar, Apologist, and President of Veritas International University, Author of The Harvest Handbook of Bible Lands: A Panoramic Survey of the History, Geography, and Culture of the Scriptures Hardcover by Steven Collins (Author), Joseph M. Holden (Author), Dr. Walter C. Kaiser and The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible: Holden and Geisler.


When the Israelites built and worshipped the golden calf, they were not trying to worship a false god. They were trying to worship Yahweh, the true God who had delivered them from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 32:1-8). One does not have to worship a false god to be an idolater; one can be guilty of idolatry by trying to worship the true God in a pagan way. When professing Christians use Yoga techniques as part of their worship, they are committing idolatry. The postures by themselves are a form of false worship. So even those who practice Yoga solely for physical health reasons are still engaging in false worship. No matter how much a person tries to amend Yoga, it remains true that it is in fact, anti-Christian and Dr. Alana Arguello proves these points and more beyond doubt.
This three volume work by Dr. Arguello is the most scholarly study on the foundation and dangers of Yoga. I pray it becomes the standard work in this field for years to come. I also pray the American church, as well as Christians around the world, who are attracted to Yoga, take seriously Paul’s several warnings against pagan practices. Additionally,
As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, NKJV).
May the glorious God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob purify His church, and present to Himself His bride without blemish. To God be all the glory.
--Phil Fernandes, PhD, DMin, Pastor of Trinity Bible Fellowship (Bremerton, WA), Adjunct professor for Veritas International University (Albuquerque, NM) and Northwest University (Kirkland, WA), Former President of the International Society of Christian Apologetics



Dr. Arguello’s research and scholarship have helped clarify the way in which the practice of Yoga, as originally envisioned, seeks to embed one deeply in the foundations of some of the ancient Eastern Religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism in particular. The practice of Yoga was never intended originally as merely a way of easing physical and psychological tensions and limbering up one’s body. The probing depths of her scholarship are a perceptive, helpful guide for understanding the original grounds and the true purpose of the practice of Yoga and its impact on today. I commend the thoroughness and excellence of her work.
--Dr. William F. Cooper, Baylor University, Philosophy Dept.
Professor Emeritus


In the 21st century west, yoga is widely regarded as a benign form of physical exercise, meditation, and relaxation. But is this an accurate conception of yoga; and further, can the practice of yoga be isolated from its origins in eastern thought? Over a three-book series, Arguello draws upon multiple fields of study to expose the theological underpinnings, philosophical commitments, and spiritual implications of this ancient discipline. She is to be commended for authoring a rigorous body of research in an engaging, accessible style. Even more critically, her work informs us of a challenge to biblical truth that is scarcely understood and commonly dismissed within the church.
--Dr. J.A. Pagán, M.Div., Ph.D.
Founding Instructor, The Institute for Intellectual Formation & Skeptical Inquiry (www.theinstitutefw.org) Editor, Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics


For decades evangelicals have withstood syncretistic religion. We were a group of people committed to allowing the Scriptures and the Scriptures alone to dictate proper faith and worship. However, the evangelical church seems to be facing a form of syncretism that presents itself under the guise of a socially acceptable and culturally encouraged “form of exercise” known as Yoga. Many people, including so-called Bible believing evangelicals, believe they are merely engaging in many different stretches and physical activity, not a fully orbed expression of religious worship. While many people may believe they can make this type of distinction between the exercises of Yoga and the religious substructures, one cannot actually make this type of separation. It has been said, “To believe you can practice yoga for merely the physical exercise and not buy into the religious underpinnings, is equivalent to believing you can take the Lord’s Supper merely for its nutritional value.”
In this book, Dr. Alana Arguello begins with an incredibly helpful overview of the historical and theological issues presented in the study and practice of Yoga. We owe a debt to Dr. Arguello for her powerful defense of the ways historic Christianity is irreconcilable with Yoga and the vast trappings that surround the entire ethos of Yoga.
--Dr. William C. Roach, PhD. Dean of the Norman L. Geisler Chair of Christian Apologetics, Veritas International University; Chair of Theology, Redeemer Seminary; past-president of the International Society of Christian Apologetics,Author of Defending Inerrancy: Affirming the Accuracy of Scripture for a New Generation, by Norman L. Geisler , William C. Roach , et al.