Yoga has become a famous form of exercise among western people, but there are some who say Christians should not take part in this Hindu practice because it is a sin to do so.

(Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov) Participants attend the Yoga Fest to mark the International Day of Yoga at the Medeo skating rink at the altitude of some 1,600 metres (5,249 feet) above sea level in Almaty, Kazakhstan, June 21, 2015.

Motivational consultant Rev. Reginald Crutchley told Flair in an interview that when practiced as a form of meditation, yoga does not focus on spirituality but on calming the mind. Others now practice what is called as "Christian yoga," or the practice of doing yoga without the Hindu traditions involved, the Jamaica Gleaner relays.

However, Northern Caribbean University director Dr. Robert Wright warns that yoga could be dangerous because it involves emptying the mind. He says this act could open the mind and welcome other kinds of spirits in, the Jamaica Gleaner reports.

"From my understanding, yoga involves emptying the mind and being filled with the spirit of 'the universe'. But that can be dangerous because this makes way for other spirits to enter the mind," said Dr. Wright.

Instead of practicing yoga, Dr. Wright says Christians should follow the teaching in the Biblical verse Philippians 4:8 and meditate on things that are considered pure, holy, and right.

An entry on Praise Moves tells how Biola University's World Religions professor George P. Alexander, Ph.D echoes Wright's thoughts. The professor says yoga poses are actually offerings to 330 million Hindu gods. He adds that it goes against Romans 12:1, which tells believers to offer their bodies as a "living sacrifice" to God.

Alexander, who grew up in India, pointed out that many Westerners practicing yoga are not really aware that the poses they assume in the meditation are actually a form of worship to many Hindu gods. Hindus use yoga as a physical expression of their spiritual beliefs.

"To a Hindu, yoga is the outward physical expression of a deep spiritual belief. You cannot separate one from the other," Dr. Alexander explains.

Because yoga is an act of offering to Hindu gods, the practice also goes against the command in Acts 15:29 to turn away from "things offered to idols." Thus, Alexander says the term "Christian yoga" is an oxymoron because Hinduism and Christianity cannot go hand in hand.