The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, which is only 30 minutes five times per week. (See Table 1, p. 16) They also recommend that we should do muscle strengthening exercises on all 7 major muscle groups—the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms. This type of comprehensive exercise program is too often neglected.

Why is exercise important? To live a long and healthy life, and to be able to minister to others, we should exercise on a regular basis. In this way, we will be mobile even in our senior years.

What happens when we don’t exercise? Ellen White writes, “Inactivity is a fruitful cause of disease. Exercise quickens and equalizes the circulation of the blood, but in idleness the blood does not circulate freely, and the changes in it, so necessary to life and health, do not take place. The skin, too, becomes inactive. Impurities are not expelled as they would be if the circulation had been quickened by vigorous exercise, the skin kept in a healthy condition, and the lungs fed with plenty of pure, fresh air. This state of the system throws a double burden on the excretory organs, and disease is the result.”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 238.

Exercise is especially important for those who work at sedentary jobs in the office. “God designed that the living machinery should be in daily activity; for in this activity or motion is its preserving power.”—Healthful Living, p. 131. God designed our body for movement, and therefore exercise is crucial to maintaining health and preventing disease.

Have you ever wondered, are all forms of exercise safe for Christians to engage in? The answer is a definite no. There have always been certain types of exercises in which Christians should not participate. There are certain forms of exercise that are very popular in today’s culture, but which are very contrary to God’s law. There are obvious types of exercises such as those which excite the emotions and encourage a wrong spirit. Even more dangerous, however, are the martial arts classes. God’s people should never participate in them or place their children in a martial arts class.

Martial arts is a very popular form of exercise which originates from the East. It involves all the muscles of the body and includes flexibility allowing the person to get into good physical shape. But the underlying principles of these activities cannot be overlooked.

1. Self is the focus in these activities and elevating oneself above the rest of the class or one’s peers is their ultimate goal. But the Bible says, “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Galatians 6:3). How many people in the world deceive themselves into thinking that they are something or that they are important because they have mastered their training? Only through Christ can we be something other than imperfect sinners, but this principle is not encouraged or even thought about in these types of classes.

2. It encourages people to use violence to protect/defend themselves instead of trusting in the Lord who said, “And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). But we as sinful and untrusting humans like to rely on ourselves or on others for protection and so people take these classes as a means of self-defense. Someone might say, “I only attend martial arts classes for physical benefits, but I do not actually practice what is taught anywhere else.” But there is a darker and even more dangerous aspect of martial arts that often eludes people.

3. Submission to the sensei. In every true martial arts class, it is required that the students take off their shoes and socks. Why? It is a sign of submission to the sensei—teacher or master. Then why does the sensei also take off his shoes and socks? Very simple, he is submitting to his sensei—master or teacher. And who is their sensei? It certainly is not God. Satan, in his attempt to imitate God, has a counterfeit for everything God does.

Remember when God told Moses: “Draw not nigh, hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground”? (Exodus 3:5). The Lord also repeated the same command to Joshua: “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy” (Joshua 5:15). Satan imitates God in every way that he can, so we must never place ourselves where our mind is under the enemy’s control!

Yoga is another extremely popular form of exercise, especially among women, that also originated in the East. This is a type of exercise that is beneficial for the body, but let us analyze its underlying principles. The truth lies in the very definition of the word yoga. Although yoga has many different meanings and goals, one of its definitions in Sanskrit, an ancient Hindu language, is union, connection, or to yoke.

1. Union, connection, yoke So, when you are doing yoga, who or what are you yoking up with or uniting with? Certainly, you are not connecting with God since its very purpose is the worship of a heathen deity. The modern definition of yoga is that it is a school of Hindu philosophy advocating and prescribing a course of physical and mental disciplines for attaining liberation from the material world and union of the self with the supreme being or ultimate principle.

2. Self-realization and enlightenment

Yoga has a very long history in the Hindu religion and is believed to date back to the inception of Hinduism. To focus on the modern form of yoga, we look at hatha yoga which is the physical activity version of yoga. Hatha yoga is used to arrive at a point of self-realization and enlightenment (Moksha) which is the ultimate goal of Hinduism. This form of yoga is highly encouraged by Hindu sages because it is such an effective form of meditation.

3. Emptying the mind and reaching spiritual enlightenment

In yoga classes, relaxation of the body and mind through various contortions of the body is the key to success; emptying the mind of everything and reaching spiritual enlightenment. A person might say, “I focus only on the physical aspects of the practice and ignore all the spiritual aspects.” This is impossible since this is a heathen form of worship, and all who attempt to achieve this will surely fail. God is our only source of strength, and neither He nor His angels can protect us when we willingly place ourselves on Satan’s ground.

It would be like attending a satanic meeting because of the delicious and nutritious food that was being served afterwards. We must not be ignorant and willingly place ourselves on Satan’s ground.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we are a peculiar people with a unique message and we must accept all the aspects of this message not just the ones we like. God wants His people to have vigorous and abundant health, but how can they do this if they don’t exercise regularly? Proper physical exercise, done 5-7 times per week, is essential to our mental, physical, and spiritual health, and therefore can’t be neglected. However, as stated, there are dangerous forms of exercise that place us beyond the protection of God and His holy angels, and we dare not venture on the enchanted ground of martial arts and yoga.

In Table 1 is a list of many different types of exercises which promote physical, mental, and spiritual health. Besides these, there are also many types of exercises that work all the different muscle groups— push-ups, pull-ups, and simple lifts with moderate weights that can be performed in the home or open air.

There are many traps which Satan uses to ensnare people, especially the youth, therefore, divine wisdom is necessary to avoid nets which are laid all around us. Let us seek to honor God in all that we do and to stand apart from the world as He commanded us. Exercise, done in the right way, can be a means to honor God and to glorify His name. On the other hand, it can be used by Satan to lure people away from God. May the wisdom of our divine Father be upon us that we may use our bodies to honor and glorify His name.

Table 1: Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults and Children1-3

Aerobic exercise – 150 + minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week.

Walking briskly 3-4 mph

Biking 10 mph

Swimming, moderate level

Conditioning exercises

Canoeing/rowing 2-3 mph

Mowing lawn

Raking leaves

Hoeing garden

Or 115+ minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week. Or a combination of moderate and vigorous exercise.

Running

To prevent weight gain and for optimal health, do 60+ minutes of moderate physical exercise per week

Walking briskly uphill

Climbing stairs

Jogging, running

Biking 10-12 mph

Swimming, fast crawl

Active gardening, digging Pushing lawn mower

Muscle strengthening activity for the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms 2 days per week.

Free weights

Or weight machines

Children need 60+ minutes of daily activity