49. Testing Yoga & Hypnobirthing Against Scripture: Biblical Discernment of Birth Practices, Ep. 2

In this episode, we're continuing the Biblical Discernment of Birth Practices series with two of the most mainstream practices in the birth world: yoga and hypnobirthing. You've probably heard that they're "just stretching" and "just relaxation," but is that actually true? Today we're holding both practices up to Scripture and asking the three questions from Episode 1: What is the source? What is the framework? What is the fruit?

These two practices share a similar defense, and that's the claim of spiritual neutrality. But Colossians 2:8 warns us that deceptive philosophies rarely announce themselves. So we're going to look honestly at where yoga and hypnobirthing actually come from, what belief systems they're built on, and what they may be cultivating in your heart and mind, all with grace and zero condemnation.

Whether you've been going to prenatal yoga for months, you've already downloaded a hypnobirthing track, or you're simply wanting to prepare for birth in a way that honors the Lord, this episode will equip you to discern with confidence and point you toward God's better way.

In this episode, I share:

🧘‍♀️ What yoga was originally created to be and why the word itself tells us so much

🗣️ The language to listen for in any class, even ones that seem purely physical

🌬️ The fascinating history of hypnobirthing, from a sound medical observation to a mind power system

📖 Why Scripture's call to be sober-minded matters so deeply in labor

🙏 My own story of laboring with Isaac, and how Scripture-based affirmations and worship filled my mind instead of emptying it

💪 Faith-filled alternatives for movement, breathing, and peace as you prepare your body for birth

Scripture Shared: 

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." – Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Mentioned in this episode:

✨ Christian Mama Birth Prep Library - Free birth prep tools, including the NEW Birth Practice Discernment Guide to walk through this framework yourself

💕 Work with Me 1:1 - Virtual Doula Support & Schedule a Private Coaching Call

✝️ Online Christian Childbirth Education - Explore my complete birth preparation self-paced course

🎴 NEW Christian Birth Affirmation Cards - You can now purchase them here

📗 Glorious Freedom by Percy Burns - A helpful resource for understanding spiritual warfare, deliverance, and finding lasting freedom in Jesus 

 📚 Like Lambs to the Slaughter by Johanna Michaelsen - A former New Age practitioner's classic on how occult spiritual practices get rebranded for the mainstream

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Let's keep choosing faith over fear, one birth story at a time. Go here for the full blog post, show notes, and all resources mentioned!

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to Faith Over Fear, the Christian pregnancy and birth podcast. I'm Natalie Portman, a Jesus-loving mama, birth doula, and childbirth educator. And it's so easy to make this season about controlling outcomes or proving our strength, but the Lord invites us into something so much better: the chance to love Him more, trust Him more deeply, and experience His joy, even in the hard moments. That's what this podcast is all about, and I'm so glad you're here with me. Let's choose faith over fear together.

Natalie Portman 0:33

We are in episode two of the Biblical Discernment of Birth Practices series, and today we're gonna be looking at two of the most mainstream practices out there, and that's yoga and hypnobirthing. And if you haven't listened to episode one yet of this series, I would really encourage you to go back and listen to that episode because that's where I'm gonna share the foundation for this whole series. But just as a quick refresher, when we look at any birth practice, we're going to be asking ourselves three questions from scripture. The first is, what is the source? And this comes from Deuteronomy 18, where God told His people not to adopt the spiritual practices of the nations around them, even the ones that seemed to work. So we ask where a practice actually comes from. Second, we ask ourselves, what is the framework? And that comes from Colossians 2:8, which warns us to not be taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy that depends on human tradition and the spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. So we ask what set of beliefs a practice needs in order to make sense? And third, what is the fruit? And that comes from 1 Corinthians which says, "Not everything permissible is beneficial." So we ask what a practice is actually producing in us, not just physically, but spiritually as well. So again, we're gonna be looking at source, framework, and fruit. So let's bring those three questions into yoga and hypnobirthing. And the reason I put these two things together, is because they share a similar defense. You may hear something like, "Well, but these are just techniques. Like, yoga is just stretching, and hypnobirthing is just deep relaxation. And if you take the spiritual stuff out, it's very neutral." And I understand that claim of neutrality, but it's also exactly what Colossians 2:8 asks us to examine. Because philosophies rarely just announce themselves, so Paul is warning us about things that look harmless, even empty of spiritual content, but that's exactly why they're deceptive, because they look like, oh, it's just stretching, it's just breathing. So today we're going to kindly and honestly ask ourselves whether that's actually true. And so one thing that I would love to point out as a great resource is back in the 1980s, there was this Christian author named Johanna Michaelson, and she wrote a book called Like Lambs to the Slaughter. And her warning in that book was that spiritual practices are basically being repackaged for the mainstream by just changing labels. So meditation got renamed to centering, trance got renamed to deep relaxation, and these techniques were built for contacting the spiritual realm, but they were just got rebranded as other things. So her point was so simple and also very piercing. Changing the name of a practice doesn't change its nature. She wrote that over 35 years ago, and I would say that today our culture is proving that to be true every single day. So hold onto that idea because we're going to see in both practices how that's still probably true. so let's look first at yoga, and let's look at the word itself because that word can tell us a lot, and it comes from a Sanskrit root, that means to yoke or to unite. So from its very name, the whole purpose of yoga is union. So then we have to ask ourselves, well, union with what? In the Hindu traditions where yoga develops over thousands of years, the answer is union to the self with the divine. And I want us to be careful because There's an important distinction between what yoga was originally created to be and how it's practiced in most Western studios and gyms today. So historically, yoga wasn't designed as exercise. It was a spiritual discipline, a path towards enlightenment and the physical postures were one piece of a much bigger spiritual system. And this isn't just Christians saying that. Many Hindu scholars have actually objected to the Western fitness world stripping yoga of its spiritual meaning because to them, that meaning is the whole point. At the same time, I know that the average yoga class today, whether it's a studio class or at a gym or prenatal yoga, it may look nothing like that. And so plenty of instructors, including some believers, teach it purely as movement and never mention anything related to Hinduism. Both of those things are true at once, so that's why we must be careful to discern what we're engaging with. And I would like to say this as well, the question isn't whether stretching is wrong, because it's not. God made our bodies to stretch. The real question is whether the system that stretching is packaged in is spiritually neutral. So now that we understand what yoga was originally created to be, let's go back to those three questions: source, framework, and fruit. So the first, what is the source? The source is, it's a Hindu spiritual practice. Many of the traditional postures were developed as postures of devotion. The sun salutation, which is the backbone of most yoga classes, has historically been connected to reverence for the sun deity. Now, does your instructor know that? Maybe, maybe not. But does that history disappear be- just because we don't know it? That's the question Deuteronomy 18 puts in front of us. Second, what is the framework? And this is a subtle one, even in a class that never mentions Hinduism, listen to the language. breath is often taught as prana, which isn't just air. In the original framework, it's life force energy that you're channeling. And then classes often end with namaste, which carries the meaning of the divine in me honoring the divine in you. And then some deeper practices of yoga work toward awakening an energy at the base of the spine that the original framework pictures as a coiled serpent. Sit with that image for a second because it tells you what we're actually dealing with. whatever else yoga is, at its foundation, it is not spiritually neutral, and it wasn't formed with spiritual neutrality. Underneath most of yoga, even watered-down Western yoga, is this idea that the divine power you need is already inside you, waiting to be awakened so that you can unite with it, and that idea doesn't depend on Christ. It literally can't because if Christ is who He says He is, we don't awaken divinity within ourselves, we receive His Holy Spirit as a gift. And then third, what is the fruit? And here I want to be honest because the physical benefits of yoga are real: better sleep, less back pain, more flexibility, a greater sense of calm. That's part of why it's so popular. But remember what we talked about in episode one. Our test isn't simply whether something produces a result. The issue in Deuteronomy 18 wasn't whether people believed these practices worked. The issue was whether God's people were seeking wisdom and help in ways that He had forbidden. So the fruit question goes deeper. What is this cultivating in my heart, soul, mind, and spirit? Is it dependence on Jesus, or is it nudging me towards the belief that everything I need is already inside of me? Because that idea is not neutral. It is the exact same temptation we see all the way back in Genesis. It's a temptation to look inward for what God says only He can provide, what can only be found in Him. Now, I know you might be thinking, "Okay, Natalie, but my class really is just stretching. And, I understand that. I honor that because I think that faithful Christians genuinely land in different places on this topic. Some believers say movement can be fully redeemed. A stretch is a stretch, and doing it unto the Lord makes it clean, kind of like how Paul talks about the food that was being sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8. But then other believers say that the postures are so historically tied to the worship of other gods that it's just wiser to step away from the system entirely, Both groups are reading the same Bible and just landing in different camps as far as the interpretation. The goal of this episode is not to just hand you a verdict. I, I want you to really wrestle with these questions. What was this practice actually designed to do? What language is being used in the room, and what does that really all mean? I'll share my own experience here because I asked those questions of myself long before I ever even dreamt of having this podcast or anything. So for a few years before I was a mom, I would occasionally go to yoga studios, and it was just, you know, a way to take care of your body and exercise, and I genuinely enjoyed the movement and the calm atmosphere. But looking back, I can see how the environment was a little bit uncomfortable to me. Seeing deities and symbols and hearing words spoken over me that I didn't understand the meaning of, something in my spirit did notice, And I just never stopped to dig into that discomfort with the help of the Holy Spirit. I didn't ask what those symbols meant or what those words meant, or why a stretching class needed all of that. I didn't know what I didn't know, and honestly, I didn't ask. And here's what I want you to hear from that story, though. When I did finally come to understand the origins of yoga and things like that, God didn't meet me with condemnation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises that with every temptation, He will also provide the way out. He always provides a way out of sin, always, and His ways are not just an exit, they're also an upgrade. In Isaiah 55, it says that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And then Jesus in John 10:10 says that He, Jesus, came so that we may have life and have it to the full. God's ways are always higher, always better, and they always lead to true life. so when He asks us to lay something down, He's not taking life from us, He's giving us the real thing where we were deceived by a counterfeit One thing I don't want to do in this series is suggest restricting something without showing you some alternatives in its place. Our God is not a God of scarcity. So your body genuinely needs movement, stretch, strength, breath, all of those things. Those are good things that we need. And there are so many wonderful ways to meet it that doesn't come with all this kind of attached spiritual baggage. Pilates is a great one. Swimming, dancing, strength classes, and even during my last pregnancy with Isaac, I loved doing body pump at the YMCA. and then walking, which that is probably one of the most underrated pregnancy exercises there is. And then I always encourage incorporating prayer into that time if you're going for a walk. Prayer walks were honestly one of my favorite things to do when I was pregnant, and even if that meant me, you know, pushing s- the stroller the whole time. and then you might already know this, but I'm certified in the Body Ready Method, which is a functional birth preparation program, and it's built around biomechanics and how the body works. But in the spirit of this series, I want to encourage you to even use discernment there. No program, teacher, or expert gets a free pass, not even the ones that I recommend. Some of the exercises in the program incorporate yoga-based movements, and some of the messaging leans on sentiments like, "You are enough. You're strong enough," which, again, I don't really agree with because our strength doesn't come from ourselves. It comes from Christ. So take what's helpful, leave what isn't, and don't trust anything blindly, including me. Test everything against Scripture and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom. And then Slow intentional breathing is not yoga's property. That's God's engineering. You can practice slow breathing while praying scripture. And honestly, that's not just a substitute. That's an upgrade because now your breath is anchored to truth. You don't need to awaken anything within you. If you're in Christ, the Holy Spirit himself already dwells in you, and there is nothing higher to attain or reach for. It's already done because of what Jesus has done Okay, deep breath. Now let's talk about hypnobirthing.

13:28

Real quick before we continue, if this episode is stirring something in you and you're realizing you want more support as you prepare, I would love to come alongside you, whether that's through my online childbirth education, one-on-one virtual birth support, or even just a simple tool like my Christian birth affirmation cards to keep you reminded of the Lord's provision in this season. It's all waiting for you at faithoverfearbirth.com or visit the links in the show notes. All right, let's keep going.

Natalie Portman 14:00

This is probably going to be the most popular topic in this series because hypnobirthing has swept the Christian birth world. There are even, you know, Christian branded hypnobirthing programs now, and that's exactly why we need to slow down and take a really careful look. So let me give you the history first, because I, I think there's actually, some really good that came from that. in the early 1900s, there was an English doctor named Grantly Dick-Read who noticed something fascinating, that fear creates tension in the laboring body. Tension then creates pain, and pain creates more fear, so it just becomes this fear, tension, pain cycle. And that observation is physiologically sound, and it's part of the reason why I branded my business Faith Over Fear. Fear genuinely affects labor, and I, teach that myself. So that insight is not the problem. The problem is what got built on top of that information. And in the late 1980s, a hypnotherapist, her name is Marie Monaghan, took that insight and wrapped it in hypnosis. Her method teaches self-hypnosis, which means intentionally entering a deeply relaxed, highly suggestible state, along with visualizations and affirmations that she taught as tools for reaching the subconscious mind. And we also have to look at the ideas this method grew out of because the mind power stream it draws from is the same stream that gives us manifestation culture and the law of attraction, the idea that your thoughts and declarations create your reality. But not all hypnobirthings today are teaching that same method. There are certainly varieties. So some lean hard on the hypnosis and the manifestation language, and then others have kind of dropped most of that and are really just teaching relaxation and breathing with just a trendy name. So as we're walking through this, I'm describing what the method was built on and what many programs still teach. You will need to look at the specific program that, you're using or have used, and by the end of this episode, you'll know kind of what to look for. So the simplest way I can put it is hypnobirthing is two things fused together. It's true physiology about fear and relaxation fused to a mind power system. One of those is fine, it's a gift. The other is something we really need to pay attention to So first, what is the source? The fear, tension, pain piece comes from medical observation, and that piece is fine. But the method itself comes from hypnotherapy and mind power philosophy. And I'll gently point out that Deuteronomy 18, the very passage our first question comes from, includes warnings about practices that involve influencing and binding the mind. I'm not saying your hypno-birthing track is a spell, but I am saying that scripture treats what we do with our minds as spiritually serious territory. Second, what is the framework? And here's the core of it. Hypnosis rests on the belief that the subconscious mind is where the real power is, and the way to change it is to quiet your conscience. Now hold that up to scripture. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "To be alert and sober-minded, because your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion." A sober, alert, guarded mind is a repeated command throughout scripture, and it's closely tied to spiritual discernment and protection. A trance state is designed to do the opposite. It's intentionally quieting the discerning, analytical part of the mind in order to become more suggestible. And labor is already one of the most physically, emotionally, and spiritually vulnerable moments of a woman's life. Personally, I can't find a biblical reason to intentionally set aside sober-mindedness during a season when it's needed the most. And this is one reason that many Christian researchers and former New Age practitioners have raised concerns about altered states of consciousness. While the techniques may look different on the surface, they often share a similar underlying approach. quiet the conscious mind, become deeply receptive, and then receive suggestion or guidance. And that's why I think it's important not to stop at just looking at the branding. We need to look underneath all of these labels and different things that it might be called now, and ask what a practice is actually training us to do. And then third, what is the fruit? And just like with yoga, the fruit is mixed here. Many women really do report calmer births with hypnobirthing because the relaxation piece is real and the physiology works. but ask about the spiritual fruit. What's being taught to your heart? In most programs, it's that your mind is power, that your words create your reality. You are in control, and there's a really big shadow to that mindset. so If your birth doesn't follow how you expect or hope for it to go, then you believe you failed, and that is not freedom. Now here's why this episode matters so much to me, because hypnobirthing is popular for a reason. It's trying to attain real things, peace in labor, freedom from fear, a renewed mind. Every single one of those are actually biblical promises. But the counterfeit is only compelling because the real thing exists. and I want to pause on that longing for peace because the desire itself is completely legitimate. Wanting peace as you head into labor is not weakness or a lack of faith, it's a God-given longing. But we have to seek that peace from the Lord Himself. So here's my honest heart for you. I want so much for you to experience the love of the Lord more, to trust him more deeply, and to experience his joy during this whole season. But unfortunately, there is no quick fix for that kind of peace. It only comes from walking with the Lord over time, from reading his word and truly knowing him through it, and then inviting the Holy Spirit into all of these things, and then rejecting lies and counterfeits to embrace the truth. And that is a much harder, slower road to walk, but it is the real deal. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will. And that comes from Romans 12:2. And then look at how God says renewal happens, not by bypassing your thinking mind, but by engaging it. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, think on these things. Set your mind on things above. And Isaiah 26:3, which might be my favorite verse for labor, says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose mind is steadfast because they trust in you." And I don't just believe that theologically or theoretically because I've lived it. When I was in labor with Isaac, in between contractions, Brian read the scripture-based affirmation cards that I created, and there were things spoken over me like, "God is with me in every moment of this labor." And then as he read those truths, those words over me, I was being transformed by the renewing of my mind in real time, in the midst of very difficult physical and emotional challenge. My mind wasn't being emptied, it was being filled, and it was being fixed on Jesus. So the tangible presence of the Lord showed up in that labor. And I remember feeling the weight of what was happening, because Isaac was coming seven weeks early, which was not at all the story that I had imagined for, for this birth. And there were certainly moments of fear where I had every reason in a, in just like a fleshly way to be afraid. But every time my mind started drifting towards fear, the Lord just brought me back to the truth Brian would just read those affirmations over me. I had the worship music playing, and I just was reminded over and over again that the Lord was with me, and it was an opportunity for me to trust Him more and more as things progressed. Looking back, what stands out to me most isn't how I managed labor, it's how faithfully God showed up and carried me through it. His presence became more real to me than my circumstances, and His peace didn't come because everything was going according to plan. It came because He is the Prince of Peace. I cannot express to you the lasting impact that's had on me, and I think back to His labor, and I don't, again, marvel at my mind or the techniques I had. I marvel at how the Lord met me in all of that. So before we close, I want to come back to the importance of our heart posture, because I don't know where you're at listening to this right now. If you've engaged deeply with one or both of these practices, I want you to hear me say that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Absolutely none. You likely pursued these things if you did, because you wanted to steward your body well, and that desire is good, and it came from God. But my prayer is that after hearing this episode, you can pursue God's ways to steward your body well, because His ways are better than our ways. And again, conviction and condemnation are not the same thing. condemnation drives you away from God into hiding, whereas conviction draws you toward Him into freedom. So what should you do if the Holy Spirit is stirring something in you after listening to this? 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Confession just means that we're agreeing with God. We're saying, "Lord, now that you've shown me this, I want to see it the way you see it." And repentance is simply turning, changing direction. Maybe that means laying down one of these practices or both of these practices. Maybe it means deleting an app or canceling a membership or just choosing different ways to prepare your body for birth. Whatever that looks like for you, remember this: repentance isn't punishment. It's an invitation into freedom. Acts 3:19 promises that when we repent and turn to God, our sins are wiped out and times of refreshing comes from the Lord. Following Jesus sometimes costs us something. Jesus never hid that from us, but there is nothing we surrender to Him that compares with what we gain in Him. He is always worth it. I would just love to leave you with James 1:5, because it's the promise this whole series stands on. "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." You don't have to figure this all out on your own. You have a Father who gives wisdom generously and without finding fault. So ask him. Be a Berean. So take everything that I've mentioned to you today, hold it up to scripture, and let the Holy Spirit lead you into truth, because he is so faithful to do it. And now I would just love to pray for you as we close out this episode. Lord Jesus, I thank you for the mama that's listening to my voice right now, and I thank you that you see her, and that you care about how she prepares her body and her mind and her spirit for this birth., I pray that you would help her discern, to be alert and sober-minded as she's discerning the practices she's engaging with. And if she's feeling a weight of conviction right now, I thank you that your kindness is what leads us to repentance, and that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. As she confesses and turns, I ask that you would just flood her with times of refreshing, and you would keep her mind steadfast and fixed on you. I ask, Lord, that you would keep her in perfect peace, and guard her heart and mind with a peace that surpasses understanding. We love you, Lord, and it's in your name we pray. Amen. Well, thank you for doing the brave and honest, unpopular work of discernment with me today. If this episode was an encouragement to you and helped you, I would love for you to just share that with a mama who needs this. And if you would, just please leave a rating and review of this podcast so that more mamas can find this series. And then don't forget to also sign up for the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library, 'cause I'm gonna have in there the Birth Practice Discernment Guide, which goes along with this whole series for you to walk through these, questions yourself. And you can sign up for that at faithoverfearbirth.com, and there's also going to be a link in the show notes for the sign-up, as well as the birth affirmation cards that I mentioned in this episode. Next episode, we're going to dig into energy healing. And if today felt subtle, next episode is where things get a whole lot clearer, so you will not want to miss it. I'll see you next time

27:43

That's it for today's episode. If this encouraged you, I would love to invite you to sign up for my free Christian Mama Birth Prep Library. It's full of practical tools and faith-rooted resources to help you prepare for a peaceful, Christ-centered birth. You can sign up at faithoverfearbirth.com or with the link in the show notes. And if you enjoyed this podcast episode, I would love it if you would take 30 seconds right now to leave a rating and review of this podcast. It genuinely means so much to me, and it also helps more mamas find this resource. Until next time, keep choosing faith over fear