EWTN News portal reports on May 12, 2026, that Linda Carl, a former certified yoga instructor, has published a book titled “Yoga Unveiled: My Spiritual Journey from Darkness to Light,” in which she warns Catholics and non-Catholics alike about the “darkness” behind the practice of yoga. Carl, who spent nearly 20 years immersed in yoga and New Age philosophies before leaving the practice entirely, claims that yoga is not merely a physical exercise but a Hindu spirituality and an occult practice that opens the door to Satan and evil spirits. She spoke at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2026, emphasizing that yoga’s terminology and actions are “confusing or misleading” and that even priests and religious may not fully understand its dangers. Carl’s book draws from years of research, personal experience, Scripture, and the words of Hindu teachers themselves to expose yoga as a gateway to the New Age, including practices such as crystals, numerology, astrology, and channeling. While Carl’s intentions to warn against the dangers of yoga are commendable, her analysis lacks the depth and rigor of Catholic theology before 1958, and her reliance on personal experience and modern sources reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the Church’s immutable teaching on the nature of the spiritual combat and the absolute necessity of the sacraments for protection against the devil.
The Seduction of Yoga: A Symptom of Modern Spiritual Confusion
Linda Carl’s testimony reveals the insidious nature of yoga and its ability to seduce even well-intentioned Catholics. She describes how she was “swooped into the seduction” of yoga, practicing it for nearly 20 years before realizing its dangers. This is not surprising, for the devil is a cunning serpent who disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The modern world, steeped in religious indifferentism and the cult of man, is particularly susceptible to such deceptions. As Pope Pius IX warned in the Syllabus of Errors, “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation” (Proposition 16) is a condemned error. The belief that all spiritual paths lead to God is a hallmark of Modernism, which the Church has consistently condemned. St. Pius X, in Lamentabili sane exitu, condemned the proposition that “Protestantism is nothing more than another form of the same true Christian religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as in the Catholic Church” (Proposition 18). Similarly, yoga, as a Hindu spirituality, cannot lead to salvation but only to spiritual ruin.
Carl correctly identifies yoga as a Hindu spirituality, noting that the word “yoga” means “to yoke or to unite” with the Hindu god Brahman, not the God revealed in the Bible. She warns that “yoga is actually a Hindu spirituality, which makes it an occult practice, and anything of the occult opens the door to Satan and evil spirits.” This is a crucial point, for the Church has always taught that any practice not rooted in the true faith is susceptible to demonic influence. As Our Lord Himself warned, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). The Catechism of the Council of Trent explicitly condemns all forms of divination, sorcery, and superstition, which include practices such as yoga that seek to manipulate spiritual forces outside the sacramental life of the Church.
The Danger of Kundalini and the Serpent Spirit
One of the most alarming aspects of Carl’s testimony is her discussion of Kundalini yoga, which she describes as “one of the most dangerous types of yoga.” She explains that Kundalini is said to be an energy that resides at the base of the spine in the form of a serpent, and she rightly identifies the serpent as Satan. This is a profound insight, for the serpent is the ancient enemy of mankind who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-15). The Kundalini serpent is a demonic counterfeit of the Holy Spirit, and its awakening through yoga practices is an invitation to possession and spiritual destruction.
Carl also warns about the misleading terminology used in yoga, such as “Ujjayi breath,” which means “snake” in Sanskrit. She notes that “we were never told that” in her teacher trainings, highlighting the deceptive nature of yoga instruction. This is consistent with the devil’s modus operandi, for he is the father of lies (John 8:44). The Church has always taught that the devil seeks to deceive mankind through false religions and philosophies. As Pope Leo XIII warned in the Encyclical Humanum Genus on Freemasonry, “the kingdom of God is being attacked by the forces of darkness, and the human race is being led to its destruction by the cunning of the devil.” Yoga, as a practice rooted in Hindu spirituality, is one of the tools used by the devil to lead souls astray.
The New Age: A Counterfeit Religion
Carl correctly identifies yoga as a gateway to the New Age movement, which includes practices such as crystals, numerology, astrology, and channeling. She warns that “the New Age is an ideology that essentially replaces religion, which essentially replaces God.” This is a profound observation, for the New Age movement is a manifestation of the spirit of antichrist that seeks to dethrone God and elevate man to the status of god. As Pope Pius XI warned in the Encyclical Quas Primas, “the plague of our times is the so-called secularism, its errors and wicked endeavors.” The New Age movement is a form of secularism that seeks to replace the supernatural religion of Christ with a naturalistic religion of man.
The Church has always condemned all forms of naturalism and pantheism, which deny the existence of a Supreme, all-wise, all-provident Divine Being distinct from the universe. Pope Pius IX, in the Syllabus of Errors, condemned the proposition that “there exists no Supreme, all-wise, all-provident Divine Being, distinct from the universe, and God is identical with the nature of things” (Proposition 1). The New Age movement, with its emphasis on the divinity of man and the universe, is a modern manifestation of this condemned error.
The Necessity of the Sacraments and the True Spiritual Combat
While Carl’s warnings about yoga are commendable, her analysis lacks the depth and rigor of Catholic theology before 1958. She relies heavily on personal experience and modern sources, which, while valuable, cannot replace the immutable teaching of the Church. The Church has always taught that the primary means of protection against the devil and his snares are the sacraments, particularly Baptism, Confession, and the Holy Eucharist. As the Catechism of the Council of Trent teaches, “the sacraments are the ordinary means of salvation, and without them, no one can be saved.”
Carl mentions prayer and discernment as the means by which she left yoga, but she does not emphasize the absolute necessity of the sacraments for spiritual protection. This is a significant omission, for the Church has always taught that prayer without the sacraments is insufficient. As St. Robert Bellarmine teaches in De Romano Pontifice, “the sacraments are the channels of grace, and without them, the soul is spiritually dead.” The modern tendency to rely on personal experience and feelings rather than the objective means of grace provided by the Church is a symptom of the Modernist heresy, which St. Pius X condemned in Pascendi Dominici Gregis.
Furthermore, Carl does not address the role of the true priesthood in the spiritual combat against the devil. The Church has always taught that the priest, acting in the person of Christ (in persona Christi), has the authority to exorcise demons and protect the faithful from their attacks. As Pope Leo XIII taught in the Encyclical Quamquam Pluries, “the priest is the representative of Christ on earth, and it is through him that the faithful receive the graces necessary for salvation.” The modernist conciliar sect, with its invalid sacraments and heretical teachings, cannot provide this protection, leaving the faithful vulnerable to the attacks of the devil.
The Failure to Address the Root Cause: Modernist Apostasy
Carl’s analysis, while well-intentioned, fails to address the root cause of the spiritual confusion that leads Catholics to practices such as yoga: the Modernist apostasy that has infected the Church since the Second Vatican Council. The conciliar sect, with its false ecumenism, religious liberty, and dialogue with false religions, has created an environment in which Catholics are no longer taught the absolute necessity of the Catholic faith for salvation. As Pope Pius IX warned in the Syllabus of Errors, “the Church has not the power of defining dogmatically that the religion of the Catholic Church is the only true religion” (Proposition 21) is a condemned error. The conciliar sect, by promoting religious liberty and dialogue with false religions, has effectively denied this dogma.
The result is that Catholics are no longer equipped to discern the dangers of practices such as yoga. As St. Pius X warned in Lamentabili sane exitu, “the pursuit of novelty in the investigation of the foundations of things leads in our times to deplorable consequences, abandoning all restraint” (Proposition 1). The conciliar sect, with its emphasis on adaptation to the modern world, has abandoned the immutable teaching of the Church and left the faithful vulnerable to the deceptions of the devil.
Conclusion: Return to Immutable Tradition
In conclusion, Linda Carl’s warnings about the dangers of yoga are commendable, but her analysis lacks the depth and rigor of Catholic theology before 1958. The Church has always taught that the primary means of protection against the devil and his snares are the sacraments, particularly Baptism, Confession, and the Holy Eucharist. Furthermore, the true priesthood, acting in the person of Christ, has the authority to exorcise demons and protect the faithful from their attacks. The modernist conciliar sect, with its invalid sacraments and heretical teachings, cannot provide this protection, leaving the faithful vulnerable to the attacks of the devil.
The solution is not merely to warn against yoga and the New Age, but to return to the immutable Tradition of the Church, which alone can provide the protection and guidance necessary for salvation. As Pope Pius XI taught in the Encyclical Quas Primas, “the hope of lasting peace will not yet shine upon nations as long as individuals and states renounce and do not wish to recognize the reign of our Savior.” Let us therefore reject the errors of Modernism and return to the true faith of our fathers, which alone can lead us to eternal salvation.
Source:
Book explores ‘darkness’ of yoga (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 12.05.2026