yoga... can I or can't i?

seaKind

what do y'all think of this/ yoga in general as a Christian? It's a topic I have thought about and struggled with for years! One one hand, for me it's just stretching which I Love, but on the other hand, if it Is tied to the worship of other gods, do i really want to mess w it? Chime in w your thoughts, please...

http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2012/08/armstrong-to-yoga-or-not-to-yoga/

Ocarina

I would. I'm Catholic.

It's silly in my opinion. The Christmas tree is tied to pagan traditions but we still use it. I really think a true Christian can be disciplined and avoid the spiritual part of yoga and enjoy the physical parts. If you get addicted to it or turn to it rather then religion then I can see it being a problem.

This isn't something I would treat as a black or white issue.

grassette

Yoga is a practice of Hinduism. Yes one part of it is stretching into weird poses, and the other part, the meditation takes you into the religious practice. When you focus on finding the 3rd eye, moving through the chakras, you are opening yourself up to occult influences.

There have been some interesting articles on yoga published in the NYTimes in the past few months. One dealt with the serious injuries one can get from yoga, like popping out your ribs. That article was a real eye opener for me.

The other was how yoga practice is meant to arouse you sexually. This article was not exclusive to tantric yoga.

I did yoga for around 20 years, so I know that you generally feel real good after doing the stretches. I also believe that there is an element of self-hypnosis when you do yoga breathing. What I found convincing were the arguments of Hindu converts to Catholicism on yoga practice. I figure that they know what they are talking about.

I also found interesting the prohibition to follow the breath into the body when doing the Jesus prayer. Having done yoga, I would have done this automatically, and was drawn up short by the monk's prohibition to do just that.

My advice is to get informed, and know where the boundaries are.

seaKind

What I found convincing were the arguments of Hindu converts to Catholicism on yoga practice. I figure that they know what they are talking about.

very interesting point! any suggestions on links/ websites/ books where I can expand on this research?
Thanks!!!!

seaKind

I also found interesting the prohibition to follow the breath into the body when doing the Jesus prayer. Having done yoga, I would have done this automatically, and was drawn up short by the monk's prohibition to do just that.

I have no idea what you're talking about here (as you can see, I know very little about "yoga"), can you expand on this?

grassette

What I found convincing were the arguments of Hindu converts to Catholicism on yoga practice. I figure that they know what they are talking about.

very interesting point! any suggestions on links/ websites/ books where I can expand on this research?
Thanks!!!!

I did a google search and came up with this one: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0275.html

Yoga is incompatible with Catholicism because the best known practice of Hindu spirituality is Yoga. “Inner” Hinduism professes pantheism, which denies that there is only one infinite Being who created the world out of nothing. This pantheistic Hinduism says to the multitude of uncultured believers who follow the ways of the gods that they will receive the reward of the gods. They will have brief tastes of heaven between successive rebirths on earth. But they will never be delivered from the “wheel of existence” with its illusory lives and deaths until they realize that only “God” exists and all else is illusion (Maya). To achieve this liberation the principal way is by means of concentration and self control (yoga).

Indian spirituality is perhaps best known by the practice of yoga, derived from the root yuj to unite or yoke, which in context means union with the Absolute. Numerous stages are distinguished in the upward progress toward the supreme end of identification: by means of knowledge with the deity; the practice of moral virtues and observance of ethical rules; bodily postures; control of internal and external senses; concentration of memory and meditation–finally terminating in total absorption (samadhi), “when the seer stands in his own nature.”

Although the psychic element is far more important in yoga than the body, the latter is more characteristic of this method of Hindu liberation. Its purpose is to secure the best disposition of body for the purpose of meditation. The practice begins with a simple device for deep and slow breathing.

Snip

Gradually by sheer concentration of attention; the mind reaches a state of trance, where all mental activity stops and the consciousness rests in itself. The state of samadhi is the culmination of yoga and beyond it lies release. The life of the soul is not destroyed but is reduced to its “unconscious and permanent essence.”

*************************

You can find more in this Vatican document on the New Age: JESUS CHRIST THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE, A Christian reflection on the “New Age”

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html

See also: LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON SOME ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION here: https://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFMED.HTM

This article explains how yoga links to Monism and Gnosticism: http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/the-trouble-with-yoga

More on how Hinduism uses yoga to make converts:

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8763

I am sure that you will find more in doing your own search.

seaKind

thanks Grass!

DeeDeeLHF

I understand all that is being said here and as a Catholic I would never sign up for a "yoga class" that is being offered at some new age facility. However, all of that said. I also, do not think it is sinful or anti-Catholic to do the Yoga Stretch on p90x or to do yoga maneuvers on many popular exercise DVD's.

D

grassette

I also found interesting the prohibition to follow the breath into the body when doing the Jesus prayer. Having done yoga, I would have done this automatically, and was drawn up short by the monk's prohibition to do just that.

I have no idea what you're talking about here (as you can see, I know very little about "yoga"), can you expand on this?

If you have read the articles, you learn that the purpose of yoga breathing/meditation is to put you in a trance. Many times, there is a mantra that accompanies the breathing that enables you to empty your mind, facilitating the entry into trance.

I have read Catholic priests in India warn that being in such a trance state can open you up to occult spirits. As I mentioned before, these priests are Hindu converts who understand more clearly what yoga is all about. There are also people who advocate "Christian" yoga, but these are never Hindu converts to Catholicism, but Westerners who practice syncretism---something those Vatican documents identify and warn us about.

The Jesus prayer can be very much like a mantra. The Jesus Prayer is a strong practice of Orthodox monks, and you can google it to learn how to say it. Basically, it is a response to Paul`s instruction to pray without ceasing. So you take the prayer of the publican, "Lord, have mercy on me a sinner," and learn to say it with each breath. But you avoid doing anything that would put you into a trance. In other words, you don't follow the breath into your body, and you don't say it with the intent of emptying your mind. The instructions of the monks are very unlike those used for yoga meditation.

I think that any Christian who practices yoga as exercise should also study yoga's spirituality and theology. Then, when you use it, you know where to place the line. Yoga exercise can make you feel good because stretching makes you feel good. But yoga is a spiritual discipline as well as a physical one, with a definite purpose to allow you to meditate for hours on end comfortably. So, when the yoga session finishes with meditation, then this is a Hindu conversion tactic that you need to be aware of.

totustuusmaria

I stay away from it. It is so attached to the new age stuff that I just don't even play with it... not for anything. Your soul is never worth your health. And there are other ways to exercise besides yoga.

LMPMOM4

I was a yoga teacher before becoming Catholic. I spent years studying the religion of Yoga. I firmly believe yoga is rooted in the Hindu religion. It is a religion. There really is no separating the two. I have chosen to not practice anymore, but I still try to stretch after I work out.

pumpkinoodle

I would. I'm Catholic.

It's silly in my opinion. The Christmas tree is tied to pagan traditions but we still use it. I really think a true Christian can be disciplined and avoid the spiritual part of yoga and enjoy the physical parts. If you get addicted to it or turn to it rather then religion then I can see it being a problem.

This isn't something I would treat as a black or white issue.

Amen brother! It is not a black or white issue. I think it depends on the kind of Catholic you are. If you are a Catholic that believes your faith to be very "black OR white" then don't do Yoga. If you are a Catholic that believes your faith to be "black AND white" then do Yoga. It's all of a matter of perspective.

LMPMOM4

Have you read the Catechism of the Catholic Church? It's pretty black and white about a lot of things. That is part and parcel of being Catholic.

pumpkinoodle

I have read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but even that is not black and white - especially if you take into consideration the version you read.

I've read the version my Grandmother had from the 1970's and compared it with a Second Edition online version from 2003: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm

Similar, but not 100% the same and it certainly does not say "Yoga is will prevent you from getting into Heaven."

Have you read the Catechism of the Catholic Church? It's pretty black and white about a lot of things. That is part and parcel of being Catholic.