Anybody here do yoga exercises?

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I say unknowingly because I’ve read that some poses are meant to worship gods…they don’t tell you that when you’re doing yoga…just that it’s a form of excercise and helps you breathe better…
 
Shakuhachi said:
Another concern I saw in those posts was that if you let your mind become empty some demon might fly in. That is totally contrary to St John of the Cross, A doctor of the Church, and the Apophatic tradition.

And thus the soul that journeys through this night, we may say, journeys in concealment and in hiding from the devil, as will be more clearly seen hereafter. Wherefore the soul says that it went forth ‘in darkness and secure’; for one that has such happiness as to be able to journey through the darkness of faith, taking faith for his guide, like to one that is blind, and leaving behind all natural imaginings and spiritual reasonings, journeys very securely, as we have said. And so the soul says furthermore that it went forth through this spiritual night, its ‘house being now at rest’ — that is to say, its spiritual and rational parts. When, therefore, the soul attains to union which is of God, its natural faculties are at rest, as are likewise its impulses and yearnings of the senses, in its spiritual part. For this cause the soul says not here that it went forth with yearnings, as in the first night of sense. For, in order to journey in the night of sense, and to strip itself of that which is of sense, it needed yearnings of sense-love so that it might go forth perfectly; but, in order to put to rest the house of its spirit, it needs no more than denial of all faculties and pleasures and desires of the spirit in pure faith.

Book 2 chapter 1
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I was reading through this thread and noticed this part; I feel I should clarify this misinterpretation of St. John’s work.

In this passage, he is talking about the Dark Night of the Senses, where God denies the soul certain consolations of the senses (the warm fuzziness you get when praying) so that they do not rely on the feeling they get out of prayer and so their desire for God grows. It is necessary during this time to also deny self will.

It would be in contradiction to the teachings of the saints to promote emptying your mind for meditation (centering prayer). Centering prayer, the kind of meditation used in Yoga, is dangerous and many Popes and even Catholic Answers have made comments on it in the negative.

In my personal opinion, often we forget that the Devil will find any way whatsoever to deter us away from God. Anything that has roots in a false religion has its purpose to lead us away from God and is therefore a great tool for Satan. Just like certain music or poses are consecrated to God (Gregorian chant, sign of the cross, genuflection, etc.) certain things have a special standing with Satan. Whatever doesn’t lead us to God should be cast away because this world is only a pit stop.
 
I respectfully disagree.

How do you account for the apophatic tradition in the Catholic Church?
 
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No; I am a Roman Catholic so therefore I don’t engage in Hindu worship.
 
One of the most popular forms of yoga taught in the US today was created in the late 1940’s by Walt Baptiste, a competitive bodybuilder based in San Francisco. It was popularized when it became the rage of Hollywood celebrities. So it’s as American as apple pie. It never had any religious overtones.
 
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Wow! I’m a little taken aback by the hostility of your response. Because someone has different views than yours it’s stupid?! No need to be sarcastic! To each their own… if you feel comfortable practicing yoga that’s your choice… as for me… I choose not to.
 
Don_Ruggero said:
Why are Catholics on this forum not of one mind and one heart with Nostra Aetate?
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Because they haven’t read it ! Although, if they are on this site, it is possible that they are not completely illiterate and actually do have some faculty of reading…
 
But we burn incense in the Catholic Church. We also eat pork, sometimes at Church events. Your two points are either complete non sequiturs or two very badly chosen examples.
 
That is precisely the reason I selected them.

Incense is supposed to be burned as part of worship. The prohibition from eating unclean meats was lifted in Acts. Bending and stretching are part of life.

The context is everything when it comes to these acts being good, neutral or sinful.
 
Where is it an article of faith that we should have read it? I have never heard it mentioned in all my years as a Catholic. I depend on the clergy to read such things and preach accordingly. That way I don’t become a self-appointed amatuer theologian. That role seems to be really popular o this site, though.
 
Well that point was lost on my and I work in the area of media communications and have a masters in it.
 
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