Can a Christian participate in yoga?

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There are nuns practicing wicca and goddess worship as well. Just think wwmad (What would Mother Angelica do?).
 
I’m sorry to upset anyone, but EWTN is not the ultimate source of truth.

Does anyone have reliable sources that prove that yoga positions open one up to evil spirits-- besides just saying “the priests on EWTN said to avoid yoga”?
 
I don’t know about the religious aspects of yoga. Like Princess Abbey I am fully capable of dismissing that, ignoring it, cloaking myself in the protection of my guardian angel and doing any exercise that will help me with balance and strength…

except yoga because some of those positions are IMPOSSIBLE, I TELL YOU!!!

just kidding…😉

No, seriously…I loved Pilates and I think if you are looking for some help in the area of strength, balance and flexibility Pilates will help without demanding too much of you…uh, of me…
 
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steve99:
There are nuns who get involved in Reiki & all sorts of new-age practices. Don’t think that just because nuns do it then it is OK.
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Oh Steve…not here in the most conservative Southern state in the US…I just don’t see it. But thanks for your warning.
 
I had many years of yoga in my youthful days. I think it helped me stay more flexible and fit and now my dr. wants me to go back to it. I don’t recall any talk of chakras, etc. We did have a lot of visualization…“imagine yourself lying in a boat on a calm sea…etc.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with visualization techniques.
 
When looking for discernment, I find it is always profitable to look at the roots. If you need to avoid the roots, than the off-shoots should be avoided as well. The off-shoots can easily be disguised to look beneficial and good.
 
I like to stretch, and I like the yoga poses…so I looked some of them up and do them when my muscles hurt…it helps stretch them out and relieve some tension…I’m not real “up” on the chakras or chants and apparent potential for possession I’m sensing around here…I just looked at the pictures and tried stuff; if it hurt, I stopped, if it stretched and felt good, I added it to my bag of tricks to make life with a crappy lower back more bearable…I think there can be an acceptable “use” of the practice…but what do I know…? What if you say your rosary during your “stretching session”?

My point is, I think it’s like other things – astrology, for example…is it immoral to study the stars? no, but if you start studying how the stars mean certain things, etc.and rule your life and you should do x y and z b/c the stars say so…well…:whistle:
 
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Honoria20:
Check out these links and decide for yourself

ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?Pgnu=1&Pg=Forum13&recnu=9&number=455306

crossveil.org/page7.html
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Here’s what the above quote from the priest at EWTN said:
What one means by the practice of Yoga can vary very widely. But thanks for the information on the dangers that Yoga has when placed in a New Ages setting.

That’s an important distinction I saw several people on this thread attempting to make - not all yoga is centered in new age. The kinds that are should be avoided. Yoga DVDs, community center classes, etc. that involve the stretching and balance w/out the new age “wisdom” are exercise and toning.
 
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goravens:
Here’s what the above quote from the priest at EWTN said:
What one means by the practice of Yoga can vary very widely. But thanks for the information on the dangers that Yoga has when placed in a New Ages setting.

That’s an important distinction I saw several people on this thread attempting to make - not all yoga is centered in new age. The kinds that are should be avoided. Yoga DVDs, community center classes, etc. that involve the stretching and balance w/out the new age “wisdom” are exercise and toning.
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Uuumm…I used the link to EWTN to establish credibility for those who have not heard of Clare Merkle.
As for the “New Age” stuff that wasn’t what I was really pointing to, I wanted those who were not aware of the dangers of Yoga to read ALL that she states in that link in order to make their own informed opinion.😉
 
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johnq:
When looking for discernment, I find it is always profitable to look at the roots. If you need to avoid the roots, than the off-shoots should be avoided as well. The off-shoots can easily be disguised to look beneficial and good.
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Absolutely, and the roots of Yoga are the occult. The word Yoga means “yoking” and refers to union with Braman.
Jesus warns us about rotton fruit coming from a rotton tree
“There is no sound tree that produces rotton fruit, nor again a rotton tree that produces sound fruit.” (Lk 6:43)
To the extent that you are rooted in the occult and other non-christian practices will the fruit you produce be rotton or withered.
Jesus warns us several times about being rooted in good soil - see the parable of the sower (Lk 8:4-8) and the fig tree (Lk 13:6-8). The good soil is of course Jesus and the word of God.
“Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5)

For more information on the roots of Yoga, and other similar eastern meditation techniques follow this link. flameministries.org/word.htm
 
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CatholicSam:
I was very surprised to learn that yoga, even “Christian” yoga, is not OK. I learned this from Johnette Benkovic on EWTN, and she had an expert on New-Age things as her guest. Basically, the poses of yoga are occult symbols in themselves, even if you don’t do any meditation. The analogy they used was the Sign of the Cross. When you make the Sign of the Cross, it is a prayer, even if your mind isn’t on the Sign. Please do yourself a HUGE favor and stay away from yoga and choose some other form of exercise. The health benefits cannot compensate for the fact that it is an occult activity. Johnette has a radio program on EWTN where you can call in, called “Moments of Truth Live.” Why not call in and ask this question? The website is www.lhla.org
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Whoa! In order for the sign of the cross to be a prayer, doesn’t the person making it have to have at least a slight intention to pray? If someone makes the sign of the cross in a satanic ritual, are they still praying to God?

It’s easy to find occult symbols in lots of things; that doesn’t mean they’re there intentionally or that they mean anything in that context. One could make the argument that the Christmas tree is an occult symbol. Symbols are only symbols if they actually represent something in the mind of the person viewing or using them. Otherwise, they’re just objects in God’s creation.

The idea that faith in God is somehow trumped by the unintentional symbolism of a body position is ridiculous and represents an overly magical view of the world. What if I accidentally find myself in the position of a yoga pose? Am I somehow accidentally participating in an occult activity? God does not defend us against evil and then abandon that defense because we unintentionally did something that maybe bears a resemblance to something occult participants do. God does not judge outward appearances, but the heart.

Incidentally, yoga comes from the eastern traditions of Hinduism (a collection of pagan religions) and Buddhism (a largely non-religious philosophy). Though they are false religions, neither of them constitutes the occult.
 
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Honoria20:
I tried Yoga once many years ago when going through a lot of stress in my life. I just could not relax whatsoever.
It was only later when I got really serious about my relationship with God and did lots of reading and came upon many articles stating the dangers of Yoga. It is another religion and some of the "positions "can leave one open to evil spirits.:eek:
That was enough for me to give thanks that I couldn’t get into it!:twocents:

BTW, there are lots of threads on this subject already, I found them very informative and many of the posts backed up what I had already read.
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Enlighten me as to how a body position could leave me open to evil spirits. Keep in mind that the body is created by God and is His temple. He created all the ways in which it could move and position itself. Also, keep in mind that I have faith in Jesus Christ, not in some magic associated with a position of the body.

Just because some people may have attached a certain meaning to a body position does not mean that the position actually has that meaning. Why do intentions of the heart not matter to anyone here? They seem to matter a lot to God.
 
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Amie:
I didn’t care for yoga, it just seems too slow. I really like Pilates though…none of the hassle of the “chakras” but a lot of great stretching, toning, etc. It really helped after baby #2, and I enjoyed the exercises. You can get more simple, slower, pilates to start with, then move into harder exercises later. Just a good alternative I think.

God bless,
-Amy
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But some of the all-important roots of Pilates are in Yoga!
 
Scott Waddell:
It seems no Catholic should touch a yoga program unless the instructor explicitly denied and expunged all the religious/spiritual aspects.

Scott
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I very much agree. Perhaps it would avoid confusion if such an exercise program were given a different name, to distinguish it from the Eastern philosophy/spirituality/religion from which we borrow the positions? (Although adherents to that religion originally borrowed the positions from God. Again, I emphasize that just because they assigned some meaning to the pose, it doesn’t mean the pose actually has that meaning.) It seems that if we take away all of that, we really shouldn’t call it yoga anymore, and changing the name might help.
 
I say forget the yoga… try running instead. It’s a great form of excercise and one that’s actually encouraged by God: “… and let us RUN with perseverance the race marked out for us” Hebrews 12:1

🙂
 
Kristina P.:
I very much agree. Perhaps it would avoid confusion if such an exercise program were given a different name, to distinguish it from the Eastern philosophy/spirituality/religion from which we borrow the positions? (Although adherents to that religion originally borrowed the positions from God. Again, I emphasize that just because they assigned some meaning to the pose, it doesn’t mean the pose actually has that meaning.) It seems that if we take away all of that, we really shouldn’t call it yoga anymore, and changing the name might help.
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The following is quoted from the web site I gave a link to earlier.***

** *******Yoga, Literally,"yoking" and refers to “Union with Brahman.”****There are many schools of Yoga, and various techniques, but all have the same ultimate goal of, “union with the Absolute.” The bodily positions and breath control** are intended as aids to “Eastern Meditation” and are a means of controlling the body in disciplining oneself to renounce all desires which the body might otherwise impose upon the mind.**
Yoga is designed specifically to induce a state of trance** which supposedly allows the mind to be drawn upward into a yoking with Brahman. It is a means of withdrawal from the world of illusion [Maya] to seek the one true Reality. There are Yoga exercises for physical fitness only, but no part of Yoga can be separated from the philosophy behind it.
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     ****          ******There is no part of yoga that is not rooted in the occult and that includes Hatha touted in the West as a merely a physical exercise only that is allegedly good for your health...
It’s up to you, but you have been warned.
 
carol marie:
I say forget the yoga… try running instead. It’s a great form of excercise and one that’s actually encouraged by God: “… and let us RUN with perseverance the race marked out for us” Hebrews 12:1

🙂
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Carol Marie, I wish I could run but like Pheobecat3 I need low impact cardio.

Pheobecat3, Are you lookig for cardio or weights or flexibity or all of the above? For cardio, how about walking? Or water aerobics? Spinning? Urban rebounding? There are low impact aerobic classes/videos too.

I like yoga and have found it to increase my flexibility and relax me better than anything, but I tend to neglect flexibilty. :tsktsk: As others have mentioned, Pilates may be something for you. I didn’t care for it but thankfully there are opitions for keeping fit.

Best of luck to you!

Autumn
 
Kristina P.:
Enlighten me as to how a body position could leave me open to evil spirits. Keep in mind that the body is created by God and is His temple. He created all the ways in which it could move and position itself. Also, keep in mind that I have faith in Jesus Christ, not in some magic associated with a position of the body.

Just because some people may have attached a certain meaning to a body position does not mean that the position actually has that meaning. Why do intentions of the heart not matter to anyone here? They seem to matter a lot to God.
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Read the article and you will understand where some of us are coming from 😉 These experts can explain better than we can, plus they’re more credible than some anonymous person stating his/her opinion on a forum.

I am replying to this because you are asking for clarification, I’m not trying to demean you. But if you don’t read the article, please don’t keep asking us to explain. We have provided you with an explanation. After reading it, tell us if there is anything in that explanation do you have a problem with and we can continue a productive discussion.
 
Who was Joseph Pilates?

Born in Germany in 1880, Joseph H. Pilates had a lifelong interest in body conditioning. As a frail child dedicated to becoming stronger, he later grew to become an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast, and boxer.

While interned in England during World War I for his German citizenship, Joseph became a nurse. During this time, he designed exercise apparatus for immobilized patients by attaching springs to hospital beds. This system formed the foundation for his style of body conditioning and specialized exercise apparatus, which he brought to New York City when he opened the first New York Pilates Studio® in 1926.

Currently, the Pilates Method is used internationally by individuals at all levels of fitness as well as by dance companies, Broadway shows, students at performing arts schools and universities, sports teams, spa clients, and fitness enthusiasts at private health clubs and gyms.

No link between Yoga and Pilates except they both involve stretching and you can buy mats for them in the same area of the sports department!
 
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CatholicSam:
Read the article and you will understand where some of us are coming from 😉 These experts can explain better than we can, plus they’re more credible than some anonymous person stating his/her opinion on a forum.

I am replying to this because you are asking for clarification, I’m not trying to demean you. But if you don’t read the article, please don’t keep asking us to explain. We have provided you with an explanation. After reading it, tell us if there is anything in that explanation do you have a problem with and we can continue a productive discussion.
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I had read the article, and it did not answer my question. Specifically, it continued to talk about the harms of the bad psychology used by many yoga instructors and practitioners. However, there’s a lot of “yoga” out there that includes no psychology or philosophy at all. It doesn’t encourage physically dangerous movements or poses, and the instructor says ONLY things like, “Now we’re going to do downward dog. Feel the stretch in your calves,” etc.

Unless I’ve misinterpreted, the author seems to assert that this “kundalini arousal” is inherent in the body positions themselves. Medically speaking, there’s no good reason to believe this. If one is practicing the religion of yoga, then I don’t doubt that demonic influence can cause some strange behavior and mystical abilities. Chasing after these experiences is wrong. But,if someone does not practice the religion or philosophy of yoga and does not chase after mystical experiences, there is no good reason to believe that the position of one’s body is going to cause demons to flock their way.

I agree that a lot of popular mystic yoga is bad philosophy, bad religion, and bad psychology. It’s often bad physical exercise, as well, because the instructor may have little to no training in exercise physiology. For these reasons, it is wise to avoid a yoga class unless you can be absolutely sure that the person teaching it is qualified to know what is and is not physically dangerous and that they will not be bringing any of the religion or philosophy of it into the class, implicitly or explicitly. This can be a hassle, and it’s fine to reject yoga in order to avoid the risk of ill effects.

But, theologically speaking, nothing about a physical position can open one up to demonic influence. I’m concerned that some participants here may take such lines of reasoning to their logical end and begin to live their lives in fear of accidentally coming under demonic influence. God does not advocate needless fear but rather insists that we place our trust in Him and not in ourselves. Before I’d even heard of yoga, I was doing several “yoga poses” that I discovered on my own as simple stretches or strengthening exercises. I experienced no ill effects, and I have experienced no ill effects from doing yoga-derived exercises since then. I take great care to avoid bringing any of yoga’s mysticism, psychology, philosophy, and religion into my life.
 
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