Can Catholics participate in yoga?

[Moses_Goldman]

EXACTLY! And every time Sharon Lee Giganti is a guest on Catholic Answers Live, this question come up, and every time, she points to the encyclical: vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html
Stretching of course is fine. Doing yoga is New Age and therefore not fine. Yoga that is practiced here in the West is more than just stretching because it is a Hindu practice from the Bagavad Gita to open yourself up to the wisdom of their god Vishnu. Find some other way to stretch and be flexible, even if a stretch may appear to be a yoga pose, stretch away.

Wrong. It’s BHagavad Gita and the Lord is KRISHNA in the Gita. And it’s not New Age… it’s older than Christianity. and Yoga predates the Gita…

 

[daCatholicGuard]

Wrong. It’s BHagavad Gita and the Lord is KRISHNA in the Gita. And it’s not New Age… it’s older than Christianity. and Yoga predates the Gita…

Hello Moses,

The common vernacular term, New Age is somewhat of a misnomer; in reality, many “New Age” subjects are several thousand years’ old. The term is derived by their general resurgence in popularity in recent years; however, they are all still to be avoided.

Oremus pro invicem,

Sean C. :knight2:

 

[LightBound]

Yoga postures are based on paying homage to specific Hindu gods. The teachings of the Catholic Church are based in Scripture AND Tradition. Current suggestions suggest that participating in the practice of Yoga is unwise and exposes our souls to elements outside of Christian spirituality and even dangerous. Why is it so difficult to practice obedience without demanding proof? As of now we are asked to avoid these postures so why become incensed that you are being asked to listen to the authority that probably knows more than you do?

Okay, so let me get this right. Anytime I do a stretching exercise (or bend down to pick something up, get food out of a cabinet, or clean house) and my body happens to be in a position that could be considered a “yoga pose”, I’m now paying homage to a Hindu god?

Sounds like I better just stay in bed all day if I am to avoid that

 

[Moses_Goldman]

Okay, so let me get this right. Anytime I do a stretching exercise (or bend down to pick something up, get food out of a cabinet, or clean house) and my body happens to be in a position that could be considered a “yoga pose”, I’m now paying homage to a Hindu god?

Sounds like I better just stay in bed all day if I am to avoid that

Poses are not homage to gods - this is a complete misunderstanding and betrays the ignorance of Westerners who are reading their attitudes into what they see.

 

[LightBound]

Poses are not homage to gods - this is a complete misunderstanding and betrays the ignorance of Westerners who are reading their attitudes into what they see.

and that’s why I included the (eye-rolling) emoticon with my comment. Too many people are looking for a demon under every doorstep and freak out with anything that doesn’t come from a Western European perspective.

Doing yoga exercises without the spiritual aspect of the Eastern beliefs is simply stretching and taking care of the body God gave us!

 

[ProVobis]

I’m now paying homage to a Hindu god?

What’s more interesting is that scholars have determined that the English word for the Deity itself has roots in Sanskrit.

wahiduddin.net/words/name_god.htm

 

[Ahimsa]

So let me get this straight… I can’t exercise/stretch while praying to and meditating on God.

What happens if I accidentally think of Jesus when I do these exercises? I’m opening my soul up to demons?

Thinking of Jesus while exercising is fine. Just don’t think of the Buddha while exercising. In fact, don’t think about anything Asian at all.

 

[Catholic90]

and that’s why I included the (eye-rolling) emoticon with my comment. Too many people are looking for a demon under every doorstep and freak out with anything that doesn’t come from a Western European perspective.

Doing yoga exercises without the spiritual aspect of the Eastern beliefs is simply stretching and taking care of the body God gave us!

 

[Catholic90]

Thinking of Jesus while exercising is fine. Just don’t think of the Buddha while exercising. In fact, don’t think about anything Asian at all.

I sometimes think about Asian food…

 

[severus68]

Thinking of Jesus while exercising is fine. Just don’t think of the Buddha while exercising. In fact, don’t think about anything Asian at all.

Yes, of course and especially if you are Asian.

 

[Catholic90]

Yoga postures are based on paying homage to specific Hindu gods.

So when I lay down in the sun in the summer to soak up the sun, would you consider I am prostrating myself before Ra?

I am just trying to get a tan!

 

[severus68]

and that’s why I included the (eye-rolling) emoticon with my comment. Too many people are looking for a demon under every doorstep and freak out with anything that doesn’t come from a Western European perspective.

Doing yoga exercises without the spiritual aspect of the Eastern beliefs is simply stretching and taking care of the body God gave us!

You are absolutely right. Some here with their fears,forget where Christ himself was born.

I was taught yoga breathing exercises for pain by a practising Muslim yoga teacher. They were just exercises without words.

 

[severus68]

Greetings all,

I am not an expert on Yoga, so I cannot comment on the specifics; however, I will say that IF any of those postures are indeed based on acts of homage to Hindu gods- that should be enough for any self-respecting Catholic who loves his/her God and their Faith to avoid Yoga. You shouldn’t need to see a dogmatic treatise every time these types of subjects come up, (it is the same story with Harry Potter books, etc, etc.).

It is all part of humility and obedience to general consensuses based on a body of knowledge far greater than our own- just accept it for the love of God and leave it at that. If you need to question every aspect of the faith and need empirical evidence for every facet of it- you might as well forget it altogether because that is not what practicing the Faith is about.

Oremus pro invicem,

Sean C. :knight2:

Its poor Harry Porter now??? What general consensus please?

So, based on your arguement, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ on the 25th of December? It is the date of a pagan festival (s) after all.

 

[Ahimsa]

Its poor Harry Porter now??? What general consensus please?

So, based on your arguement, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ on the 25th of December? It is the date of a pagan festival (s) after all.

Harry Potter is a very interesting name. It sounds very close to the Sanskrit “Hari Putra”, which means “Son of God”, “Hari” being one of the names of God in Hinduism.

 

[severus68]

Harry Potter is a very interesting name. It sounds very close to the Sanskrit “Hari Putra”, which means “Son of God”, “Hari” being one of the names of God in Hinduism.

Interesting.

 

[daCatholicGuard]

What general consensus please?

So, based on your arguement, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ on the 25th of December? It is the date of a pagan festival (s) after all.

Hello Severus,

The general consensus being the consul offered to us by various priests, bishops and cardinals; after all, our church donations go towards their support; you wouldn’t want them to think of themselves as ill-used by not paying any attention to them, would you?

I didn’t set the date of December the 25th to be recognized as the official celebratory date for the birth of Christ; the Catholic Church, in Her wisdom, (that far exceeds everybody else’s here), set that date- who am I to argue with it?

Oremus pro invicem,

Sean C. :knight2:

 

[Ahimsa]

Greetings all,

I am not an expert on Yoga, so I cannot comment on the specifics; however, I will say that IF any of those postures are indeed based on acts of homage to Hindu gods- that should be enough for any self-respecting Catholic who loves his/her God and their Faith to avoid Yoga. You shouldn’t need to see a dogmatic treatise every time these types of subjects come up, (it is the same story with Harry Potter books, etc, etc.).

So if someone is able to show that a certain Catholic or generally Christian practice originated amongst non-Christians in connection with non-Christian (or non-Jewish) religious ideas, then that practice should be avoided?

 

[agnes_therese]

Sometimes exercise is just exercise.

 

[Vis_Fati]

Harry Potter is a very interesting name. It sounds very close to the Sanskrit “Hari Putra”, which means “Son of God”, “Hari” being one of the names of God in Hinduism.

This itself doesn’t mean that the author of Harry Potter was a Hindu or was advocating Hinduism.

I’m writing a novel that is steeped in Christian lore and I create character names because of what they mean in other languages. I have a character that I name after a demon from a non-Christian culture. Another character’s name is from another (very small) non-Christian culture’s word for “God.” Another character’s name is a Native American tribe’s name for “darkness.”

None of this is advocacy of these cultures. Darth Vader means “Dark Father” in German. Han Solo is an on-his-own mercenary, hence his name “Solo.” Luke, who saves the world from darkness, means “light.” etc. etc.

These are just clever ways of giving character names that have implicit meaning. But it’s not advocacy of any particular religion, per se.

 

[Mickey]

Yoga postures are based on paying homage to specific Hindu gods. The teachings of the Catholic Church are based in Scripture AND Tradition. Current suggestions suggest that participating in the practice of Yoga is unwise and exposes our souls to elements outside of Christian spirituality and even dangerous. Why is it so difficult to practice obedience without demanding proof? As of now we are asked to avoid these postures so why become incensed that you are being asked to listen to the authority that probably knows more than you do?

Agreed. Avoid anything yoga.