Can Catholics participate in yoga?

[Pitcharan]

Maureen is pure arrogance covering herself in religious trappings, and your (name removed by moderator)ut is no longer worth anything either.

You mean it was worth something earlier but not anymore.

Who authorized you to evaluate the worth of CAF posts?

Introspect and learn who is arrogant and proud. Your own posts describe you

 

[GoldenLight]

Catholics on Yoga
In 1989 the Vatican issued a warning:

“ The Vatican cautioned Roman Catholics that Eastern meditation practices such as Zen and Yoga can “degenerate into a cult of the body” that debase4s Christian prayer. “ The love of God, the sole object of Christian contemplation, is a reality which cannot be “mastered” by any method or technique”, said a document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. at that time under Cardinal Ratzinger now Pope Benedict VI.

No Christians, should not do Yoga because Yoga is part of a Religious system
that is not compatible with Judeo-Christianity and mixing the two is
Syncretism and the Catholic Church warns against that. The Yoga system is to
reach an impersonal God head through manipulation of the physical body and
the Chakra energy centers that it teaches to attain enlightenment. This view
is Gnostic. Christians do not inherently believe that the physical body is
evil and that it will reincarnate many times to reach enlightenment.
Reincarnation is a heresy that the Catholic Church has taught against in
scripture and the Catechism. To a Christian the body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit and will be resurrected with our Lord in Heaven. The Good News of
Resurection is bad news to a Yoga Master whose ultimate goal is liberation
from his body?

Yoga and Theology of the Body

No Christians should not do Yoga because Yoga is part of a Religious system
that is not compatible with Judeo-Christianity and mixing the two is
Syncretism and the Catholic Church warns against that. The Yoga system is to
reach an impersonal God head through manipulation of the physical body and
the Chakra energy centers that it teaches to attain enlightenment. This view
is Gnostic. Christians do not inherently believe that the physical body is
evil and that it will reincarnate many times to reach enlightenment.
Reincarnation is a heresy that the Catholic Church has taught against in
scripture and the Catechism. To a Christian the body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit and will be resurrected with our Lord in Heaven. The Good News of
Resurection is bad news to a Yoga Master whose ultimate goal is liberation
from his body!

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

What about Tai Chi?
Is that forbidden or told to stay away from too?

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

Yoga is a pagan practice and there is no room for paganism in the Church of Christ.

Well there goes Christmas, Easter, the three leaf clover of St. Patrick and numerous other things we have in our faith then.

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

The Church Fathers were wise, in what they say in the pagan beliefs that were good, or culturally popular and turned them Christian.

Had Yoga been arround then, they would have taken the movements, taken out Buddha, and replaced it with Christian prayers, told you to focus on the Holy Spirit and meditation of God, and that would be it. I don’t think we’d be having this conversation now.

 

[Cran]

@ Golden Light: Notice how it is talked about the “Yoga system”. That is because Yoga can be much more than the postures we talk about when we use the word Yoga. It can be indeed a whole spiritual set of believes, not only including posture, but believes, and then, it is indeed very contrary to the faith.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

But hey, an obliviate spell WOULD be handy!

Fantasy isn’t reduced to Harry Potter. We could also look at C.S. Lewis with his Chronicles of Narnia, explicitly written to express Christian symbolism, or Tolkien, who did it in a less obvious way, who was Catholic.

But it is fantasy, and magic is a topic, so kill it, kill it with fire! Right?

If you can separate fantasy from fiction in books, you can also do it with postures in yoga. If you can’t, you need to work on your spiritual maturity. And fast.

Indeed, though if you don’t mind me correcting, I think what you should be trying to say is if you can separate the word “magic” from its real-life occult connotations, then the same can be said with yoga postures. Words and postures are pretty much alike in that they’re just both physical objects. They have no inherent value other than what we attach to them.

P.S.

Random Fantasy Fact: Today there’s actually been a rise of mage archetypes who prefer solving their problems with pyromancy instead of memory loss.

 

[agnes_therese]

The people defending Yoga here are not going to be swayed by anything that Catholics faithful to the teachings of the Church say. They are caught in a vortex of relativism and pride and enjoy their own fantasy podium from which they can spew condescending aspersions to seriously concerned individuals.

Don’t humor them…

Wow, you can read the souls of so many! Amazing talent! And speaking of “condescending aspersions” . . .

 

[Ohana]

So, I should not go to a yoga class at my church, is that right. Nonsense

 

[paul11b]

so the p90x yoga tape is ok

 

[ILikeToBeCathol]

Movie your body into different positions with no thought as to religion is not pagan. Ergo, yoga devoid of spirituality is not pagan.

Actually, it is a pagan practice and yoga is really satanic.
You cannot practice yoga and consider yourself Catholic.

 

[ILikeToBeCathol]

Do you feel the same way about Christmas trees? Easter decorations?

Yoga as stretching is most certainly NOT pagan.

Yoga is a pagan “spiritual” practice and Catholics who practice yoga need to go to a priest to confess with mortal sin.

 

[severus68]

Baelor;8766883:

Movie your body into different positions with no thought as to religion is not pagan. Ergo, yoga devoid of spirituality is not pagan.

Actually, it is a pagan practice and yoga is really satanic.
You cannot practice yoga and consider yourself Catholic.

That would mean that many Catholics, including some here are not Catholic because they practise yoga and you have decreed it to be satanic.

 

[Whadyamean]

Yoga is a pagan “spiritual” practice and Catholics who practice yoga need to go to a priest to confess with mortal sin.

Methinks, ILBC, that somehow you got some information that needs adjustment? I would wager that the person who made such a confession would be laughed out of the confessional. Not that any priest would be so rude or blatant, but you get what I mean.They would have to be gently corrected, I think, as to being way too scrupulous. Or maybe you ought to study some yoga to know what you are talking about, Or see a priest and get things sorted out.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Actually, it is a pagan practice and yoga is really satanic.
You cannot practice yoga and consider yourself Catholic.

Blind assertion is not going to earn your stance any points.
By your logic, holding my hand to my face, with the middle and index finger pointing up whilst the former facing outward, means I’m engaging in the pagan practice of Shinto and can’t call myself Catholic.

 

[crazzeto]

Dude Yoga is simply an exercise system! The spiritual element drawn from Buddhist and Hindu spirituality is totally optional. The church has never condemned it. Dude don’t listen to him! go to yoga! I find it quite relaxing!

No, it is not simply an exercies system, it is first and foremost a system of worship. In the west, we have noticed the health benefits and picked up on it for that purpose generally speaking. But first and foremost, it is a worship act. Each yoga position is an act of worship to a different spirit, and a different God. On this level, it is right for yoga to be disallowed.

But, whether or not the church actually disallows it, and how your mindset affects the sinfulness of engaging in what otherwise could be pegan worship I can not answer. This is not something I’ve really studied. I would recommend as some others, do the research, and accept the answers you find in humility.

I have personally done yoga in the past, and I actually enjoyed it. My mind set was not oriented towards the moves as acts of woship at that time, in fact I had no idea that yoga was so religious at that point in time. This is something I have since found out. I could not do yoga now, on a physical level. I beleive (though have not confirmed) that I have carple tunnel syndrom and my wrist wouldn’t allow the moves. But, if I were healthy I would still think twice about it. Yoga is fundamentally an act of worship, to Gods and Spirits I reject as daemons at worst, idols at best.

 

[agnes_therese]

Yoga is a pagan “spiritual” practice and Catholics who practice yoga need to go to a priest to confess with mortal sin.

It’s amazing how many people here think they can judge people’s souls by the type of physical exercise they do. Actually, it’s just amazing how many people here think they can judge people’s souls, period.

 

[Whadyamean]

No, it is not simply an exercies system, it is first and foremost a system of worship.

Actually, it developed alongside parts of Hinduism as a function of the understanding that man is body/mind/soul in a manner of speaking and all aspects need to be in top functioning order to clear the mind for spiritual work. What a lousy idea!

In the west, we have noticed the health benefits and picked up on it for that purpose generally speaking. But first and foremost, it is a worship act. Each yoga position is an act of worship to a different spirit, and a different God. On this level, it is right for yoga to be disallowed.

I’ve done asanas fo decades and this is the first time I’ve heard that though I took some from and Eastern religious. Derivation please?

Encyclopedia
asana

(“sitting posture,” “seat”), in the Yoga system of Indian philosophy, immobile bodily posture that a person assumes in an attempt to isolate the mind by freeing it from attention to bodily functions. It is the third of the eight prescribed stages intended to lead the aspirant to samadhi, the trancelike state of perfect concentration. Once the practitioner is able with ease to maintain a rigid, essentially unnatural posture, he has in a sense “concentrated” his body (the antithesis of its normal dispersed state, that of infinite mobility). As many as 32 or more different asanas have been enumerated, of which perhaps the most common is the padmasana (“lotus posture”).

But, whether or not the church actually disallows it, and how your mindset affects the sinfulness of engaging in what otherwise could be pegan worship I can not answer. This is not something I’ve really studied. I would recommend as some others, do the research, and accept the answers you find in humility.

Hmmmm…What if we just ask instead of argue about it?

I have personally done yoga in the past, and I actually enjoyed it. My mind set was not oriented towards the moves as acts of woship at that time, in fact I had no idea that yoga was so religious at that point in time. This is something I have since found out. I could not do yoga now, on a physical level. I beleive (though have not confirmed) that I have carple tunnel syndrom and my wrist wouldn’t allow the moves. But, if I were healthy I would still think twice about it. Yoga is fundamentally an act of worship, to Gods and Spirits I reject as daemons at worst, idols at best.I believe you have some information that is not quite “on.” And in any case, the positions themselves have no innate association with any object of “worship.” If they did, wouldn’t you automatically be seeing visions of the alleged “gods” or “spirits.” They are aimed at mental stability for whatever one wishes to use the mind for, that could be your Catholic practice, for heaven’s sake!

The idea of “abstraction” might usefully be applied here. Your stance is kind of like saying that you won’t ea food from another Country because it isn’t patriotic.

 

[severus68]

It’s amazing how many people here think they can judge people’s souls by the type of physical exercise they do. Actually, it’s just amazing how many people here think they can judge people’s souls, period.

Agreed. It is also very sad that some can see and even appear to look for evil everywhere.

 

[Catholic90]

Agreed. It is also very sad that some can see and even appear to look for evil everywhere.

How true. Those who look for evil everywhere should check this thread out.

Sad.

Is life to be endured or enjoyed?

Yoga stretches have helped my back immensely. If I do not do them for a few days, oh boy, do I pay for it. So I do the yoga stretches, and then I proceed to teach at a Catholic school.

Guess what a physical education unit has been at our Catholic school for several years? That’s right, yoga. Guess who has to sign off on all curriculum and guess who walks through the school daily, popping in on classes, on lunch, on recess, etc, and knows exactly what is going on in school? That’s right, the 2 priests.