Catholic-safe yoga practices?

[PRmerger]

Yeah, satan would NEVER desire to deceive the faithful into thinking something evil is actually totally fine and acceptable, Gee what would he get out of that? LOL

Is it a coincidence that I just happened to read this today on Facebook:

“Ex-witch reveals occult origins of Fidget Spinners: Satan’s Centrifuges!
Ex-Satanist High Priest Tells All in shocking story of Avocado Toast: The Devil’s Aperitif!”–Mark Shea.

One can never be sure that when one is eating her Avocado Toast that she’s not actually inviting demons into her home.

Because, you know, satan would NEVER desire to deceive the faithful into thinking something evil is actually totally fine and acceptable. Gee what would he get out of that? LOL.

 

[Maxirad]

Pietra Fitness, anyone?

 

[PRmerger]

Pietra Fitness, anyone?

I’m fine with this. Looks fun.

But the superstitious (and, ironically, thus contrary to Catholic teaching) folks here are probably going to be all “This pose conjures up demons”.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[christofirst]

Pietra Fitness, anyone?

It looks like you’ve answered your own question May you enjoy good health and may all go well with you.

 

[friardchips]

Pietra Fitness, anyone?

It looks like you’ve answered your own question May you enjoy good health and may all go well with you.

The difference between Pietra Fitness and Yoga is that those at Pietra Fitness have renamed the positions and purposefully used Scripture to meditate upon, thus completely separating the moves from Yoga, or at least, partially. I don’t know whether they have sought blessing for what they have done, with the Church. But I would suspect that they have?! This is a way of combating Yoga by bringing everything into line with Christianity and cutting the link to Hinduism. Even with Pietra Fitness, the moves are still imitating Yoga moves…so…but at least they have gone one sensible step further towards being responsible for their faith.

There are actually normal keep-fit exercises one can do. None of them involve Yoga. All of the exercises help those who do them to keep fit. All these exercises can be found on health sites. There is even an original rough plan that was from an athlete who posted his old work-out regime on a running website. No Yoga. And one could also look up any sports workout regime as well as ballet even…one can be imaginative.

The bottom line is, those who do Yoga want to do Yoga, and that is it. I also suspect that even if the Church definitively underlined Yoga as having adverse effects on people’s Catholic spirituality, some here would still undertake Yoga, because…they want to.

 

[christofirst]

The difference between Pietra Fitness and Yoga is that those at Pietra Fitness have renamed the positions and purposefully used Scripture to meditate upon, thus completely separating the moves from Yoga, or at least, partially. I don’t know whether they have sought blessing for what they have done, with the Church. But I would suspect that they have?! This is a way of combating Yoga by bringing everything into line with Christianity and cutting the link to Hinduism. Even with Pietra Fitness, the moves are still imitating Yoga moves…so…but at least they have gone one sensible step further towards being responsible for their faith.

There are exercises one can do. None of them involve Yoga. All of the exercises help those who do them to keep fit. All these exercises can be found on health sites. There is even an original rough plan that was from an athlete who posted his old work-out regime on a running website. No Yoga. And one could also look up any sports workout regime as well as ballet even…one can be imaginative.

The bottom line is, those who do Yoga want to do Yoga, and that is it. I also suspect that even if the Church definitively underlined Yoga as having adverse effects on people’s Catholic spirituality, some here would still undertake Yoga, because…they want to.

Many of us have gone round and round over this topic (including you and I) many times on CAF in the past. If calling Yoga by another name, be it Pietra Fitness or even Chroga, (as I suggested here back in 2015), demonstrates the practitioner’s intention to remain faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and if doing so allays the fears that well-meaning naysayers continue to raise, I am okay with that. If you want to avoid anything that even remotely resembles Yoga, I am okay with that too.

forums.catholic-questions.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24168&stc=1&d=1501680159

 

[friardchips]

Many of us have gone round and round over this topic (including you and I) many times on CAF in the past. If calling Yoga by another name, be it Pietra Fitness or even Chroga, (as I suggested here back in 2015), demonstrates the practitioner’s intention to remain faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and if doing so allays the fears that well-meaning naysayers continue to raise, I am okay with that. If you want to avoid anything that even remotely resembles Yoga, I am okay with that too.

forums.catholic-questions.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24168&stc=1&d=1501680159

We also posted the title of these documents a long time ago - from the EWTN link I posted earlier on this thread:

*'While the question of yoga has not been definitely answered by the Magisterium, Christians who are considering its use, or the use of any practice derived from non-Christian philosophies or religions, should be familiar with two documents: the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s On Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue’s Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life…

They should then scrupulously apply the principle of the necessity for the complete separation of a practice from any religious or philosophical system which is contrary to Catholic teaching or the practice of the faith.’
*

 

[christofirst]

We also posted the title of these documents a long time ago - from the EWTN link I posted earlier on this thread:

'While the question of yoga has not been definitely answered by the Magisterium, Christians who are considering its use, or the use of any practice derived from non-Christian philosophies or religions, should be familiar with two documents: the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s On Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue’s Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life…

They should then scrupulously apply the principle of the necessity for the complete separation of a practice from any religious or philosophical system which is contrary to Catholic teaching or the practice of the faith.’

Yes, we should be familiar with those documents, and with all of the authentic teachings of the Catholic Church. We should also hopefully be able to recognize all of the nonbinding and possibly fallacious editorializing and opinions that are so often expressed based on Church teaching.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

". The majority of the “great religions” which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as "the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,“18 neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian**. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured.”**

This from the Letters to the Bishops on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, seems to get ignored in these debates.

Yeah, you can call yoga positions another name, but either way, as has been said all along, the intention for doing them is what’s important.

Downward Facing Dog, in Yoga, is for stretching the back and hamstrings

Plank Pose, Yoga for strengthening the core muscles in the stomach.

Call them something else, it doesn’t matter.

Christ is the focus of our intention in everything we do, whether it’s doing yoga exercises or playing ping-pong.

OH and BTW, anyone who does yoga, all you have to do is watch a two year old child playing on the floor, and you’ll see them move into various yoga postures.

The only difference is, they do them perfectly. :

Jim

 

[friardchips]

". The majority of the “great religions” which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as "the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,“18 neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian**. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured.”**

This from the Letters to the Bishops on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, seems to get ignored in these debates.

Yeah, you can call yoga positions another name, but either way, as has been said all along, the intention for doing them is what’s important.

Downward Facing Dog, in Yoga, is for stretching the back and hamstrings

Plank Pose, Yoga for strengthening the core muscles in the stomach.

Call them something else, it doesn’t matter.

Christ is the focus of our intention in everything we do, whether it’s doing yoga exercises or playing ping-pong.

OH and BTW, anyone who does yoga, all you have to do is watch a two year old child playing on the floor, and you’ll see them move into various yoga postures.

The only difference is, they do them perfectly. :

Jim

You have taken one sentence out of much info. and fitted it to your own idea.

And, you are, in effect, following this line of reasoning, saying that children go to Hindu and New Age websites to learn Yoga moves.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

You have taken one sentence out of much info. and fitted it to your own idea.

And, you are, in effect, following this line of reasoning, saying that children go to Hindu and New Age websites to learn Yoga moves.

What part of the letter that I posted, is not according to what I’m saying ?

And what Hindu and New Age websites did I refer to ?

Jim

 

[friardchips]

What part of the letter that I posted, is not according to what I’m saying ?

And what Hindu and New Age websites did I refer to ?

Jim

I think you know full well what I am driving at. I am not about to be driven around in circles.

Enough said already on the topic.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I think you know full well what I am driving at. I am not about to be driven around in circles.

Enough said already on the topic.

Oh I know what you’re driving at, and you’re wrong, which is why you can’t answer the question.

Jim

 

[friardchips]

…which is why you can’t answer the question.

Jim

Not “can’t”; won’t.

 

[anon90438963]

Ack. What a horrible thread this is turning out to be!
I live in a small city in the Midwest. Every gym and exercise facility I know (at least 8 within several miles of me–this is a healthy city!) offers yoga as well as a variety of other stretching and conditioning classes, such as Pilates. Yoga is offered as an exercise program: period. If they took the word “yoga” off the class title, but left everything else the same, it would still be a class of stretching exercises. For those "against’ yoga, are you also against Pilates? Or other types of stretching exercises?
I smell a lot of weird scrupulosity here, people making judgements on something they don’t know a thing about.

 

[billsannie]

Sorry, folks, I know this is a few pages back but I just can’t resist this:

BINGOOOOOO!!!

You can do the same movements as a Hindu practice, but as long as your intention isn’t to invite demons in, there’s NOTHING WRONG with doing this:

http://yoga-89ff.kxcdn.com/yogabasics2017/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/reverse-warrior1-213x152.jpg

Not wrong for you, perhaps, but if I were to assume that position someone would have to call the fire department to get me out of it.

More seriously, though, yoga isn’t some mystical Hindu way of contacting evil spirits. It’s simply that since the body can have a considerable effect on the mind, quiet, soothing exercise can help one quiet one’s ever-busy mind sufficiently to pray effectively. That’s why Hindus use it. It’s a tool, nothing more. And it’s good for the body too.

Except for me, if I did try that position. I would be in too much pain to pray for anything except deliverance

 

[DignumEtJustum]

"Ex-witch reveals occult origins of Fidget Spinners: Satan’s Centrifuges!

Ball bearing technology isn’t that old.

But the superstitious (and, ironically, thus contrary to Catholic teaching) folks here are probably going to be all “This pose conjures up demons”

Uh… my position is based off of having read documents on the Vatican’s website as well as statements of churchmen in the highest positions of the Church who say DO NOT PRACTISE YOGA. It does not get much clearer than that. It is NOT superstitious to suggest one not actively engage in established Hindu worship but very stupid to do so, especially as a purported Catholic.

 

[DignumEtJustum]

"Ex-witch reveals occult origins of Fidget Spinners: Satan’s Centrifuges!

Ball bearing technology isn’t that old.

But the superstitious (and, ironically, thus contrary to Catholic teaching) folks here are probably going to be all “This pose conjures up demons”

Uh… my position is based off of having read documents on the Vatican’s website as well as statements of churchmen in the highest positions of the Church who say DO NOT PRACTISE YOGA. It does not get much clearer than that. It is NOT superstitious to suggest one not actively engage in established Hindu worship but very stupid to do so, especially as a purported Catholic. So it’s snuck onto the scene as “stretching.” Doesn’t take away from what it is.

 

[friardchips]

I have a game to play:

Team A: The Yoga Affiliates Vs Team B: Normal Exercise Advocates

Team A is comprised of pro-Yoga members

Team B is comprised of anti-Yoga but pro-normal exercise people

Aim:

Team A places the name and description of a Yoga move (pref. without pictures) and details why it is helpful for the body.

Team B sees if there is anything like that in the normal run of exercises and places an alternative exercise that, while it might not be the same position, works out / helps the same area.

We will then see whether it is ever necessary to carry out a particular exercise by visiting a New Age/ Hindu / Yoga website…

GAME ON?

 

[friardchips]

It makes every bit of good sense and there is a lot of point to it.

A very simple game with a very simple conclusion, no doubt.

Of course, while some of us can still enjoy a bit of sport, some people might not like to play…

However, if no one wishes to join in, from Team A, then GAME OVER with a WIN for Team B: YAY!