Catholics against yoga?

[lssanjose]

Well those are okay because everyone knows that:

1. the net in basketball invokes the fishnet of Peter
2. boxing mimics spiritual warfare with the Devil; and
3. Jacob wrestled with an angel in the OT

In particular with basketball, though - we have the sacred rite of the NBA game and we have our canonized players to look up to.

The beauty of spin.

 

[lssanjose]

And yet we are not being called to be “enlightened” in Christ? If we hide and never look out of the box, how can we truly use our free will to choose Christ? If eastern teachings claim there are energy pathways in the body, does it make it false just because they say it is so? If it is false, how then does the signal from the brain reach the big toe and tell it to move? Is it necessary to dismiss belief in the divinity of Christ for this to be possible?

+1.

 

[Sonic]

For those not interested in Yoga exercises, you may find an alternative in Stage Tricks and Hollywood Exercises: How to Develop Skills in Suppleness and Acrobatics by Nelson Hall, B.S. (E.E.) - printed 1957. I personally use this book myself.

Edit: The text briefly makes reference to Yoga as a philosophical system (concerning a chapter on breathing), but does not utilize it as part of it’s system.

 

[Sonic]

Recall the Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessolonians to test all things, and retain what is good, and take out what isn’t. We do everything to the glory of God.

1 Thessalonian 5: 19-23

19 Extinguish not the spirit.
20 Despise not prophecies.
21 But prove all things: hold fast that which is good.
22 From all appearance of evil refrain yourselves.
23 And may the God of peace himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Haydock Commentary 1 Thessalonian 5:

19 Extinguish not the spirit.

Do not oppose either the interior gifts of the holy Spirit, which are his graces, nor his exterior gifts of prophecy, &c. Take the regular precautions of prudence, that you be not deceived by those who pretend to be inspired; but when satisfied that the inspiration comes from heaven, do not despise it. Be like good bankers, take the good coin, and reject the counterfeit. S. Cyril Alex.

20 Despise not prophecies.
21 But prove all things: hold fast that which is good.

Prove all things. That is, examine prophecies whether they be true, and the doctrine which you hear from new preachers, and refrain yourselves not only from evil, but from every thing that hath the appearance of evil, and which may disedify and scandalize others. Wi. — Hold that which is good. This we can best learn from the doctrine of the apostles, and the spirit of the Catholic Church. Men can deceive and be deceived, but the Spirit of God, speaking to us by his Church, can neither deceive us nor be deceived.

22 From all appearance of evil refrain yourselves.

23 And may the God of peace himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spirit, and soul. The former marks the understanding, the latter the will: hence these two terms give the two principal faculties of the soul. V.

source: veritasbible.com/drb/compare/haydock/1_Thessalonians_5

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Thanks for that comment, I needed the laugh. I have days I want to start with prayer and medication too…

Ah, meditation.

Musta misspelled it and clicked on the wrong recommendation spell-check provided.

Anyway, I guess taking vitamins is medication?

Jim

 

[FCEGM]

Playing with a Ouija board is not necessarily evil when it’s done in play and not taken seriously. However, it’s dangerous because most people who fool around with a Quija board have some level of belief in the spiritual world and the Quija’s board connection to it.

Jim, not to sidetrack the discussion into another topic, but I don’t think it’s a matter of playing with the Ouija board and not taking it seriously, or whether one has a belief or not in the spiritual world. It’s just plain dangerous. One may “play” at it, but something else takes it very seriously indeed.

 

[Rudy_Baga]

Jim, not to sidetrack the discussion into another topic, but I don’t think it’s a matter of playing with the Ouija board and not taking it seriously, or whether one has a belief or not in the spiritual world. It’s just plain dangerous. One may “play” at it, but something else takes it very seriously indeed.

Let us be serious here, the church has a real and serious issue with spiritism. The board itself is nothing more than an inanimate object that was created by man. While I don’t condone tempting the mind or spirit, the board in and of itself can do nothing. How is it that the spirits can manifest through the Ouija board any differently than any other object? The real issue is the possibility of taking serious the concept of communicating with the dead and/or other spirits and actively becoming engaged with pursuing such communications. It is just easier to blindly claim the board is evil and ban it altogether.

 

[CrimsonThorn]

Lifting weights cannot be aligned with the Catholic church due to the possibility of a serious increase in pride, vanity and narcissism. Surely it is a sin. And since all Hindu and Buddhists think, Catholics are not allowed to think anymore lest they fall into the trap of becoming Hindu or Buddhist leading to a destruction of the Catholic faith.
Many of the comments in this thread stem from a misunderstanding of other disciplines. Much like most people who attack the Catholic church have a fundamental misunderstanding of Catholicism. When I read such foolishness as I’ve read here, I see why so many think that Christians are simple-minded.

I breathe, but yoga teaches that breathing can increase prana. I am no longer allowed to breathe. By doing so, I am worshiping Hindu deities.

I stretch, but yoga teaches that stretching opens up the energy meridians. I am no longer allowed to stretch lest I fall into worshiping Hindu Deities.

I am a vegan, but yoga teaches that a vegan lifestyle purifies the body and mind, both a part of spiritual growth and development. I am no longer allowed to eat a healthy diet. Doing so will cause me to become Hindu and I will no longer be able to believe that Jesus is the true Son of God. (and I was SOOO enjoying all of that healthy food…)

I guess Christians came too late to the game to enjoy doing any of those things so necessary to actually living in this body that God deemed fit enough for us to live in.

On the contrary, lifting weights is not mysticism.

Firstly, strength training does not increase pride, but rather humility. When a person is capable of squatting a small truck, they feel no need to “prove” anything to anyone. They feel confident enough with themself. Some of the strongest men I have met and know, are also the kindest and most gentle.

Secondly, lifting weights does not increase vanity, but rather increases appreciation of the gift of the body God has bestowed upon them and the gratefulness and admiration that goes along with the beauty and extraordinary capabilities of his creation.

Just thought Id throw that out there.

 

[Emerite]

I agree with HimR-OCDS, about in order to give salutation to a false god, you’d first have to acknowledge the false god; Downward facing dog posture, doesn’t acknowledge or salute anything; Neither does warrior one or angle pose. All are for the purpose of moving the body for toning, stretching and balancing, nothing more.

My yoga class exercises have benefitted my overall health, and my internist approves. However during the last part, when the instructor asks us to sit cross-legged, hands together and recite “ohm,” I concentrate on the Blessed Mother, tune out the surrounding noise, and think of my own “Mantra” word for Mary. This works.

 

[dedo]

Stretching is an important part of fitness.

If you don’t like yoga, there are other alternatives including pilates, resistance stretching, and martial arts.

I don’t see a problem unless someone is engaging in some mystical chanting. If yoga is just for fitness, and you are anchored in your faith, I don’t see a problem.

 

[Rudy_Baga]

On the contrary, lifting weights is not mysticism.

Firstly, strength training does not increase pride, but rather humility. When a person is capable of squatting a small truck, they feel no need to “prove” anything to anyone. They feel confident enough with themself. Some of the strongest men I have met and know, are also the kindest and most gentle.

Secondly, lifting weights does not increase vanity, but rather increases appreciation of the gift of the body God has bestowed upon them and the gratefulness and admiration that goes along with the beauty and extraordinary capabilities of his creation.

Just thought Id throw that out there.

Those are your experiences and interpretations of weightlifting and those who do so. While there will always be some who have your approach, there will also always be as many or more who will flex and tan and strut their hard working bodies for the world to see. I’ve been around that scene long enough to know what I am saying. Surely, many people here have personal experiences knowing weightlifters to verify my words. If you are real honest about it, you’ll have to admit that the humble weightlifters are not necessarily the norm.

Now to use your comments to support my earlier comments, which, by the way, were made in jest. For every person who thinks that yoga is intrinsically evil mysticism, there are tens if not hundreds that approach it as only healthy stretching and toning activities. Just because you choose to interpret yoga postures as being mysticism, does not mean that it is everybody’s interpretation. Hence the following comments, also made in jest. It all depends on how you approach it mentally and where your spirituality exist. It is altogether possible that many who perform yoga postures are infinitely better Christians and Catholics than either you or I. Who are we to judge another as wrong by physical positions and exercise without actually knowing their state?

Fear and lack of understanding breed irrational thinking and action. Informed is always preferable to “better safe than sorry”. The whole approach is flawed in that it removes the ability of the person to make a reasoned decision of the will to be active and healthy as well as a follower of Christ in the Catholic church.

BTW, in case I failed to mention it, the earlier comments were made in jest designed to illustrate our tremendous need for Common Sense Catholicism.

 

[lssanjose]

Those are your experiences and interpretations of weightlifting and those who do so. While there will always be some who have your approach, there will also always be as many or more who will flex and tan and strut their hard working bodies for the world to see. I’ve been around that scene long enough to know what I am saying. Surely, many people here have personal experiences knowing weightlifters to verify my words. If you are real honest about it, you’ll have to admit that the humble weightlifters are not necessarily the norm.

Now to use your comments to support my earlier comments, which, by the way, were made in jest. For every person who thinks that yoga is intrinsically evil mysticism, there are tens if not hundreds that approach it as only healthy stretching and toning activities. Just because you choose to interpret yoga postures as being mysticism, does not mean that it is everybody’s interpretation. Hence the following comments, also made in jest. It all depends on how you approach it mentally and where your spirituality exist. It is altogether possible that many who perform yoga postures are infinitely better Christians and Catholics than either you or I. Who are we to judge another as wrong by physical positions and exercise without actually knowing their state?

Fear and lack of understanding breed irrational thinking and action. Informed is always preferable to “better safe than sorry”. The whole approach is flawed in that it removes the ability of the person to make a reasoned decision of the will to be active and healthy as well as a follower of Christ in the Catholic church.

BTW, in case I failed to mention it, the earlier comments were made in jest designed to illustrate our tremendous need for Common Sense Catholicism.

Be careful… we don’t want a schismatic trifecta…or do we? I KID; I KID! or do I?

 

[Rudy_Baga]

I agree with HimR-OCDS, about in order to give salutation to a false god, you’d first have to acknowledge the false god; Downward facing dog posture, doesn’t acknowledge or salute anything; Neither does warrior one or angle pose. All are for the purpose of moving the body for toning, stretching and balancing, nothing more.

My yoga class exercises have benefitted my overall health, and my internist approves. However during the last part, when the instructor asks us to sit cross-legged, hands together and recite “ohm,” I concentrate on the Blessed Mother, tune out the surrounding noise, and think of my own “Mantra” word for Mary. This works.

Even the “Ohm” chant has a measurable effect. Hook yourself to a biofeedback device and watch as your reading stabilize when chanting ohm. The practice regulates the breath and heartbeat, focuses the mind and relaxes the system. Chanting “amen” or “shalom” has the exact same effect. Inhale, chant while exhaling, pause, repeat. Doing this rhythmically has a very strong balancing effect on the body. The brainwaves slow down and become balanced, while activity in the the hemispheres of the brain may become synchronized. All of these are healthy physical responses and all of this can be done while focusing on Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, Mary or any Christian principle.

 

[Rudy_Baga]

Be careful… we don’t want a schismatic trifecta…or do we? I KID; I KID! or do I?

 

[FCEGM]

Let us be serious here, the church has a real and serious issue with spiritism. The board itself is nothing more than an inanimate object that was created by man. While I don’t condone tempting the mind or spirit, the board in and of itself can do nothing. How is it that the spirits can manifest through the Ouija board any differently than any other object? The real issue is the possibility of taking serious the concept of communicating with the dead and/or other spirits and actively becoming engaged with pursuing such communications. It is just easier to blindly claim the board is evil and ban it altogether.

Of course it’s not the board itself, Rudy; it’s what is done with it - the purpose for it - whether it’s used in “fun” or in all seriousness. There has been enough relating in other threads of personal experiences involving what was thought to be a fun evening with the ouija board to make only the most blasé want to “play” with one or the most skeptical diminish it.

 

[Sonic]

Of course it’s not the board itself, Rudy; it’s what is done with it - the purpose for it - whether it’s used in “fun” or in all seriousness. There has been enough relating in other threads of personal experiences involving what was thought to be a fun evening with the ouija board to make only the most blasé want to “play” with one or the most skeptical diminish it.

Let’s not forget Demonic attachment. Most exorcists will tell you, demons have a particular interest in the boards and bend their wills and intellects towards them constantly. They basically know where the things are located, they know who owns one, and they know who is playing with them (unless for some reason God prevents such knowledge for His own purposes).

 

[FCEGM]

Let’s not forget Demonic attachment. Most exorcists will tell you, demons have a particular interest in the boards and bend their wills and intellects towards them constantly. They basically know where the things are located, they know who owns one, and they know who is playing with them (unless for some reason God prevents such knowledge for His own purposes).

A good point; thank you.

 

[acacia12]

A good point; thank you.

I want no part of an ouija board. Gives me the heeby jeebys!!!:bigyikes:

 

[Stylites]

I feel like yoga is rejected by the Catholic Church . . .

In and of itself, it is not rejected. In fact, if yoga contains any truth at all then those truths are entirely Catholic.

 

[acacia12]

In and of itself, it is not rejected. In fact, if yoga contains any truth at all then those truths are entirely Catholic.

How come?