I quit Yoga. Did I do the right thing? What does the Church say about Yoga?

[AlegreFe]

AlegreFe;4453447:

Please don’t bring Father into this.

So much for the idea that priests should be treated with at least some respect.

You only posted that one part of my comment. I respect Father Serpa as I do all priests. I was stating that Nuance said that Father made statements as if she did not make those same statements. Nuance was trying to be humorous which did not impress me in the least.

 

[AlegreFe]

AlegreFe:

That is what you think. If someone gave you a glass of orange juice and told you it had poison in it but that the poison would not have an affect on you because of the benefits of the orange juice, it would still affect you. If someone gave you orange juice with poison in it but didn’t tell you about the poison, and you drank it because of the benefits of orange juice, it would still affect you.

But you have to establish the validity of your analogy. It isn’t self-evident that yoga is the same sort of thing as poisoned orange juice. For one thing, it isn’t self-evident that false ideas work on our brain as poison works on the body.

You don’t understand. Yoga and the bad affects from it work on the body. It uses our body to get to our soul. The brain is already affected because many people are fooled into believing that exercise alone without the meditation is not bad.

Perhaps you should read Johnette Benkovic’s “New Age Counterfeit.” You can download the mp3 here. She also has a CD set called New Age, Yoga, Reiki: Health or Stealth? You can download it as an mp3.

 

[AlegreFe]

There are a lot of nut jobs who agree with you:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia’s top Islamic body, fresh from banning tomboys, issued an edict Saturday that prohibits Muslims from practicing yoga, saying that elements of Hinduism in the ancient Indian exercise could corrupt them.

The National Fatwa Council’s chairman, Abdul Shukor Husin, said many Muslims fail to understand that yoga’s ultimate aim is to be one with a god of a different religion — an explanation disputed by many practitioners who say yoga need not have a religious element.

Call me a nut job! I agree with those nut jobs on this one issue. Just because they are wrong on everything else does not mean they are wrong on this one.

 

[AlegreFe]

What you’ve just done is a perfect example of one tactic of obfuscation - attacking the messenger, rather than making some sort of rational argument about why you think the message is wrong. In the end it doesn’t matter one iota whom the messenger is if they speak the truth. All truth is God’s truth.

It’s also a demonstration of lack of charity - not only are you calling the Muslims nut jobs (what makes them nut jobs, just that they’re Muslim?) but you’re also implying the OP is as well.

I agree with you Becky. This is what happens, they try to confuse people by bringing in other groups of people that are not of our faith just to throw us off. The Truth is the Truth no matter who speaks it.

 

[AlegreFe]

This is a perfect analogy. You are probably thinking of 1 Cor 8 which directly addresses eating food sacrificed to idols. Paul says we know its OK to eat the food because we know the idols are not really gods and we are not worshiping them. But he also warns that we should be careful not to mislead others that may misunderstand.

So I would say that if yoga (or the ideas packaged with it) makes one uncomfortable, that person should find a different exercise or at least a different instructor. If one takes yoga without the philosophical seasoning, or is not troubled by it, I don’t see any problem with it.

Don’t you see? This is part of the problem. Even without the so called meditations, Yoga is still harmful to us. Our bodies are used in a way that opens us to the evil one. Any “god” besides the One True God would be considered the “evil one.”

 

[AlegreFe]

Ussually when you have Islamist agreeing with you that a bad sign…that’s all I’m saying.

And I will say this again, the Truth is the Truth no matter who speaks it.

 

[AlegreFe]

Without trying to sound sarcastic, i have to reply to the people that made a ruckus over the “yoga poses” as far as exercise. Come on people! I think with these concerns, we’re looking for a demon under every doorstep (and there may be a few). If one were to take your suggestion to heart, they might as well just lie in bed all day long, or sit in a chair and not move a muscle. Oh, wait, those are yoga poses, too. I truly think most of you that are freaking out about yoga poses are trying to be sincere, but we all do a great deal of yoga poses throughout the day, even if we don’t realize we are doing them. If that’s the case, are we worshipping Hinde deities when we do (fill in the blank) in our daily lives? It sure sounds like it if we approach this from these points of views. It’s time to stop throwing the baby out with the bathwater in regards to basic, non-spiritual yoga as a form of exercise.

Those “poses” you imply we do as every day moving are just that, we’re moving, walking, sleeping, stretching to reach something on the top shelf, etc. But for actually doing exercises, Yoga is not good even if we do not use the meditations.

 

[LilyM]

Those “poses” you imply we do as every day moving are just that, we’re moving, walking, sleeping, stretching to reach something on the top shelf, etc. But for actually doing exercises, Yoga is not good even if we do not use the meditations.

But people do some of them AS EXERCISE all the time too, of course - they just don’t call it yoga!

And don’t tell me that simply CALLING it ‘yoga’ means anything if WHAT you actually do (touching your toes, for example) and the INTENT with which you do it (exercise) are no different to those of pilates or any other name you could give it. God sees the heart and I doubt He gives a rats about what name we give to our chosen form of exercise.

So tell me, how in blazes is touching your toes in a school gym as a warmup to gym class any different to touching your toes in any other context - if there are no meditations accompanying it? Even if you call it ‘yoga’ - so what?

Did you know, for example that the name the Scandinavians give Christmas - ‘Jul’ or ‘Yule’ as it became in English - is the name of the pagan midwinter festival that occurred around the same time. Does that mean that when you call it ‘Yuletide’ as opposed to ‘Christmas’ you’re somehow indulging in pagan worship or any other dangerous thing?

 

[AlegreFe]

“Yoga” means “yoke” since it yokes or joins one to divinity. Hindus did not devise these exercises for athletic limbering or muscle building. All were meant to lead the practitioner to enlightenment and the awareness of his or her divinity." (Catholics and the New Age, p. 33)

“New Age” does not mean it is a “new” practice or cult. It is just a phrase. The people that write about the “New Age” occult are very aware that “New Age” has been around for centuries upon centuries.

Perhaps you could listen to Father Mitch Pacwa. You could download an audio mp3 to hear him talk about yoga and the brain. I linked it below. Once you get to that page, right click and save target as where it says “Begin download”
Fr. Pacwa takes a look at the other ramifications of the division of the brain. He talks about meditation in the New Age movement. He talks about the way that some New Agers use to meditate like psychotechologies and yoga and what is wrong with yoga. He also takes a look at Christian spirituality and how Christianity is to be lived. He says that we should be defined as a deep relation with Good.

I like the one that Johnette has better. “New Age Counterfeit.” You can download the mp3 here. She also has a CD set called New Age, Yoga, Reiki: Health or Stealth? You can download it as an mp3.

 

[AlegreFe]

Indeed, it is unfortunate that i have to say this about Father Mitch Pacwa’s lack of study and judgment of Eastern customs and cultures. I know what wikipedia writes and i do quote from it also, but in this case, i know it is not accurate. If you were to search ‘Brahminism’ on New Advent, you will find the same inaccurate information they have about its teachings and customs. I have never read any of Father Mitch Pacwa’s works, but i don’t think i am going to since this is clear indication he lacks knowledge in these things. Besides, since when were priests infallible in knowledge? If you wish to learn and understand a culture or tradition or even a religion that is foreign, its best you learn it from the horse’s mouth - not from some outsider who thinks he knows everything.

You have no idea who Father Mitch Pacwa is if you think he lacks information and studies on different matters. Father Mitch would never talk about anything unless he has studied intensely on the matter.

Are you aware of Father Mitch’s education & extensive works and positions?

Father Mitchell Pacwa, S.J. - Curriculum Vitae and Publications

 

[AlegreFe]

3) I would not mess around with kundalini (awakening it, moving it up and down spine etc.)

Very good advice. Earlier in the thread I mentioned some cases of demonization resulting from yoga. The “kundalini awakening” in particular has been the cause of major spiritual harm for some folks.

Very good point.

Why can’t Catholic Christians just do something else for exercise? Is it that hard to give up Yoga? If it is, that should be the first telling sign of demon work just as addictions to alcohol and nicotine and other poisonous drugs.

 

[AlegreFe]

You can find yoga on dvd with out all the Hindu philosophy. Check out your library or video rental store till you find the right one for you.

There is no “right” one out there. Yoga is wrong for Christians, Period!

P.s I like yoga too just with out the Eastern beliefs. Some times I pray the Rosary while doing yoga

The devil can recite the Rosary backwards when in possession of a body. I’m not saying you are possessed. But it seems the devil likes to defeat your purpose of reciting the Rosary by having you do it with Yoga. Don’t do it, please. Recite the Rosary on your knees by your bed or sitting on your bed or preferably in Church with other prayer warriors. Just think of the benefit you’ll get with the indulgence if you recite the Rosary in public at any Catholic Church.

 

[LilyM]

Very good point.

Why can’t Catholic Christians just do something else for exercise? Is it that hard to give up Yoga? If it is, that should be the first telling sign of demon work just as addictions to alcohol and nicotine and other poisonous drugs.

Chocolate chip cookies are of the devil! They are an occasion of the sin of gluttony! No-one should eat them - ever! If they won’t, then it’s a sign of demonic influence! Surely it isn’t that hard to eat some other type of biscuit? C’mon, who’s with me! To the bin with the choc-chip devil’s toys!

 

[cathopologist]

“New Age” does not mean it is a “new” practice or cult. It is just a phrase. The people that write about the “New Age” occult are very aware that “New Age” has been around for centuries upon centuries.

Perhaps you could listen to Father Mitch Pacwa. You could download an audio mp3 to hear him talk about yoga and the brain. I linked it below. Once you get to that page, right click and save target as where it says "Begin download"Fr. Pacwa *takes a look at the other ramifications of the division of the brain. He talks about meditation in the New Age movement. He talks about the way that some New Agers use to meditate like psychotechologies and yoga and what is wrong with yoga. He also takes a look at Christian spirituality and how Christianity is to be lived. He says that we should be defined as a deep relation with Good.*I like the one that Johnette has better. “New Age Counterfeit.” You can download the mp3 here. She also has a CD set called New Age, Yoga, Reiki: Health or Stealth? You can download it as an mp3.

AlegreFe, i was born a Brahmin and have been exposed to Yoga since i was a child. I know it for a fact, even many Hindu Yoga practitioners do not solely rely on the religious mystic aspects of it. To say that it does is to mean you have very little information on how Hindus actually practice their religion.

This is really like how ‘former Catholics’ claim to know about Catholicism because they spent a quarter of their lives studying in a Catholic school, thereby implying they know everything about Catholicism. You won’t know it unless you are born or have converted into the faith.

Many Westerners fail to also point out that Hinduism does not actively seek for new converts. They are content with the number of Hindu Indians on the planet already. There are a few wack-job ‘gurus’ who travel to the West to preach, but you may be surprised how many Hindus actually disregard them as ‘authentic Yogis’. Yoga has been around for thousands of years and therefore it is seriously errornous to say it is part of a New Age Movement. This classification was made by Fundamentalists who eagerly wait for the end of the world. Sadly, many converts from Protestantism to Catholicism still hold many of the prejudices and errornous beliefs they once held in one way or another, and have brought it over to their parishes.

For example, look at the Charismatic movement within the Catholic Church. Although it started out good, there are serious concerns about where it can sometimes lead to - back to Pentacostalism.

 

[LilyM]

There is no “right” one out there. Yoga is wrong for Christians, Period!

The devil can recite the Rosary backwards when in possession of a body. I’m not saying you are possessed. But it seems the devil likes to defeat your purpose of reciting the Rosary by having you do it with Yoga. Don’t do it, please. Recite the Rosary on your knees by your bed or sitting on your bed or preferably in Church with other prayer warriors. Just think of the benefit you’ll get with the indulgence if you recite the Rosary in public at any Catholic Church.

The devil is happy for you to recite (and not backwards) ‘O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the firest of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven …’? Don’t think so, not ever.

 

[AlegreFe]

Your average Westerner, who like me has probably just seen a few yoga DVDs and never in their life been to a class (too expensive) - wouldn’t even know what ‘kundalini’ was let alone do anything said to ‘awaken’ it - even if instructed to do so in class.

You’re a lost cause! For me anyway. I place you in the hands of the Holy Spirit now, because He is the only one that can convince you that anything that has to do with Yoga is wrong.

 

[AlegreFe]

Ok sorry but I have to ask what is kundalini & what did they want you to do to awakening it. I’ve never heard of it before

You don’t have to know what it is to be affected by it. My advice, just stay away from anything that has to do with Yoga, even if you do not do the meditations.

“New Age Counterfeit.” You can download the mp3 here. She also has a CD set called New Age, Yoga, Reiki: Health or Stealth? You can also download that one as an mp3.

 

[cathopologist]

You don’t have to know what it is to be affected by it. My advice, just stay away from anything that has to do with Yoga, even if you do not do the meditations.

“New Age Counterfeit.” You can download the mp3 here. She also has a CD set called New Age, Yoga, Reiki: Health or Stealth? You can also download that one as an mp3.

You do also realize that Yoga in the West is a very plagiarized, self-styled version of the original, don’t you? As in several other cases, self-styled cultic movements are dangerous. But to lump them with the original is really misleading and misinformative.

 

[AlegreFe]

I would agree that most people are not so hard-core with yoga that they would attempt the “kundalini awakening,” but it does happen and people have been harmed by it.

I personally think Yoga looks really cool and relaxing, and left to my own devices would be “all up init” as my teenaged students would say.

But, I choose, out of love for God, to mortify that curiosity and not participate since it is based on Hindu worship. It is a small sacrifice I make to avoid even the appearance of breaking the first commandment. But what y’all do is your own business, since the best I can tell from the Vatican documents, you can do it if you avoid the eastern meditation part.

To me, though, separating the physical part from the eastern meditation is like trying to drink wine and avoid the alcohol. Yoga focuses so much on breathing and focusing on the body, and those very techniques are meant to bring about an altered state of consciousness.

As one Hindu writer says in the Hinduism Today article, “Yoga Renamed is Still Hindu,” (an article criticizing westerners for trying to Christianize yoga): “Hindus know where yoga came from and where it goes.”

I agree with you.

I would not do Yoga if my physical life depended on it.
(that would be an oxymoron anyway :ehh: )

The eternal life of my soul is more important.

 

[ChristianKnight]

I am not a member of the Church you ask of I believe so I am just gonna put somethin into this.

I do boxing, I asked some friends of mine (protestants) on a website, they said it was ok as long as I didn’t do it just to fight, I do like to fight, but I do it mainly to get fit. Of course yoga is different, but I wish I could do yoga too, but that cost a lot of money.