Is it okay for a Catholic to practice Yoga?

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I have heard that when you do yoga it is a practice of Buddha?? And in that respect the church doesn’t want you to do it.
 
It is my understanding that the positions of the body are in themselves, prayers. As Catholics, we place a good deal of importance on how we use and position our bodies at prayer. We kneel, we cross ourselves, we bow our heads, we fold our hands, priests and religious (and some lay people) prostrate themselves in the presence of the Eucharist. These are all actions of the body that are prayers in their own sense, to God. How and what we do with our bodies is every bit as important as what we do with our minds. When one performs yoga positions, one is also “praying” in a sense, even if it is not intended, because that is WHAT the position of the body IS, in the context of yoga. Yoga is a prayer - not an exercise like getting on the treadmill, or doing Pilates. And saying that one is just going through the motions is not an acceptable excuse - you are still performing an act of praying with your body – a prayer that is not appropriate for Catholics to make. There are other forms of exercise that can be medically beneficial that don’t have non-Christian religious foundations.

So no - it is not appropriate for Catholics to do yoga. Not even “Christian” yoga - whatever that is. Sounds like a black thing that is white. Can’t be done.

~Liza
 
BroIgnatius said:
:rolleyes: Someone needs an education:

From the Dictionary: 1. (Philosophy) (Non-Christian Religions / Hinduism) a Hindu system of philosophy aiming at the mystical union of the self with the Supreme Being in a state of complete awareness and tranquillity through certain physical and mental exercises
2. (Philosophy) any method by which such awareness and tranquillity are attained, esp a course of related exercises and postures designed to promote physical and spiritual wellbeing

Yoga originated in ancient India and found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
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And most of our “other” exercises and athletic events originated from the pagan (and sometimes) homosexual ancient Greek Olympics…
 
BroIgnatius said:
Catholic Answers has ceased to be a reliable source of information when it’s “apologists” often get it wrong, especially Michele Arnold. For pete sake, one of the apologist, Jimmy Akin, published in This Rock and on the website teaches that we do not have to forgive a person who does not repent of whatever harm they did. What? We can withhold forgiveness? That is not only wrong, but a direct violation of Church and biblical teaching. Thus, we must take with a grain of salt what CA apologist say. To quote Michele is not a good source.
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That is interesting to know, that certainly does not sound like an orthodox position. However, I fail to see how physical exercise of any sort can in and of itself be immoral. It doesn’t matter who first came up with it or what it has been associated with in the past, if there is nothin contrary to Catholicism in the physical exercises themselves (ie stretching and slow breathing) then there is nothing wrong with partaking in the physical exercises in and of themselves. The problem is that if one becomes involved in the spirituality that is often associated with these physical exercises then they are doing something contrary to the faith. But in order to say the physical exercises are incompatible one must prove hat they are intrinsically contradictory to the Catholic faith
 
BroIgnatius said:
Catholic Answers has ceased to be a reliable source of information when it’s “apologists” often get it wrong, especially Michele Arnold. For pete sake, one of the apologist, Jimmy Akin, published in This Rock and on the website teaches that we do not have to forgive a person who does not repent of whatever harm they did. What? We can withhold forgiveness? That is not only wrong, but a direct violation of Church and biblical teaching. Thus, we must take with a grain of salt what CA apologist say. To quote Michele is not a good source.
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They are correct in this regard. If our offender has not asked for our forgiveness, we are not obligated to forgive him or her.

It’s the same with confession. In order to seek Christ’s forgiveness, we must go to Him and ask for it.
 
I like your response…makes sense to me.
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LilyM said:
Brother - I am not particularly seeking to defend any position here. I have not pretended to present any evidence. I therefore cannot be accused of intelllectual dishonesty. I did not even mention my profession - you did - and certainly do not claim that it adds any weight to my arguments.

I am instead simply asking you, since you are so dead set against yoga, to defend your stance. Like the prosecution in a criminal trial, your job is to make your case.The Church doesn’t condemn spiritual practices wholemeal simply because they are unexamined or untested. It does not presume guilt pending proof of innocence. Neither should you. My job, like that of the defence in a criminal trial, is simply to test whether you have made your case adequately.

Your documents are what?

‘Jesus Christ: Bearer of the Water of Life’? Which says NOTHING, not one solitary word, about the physical exercises labelled as ‘yoga’ as distinct from the spiritual practice. Doesn’t say that they cannot be so divorced, in the same way as Christianity has divorced many pagan things from their spiritual origins and co-opted them. I pointed these facts out several times.

The article by Marie-Anne Jacques? Which conflates yoga, reiki and centering prayer as if they are the same thing? Talk about intellectual dishonesty! And by the way what are her credentials to comment on the matter?

Alleged conversations of yours with yogis - unnamed, unverifiable and therefore hearsay (see, I do know something about evidence, as well as intellectual honesty).

Your own experience - also unverifiable and therefore hearsay?

I do know a little something about evidence. None of yours goes beyond the level of the ‘evidence’ presented by those who accuse Catholics of Mary-worship or Pope-worship.

Enough of a response for you? Not that your argument merits one.
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lizaanne said:
It is my understanding that the positions of the body are in themselves, prayers. As Catholics, we place a good deal of importance on how we use and position our bodies at prayer. We kneel, we cross ourselves, we bow our heads, we fold our hands, priests and religious (and some lay people) prostrate themselves in the presence of the Eucharist. These are all actions of the body that are prayers in their own sense, to God. How and what we do with our bodies is every bit as important as what we do with our minds. When one performs yoga positions, one is also “praying” in a sense, even if it is not intended, because that is WHAT the position of the body IS, in the context of yoga. Yoga is a prayer - not an exercise like getting on the treadmill, or doing Pilates. And saying that one is just going through the motions is not an acceptable excuse - you are still performing an act of praying with your body – a prayer that is not appropriate for Catholics to make. There are other forms of exercise that can be medically beneficial that don’t have non-Christian religious foundations.

So no - it is not appropriate for Catholics to do yoga. Not even “Christian” yoga - whatever that is. Sounds like a black thing that is white. Can’t be done.

~Liza
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Liza, if I may…your understanding is a little off. For those that practice a religion in which yoga poses are a form of worship, then that’s what they are. For those who are Christian, they are simply exercises or positions that we are in throughout our daily lives. In fact, those very poses you mentioned that we as Catholics use for worshiping God are also some of the same moves that are used in yoga. Should we refrain from our postures and positions at Mass just because some of them are the same as yoga poses? Should we even move our bodies at all? Many of the positions you were in today are yoga poses…whether you know that or not. Even lying on your back in bed is a yoga pose. People need to quit looking for a demon under every doorstep.

Sometimes stretching and exercises used in yoga are just that- stretching and exercise!! Especially if you are a follower of Christ and His Church.
 
tomarin said:
That’s not what my Indian friends say.
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LOL…:rotfl:.Well, why not just come right out and say what your Indian friends do say? Where do they think it came from?

I googled it, and found a number of references like the American Hindu ***. that yoga is part of the Hindu religion, or Hindu Wisdom which says the same. They’re Hindus and say yoga is theirs. What’s the problem? :confused:
 
There are Priests and others who have created Catholic versions of Yoga–where certain stretching is done with Catholic kinds of mantras or repeated prayerful sayings. I don’t think the Hindu’s nor the Catholics for that matter should have a strangle hold on stretching and meditation. Some argue that because its origins are from another religion, it should not be practiced by Catholics. If that’s the case we need to throw our rosaries away because praying with beads was done long before our faith created a rosary. I think it makes sense however, to attend a Catholic kind of yoga class–you probably don’t want to get into the actual Hindu versions. Many of our prayers and practices have Hebrew origins and certainly many Hebrew prayers and practices may have been impacted by other faiths. Being true to one’s faith does not mean that everything we do has its origins solely in our own. We lost that fight a long time ago. We are and have always been impacted by other faiths and cultures. I think the good Lord has a grip on the issue.
 
Colincal said:
There are Priests and others who have created Catholic versions of Yoga–where certain stretching is done with Catholic kinds of mantras or repeated prayerful sayings. I don’t think the Hindu’s nor the Catholics for that matter should have a strangle hold on stretching and meditation. Some argue that because its origins are from another religion, it should not be practiced by Catholics. If that’s the case we need to throw our rosaries away because praying with beads was done long before our faith created a rosary. I think it makes sense however, to attend a Catholic kind of yoga class–you probably don’t want to get into the actual Hindu versions. Many of our prayers and practices have Hebrew origins and certainly many Hebrew prayers and practices may have been impacted by other faiths. Being true to one’s faith does not mean that everything we do has its origins solely in our own. We lost that fight a long time ago. We are and have always been impacted by other faiths and cultures. I think the good Lord has a grip on the issue.
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👍
 
aicirt said:
LOL…:rotfl:.Well, why not just come right out and say what your Indian friends do say? Where do they think it came from?

I googled it, and found a number of references like the American Hindu ***. that yoga is part of the Hindu religion, or Hindu Wisdom which says the same. They’re Hindus and say yoga is theirs. What’s the problem? :confused:
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I did, in my post #15, which I guess you missed. The point is that Hinduism is a more amorphous phenomenon than Christianity and Judaism, and not everything that is related to Hinduism is explicitly religious. The context of the conversation is that they were proud of being Hindu but not explicitly religious (in fact I would consider them anti-religious). They mentioned yoga and Ayurvedic medicine as two things that they promote at home or would be open to promoting at home because they are not religious. They think these are based on experience and trial and error. In other words, they don’t believe that yoga is a spiritual exercise as a number of posters have attested here, or that it amounts to a form of prayer. If they did, they’d be hostile to it as “superstition.”

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the only connection one could make between yoga and prayer if there is one is that while you practice yoga you concentrate on your breathing and breathing is supposed to be a form of prayer, so that really everything is a form of prayer. But if you’re going to be that literal then you would have to stop breathing to stop worshiping Hindu gods, which would be a self-defeating gesture ultimately.
 
BroIgnatius said:
Yoga itself is not “just an exercise.” The very design, the postures and movements, are all designed according to a Hindu cosmology and are designed to place one in an altered state of consciousness, to open on up to the “energies” within the body and in the universe. This is what is meant by becoming “more aware of your body, mind and environment” mentioned by the Yogi master in the article.

Yoga cannot be performed without this effect regardless of whether or not one intends this effect.
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In order for such an effect to actually occur, “Hindu cosmology” would need to be real. Since I don’t believe in Hindu cosmology, I don’t believe such an effect could be real. One would need to believe that Hindu cosmology is real in order to believe such an effect is real.

By that logic, one would need to avoid algebra because it arose out of Islamic mythology.
 
Viviphilia said:
In order for such an effect to actually occur, “Hindu cosmology” would need to be real. Since I don’t believe in Hindu cosmology, I don’t believe such an effect could be real. One would need to believe that Hindu cosmology is real in order to believe such an effect is real.

By that logic, one would need to avoid algebra because it arose out of Islamic mythology.
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What makes you think that there are no demonic principalities and powers behind Hinduism?
 
BroIgnatius said:
Well, Lily, I don’t expect you to give me the time of day. Though you seem to expect we just accept your opinion without you backing it up…

I backed up my point with documents from other people, and yet you still do not even acknowledge that. emmm. This is Liberal Tactic of Obfuscation #117. Thanks for the example of #117. I was looking for live examples for my book on the subject. This “discussion” was worth it for that, but otherwise…

I am sorry, but I have a foible of lacking patience with those who are irrational and those who are not intellectually honest. There are only so many hours in the day, Bye.
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So much anger! Maybe you should try meditating on Christ’s teachings while practicing yoga to try and achieve a more enlightened state. 😉
 
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