Is yoga demonic or no?

[TheWarriorMonk]

maybe you should read what you posted. you said It can’t be denied that easter has pagan origins I just did.

I state the following:

Do you celebrate Easter? You cannot deny that the word “Easter” has pagan origins.

Words have different meanings in different cultures and contexts.

I stated “the word “Easter,”” not Easter without the qualifier, as noted in the quoted post above that you are referring to. It is necessary to properly read and comprehend what the other party is stating in order to have an informative discussion.

it seems like you half read the article by the way,

Actually that is not the case. Please point to out where the article refutes the first sentence and states the word is not English in origin.

BTW, it does not matter that the holiday is called Easter in certain parts of the world; that’s not the point. The point is that words means different things in different cultures/contexts/etc. That is as obvious as the day is long.

It’s stunning that people don’t get that, given that there are a plethora of such examples right in Catholicism. A recent example is the definition of “marriage.” Legally in some jurisdictions, the definition includes those of the same sex. In Catholicism, it does not. If you don’t understand context, you won’t understand what people are talking about.

also you posted 2 lines not a thesis

If you want to get technical, change “thesis” to “thesis statement.”

 

[Michael_Mayo]

This is all over the top!

I have been doing yoga (-ish stretches) for 37 years and it has been nothing but a blessing.

It was part of my covnersion from a self centered hedonistic young man to a disciple of Jesus and daily participant at Mass.

37 years! Nothing but a blessing. Thanks be to God for it. And thanks be to God incarnate, Jesus Christ, who led me to this way of incarnate prayer.

 

[TheWarriorMonk]

This is all over the top!

I happen to agree. This thread demonstrates that many people start with the conclusion first. Support for the conclusion comes after the fact. That’s tends to get people twisted up in their own arguments. It often happens for people that see religion in everything…I know that firsthand; I was an evangelical for a time (before I came to my senses ).

Others do the research first, the draw the conclusions from the research.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

I happen to agree. This thread demonstrates that many people start with the conclusion first. Support for the conclusion comes after the fact. That’s tends to get people twisted up in their own arguments. It often happens for people that see religion in everything…I know that firsthand; I was an evangelical for a time (before I came to my senses ).

Others do the research first, the draw the conclusions from the research.

And yet I also can see religion in many things. It is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. But in this case for the good, just as with music and art (which, by the way, also have deep roots in other cultures and religions). These are all gifts which we can use and appreciate or abuse or refuse. It is quite a challenge as it is to maintain good health. Something that helps strengthen, flex, breath, relax, rest, balance, focus is a gift.

I am reminded of something the Pope said in his recent letter: The Church never fails to be amazed at “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom 11:33). Saint John of the Cross says that “the thicket of God’s wisdom and knowledge is so deep and so broad that the soul, however much it has come to know of it, can always penetrate deeper within it”. Or as Saint Irenaeus writes: “By his coming, Christ brought with him all newness”. With this newness he is always able to renew our lives and our communities, and even if the Christian message has known periods of darkness and ecclesial weakness, it will never grow old. Jesus can also break through the dull categories with which we would enclose him and he constantly amazes us by his divine creativity. Whenever we make the effort to return to the source and to recover the original freshness of the Gospel, new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today’s world.

(Intro, II. 11)

Christ makes all things new. Christ even can be found in yoga. The Gospel is the Good News of the Kingdom of God made availible to us in Jesus Christ. That at least means we can stretch any way we want. Praise God! My only regret is not starting earlier in life and being more consistent with it.

I also play a shakuhachi, an end blown bamboo flute from the Zen Buddhist tradition. That flute is another gift from God as sooths my soul and leads me to prayer.
http://www.silkroadproject.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Images/Instruments/shakuhachi_med.jpg

 

[Reperio]

This is all over the top!

I have been doing yoga (-ish stretches) for 37 years and it has been nothing but a blessing.

It was part of my covnersion from a self centered hedonistic young man to a disciple of Jesus and daily participant at Mass.

37 years! Nothing but a blessing. Thanks be to God for it. And thanks be to God incarnate, Jesus Christ, who led me to this way of incarnate prayer.

Right on man…Im reasonably into fitness and do yoga regularly. I can clearly see the line where it becomes a spiritual philosophy and easily never cross it while ignoring the instructors “honoring our chakras” garbage. The physical benefits have in no way shape or form drawn me from my Catholic faith. Jesus is just too cool…

 

[PRmerger]

Is your meme meant to distract from the fact that you haven’t bothered to look into the references? I assure you that they’re in there.

I too have to go to Mass…

Blessings!

I went to Zumba today at a studio that has Yoga classes in the next room. While I was rockin’ out to the Latin rhythms the thought occurred to me to pose this question to the “Yoga is demonic” proponents:

• Would you not be in the same studio while Yoga is being conducted, if it truly does unleash the occult?
• Or do you believe that it’s ok to be exercising in another room while Yoga is being practiced in another room, albeit quite nearby?

Why or why not?

Also, in my Zumba class we incorporate some Indian music, and some Indian-style moves, including this one:

http://www.2ndstreetdance.com/2nd St Dance-26s.jpg

If you were taking a Zumba class and that move came up, would you refrain from doing it, esp. if it were to an Indian song in which you had no idea what the words translated to?

Just curious…these were my thoughts today as I Zumba’d.

 

[PRmerger]

Is your meme meant to distract from the fact that you haven’t bothered to look into the references? I assure you that they’re in there.

I too have to go to Mass…

Blessings!

I looked at the references. There is NOTHING in there about yoga as exercises being able to unleash the demonic.

Now, if one is incorporating the spiritual aspects of yoga into the practice, then I can see where exorcists would urge caution…

but, again, nothing from the exorcists who state that when one is using yoga without the spiritual practices that this will lead to demonic possession.

 

[Evania]

I see no tension between either of my 2 comments.

Practicing yoga is in no way becoming “yoked” to an unbeliever.

Right…yoga has nothing to do with yoked at all. Never mind the small fact that the name is “yoga”. Haha!

 

[Michael_Mayo]

Problem with the yoke?

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I am yoga’d to Jesus.

 

[PRmerger]

Right…yoga has nothing to do with yoked at all. Never mind the small fact that the name is “yoga”. Haha!

Sarcasm is the protest of the weak, Evania.

I rarely use it.

At any rate, if I ride in a car with someone who is an atheist, does that make me yoked to him, as St. Paul is addressing?

And if I am actually, say, literally yoked to someone who is Hindu, for a play, do you believe that St. Paul would admonish me for doing this?

Is that what your point is here?

 

[Evania]

I already addressed this. Catholic exorcists deal with possessed people, not people that weren’t possessed. Unless the exorcist has personally dealt with a sample of people that practice “yoga” that is representative of the population as a whole…highly unlikely given their work schedules…I would expect him to be biased (unintentionally, of course) in his opinion.

Why would they be biased right off the bat against yoga, unless they have witnessed this to be the case? I would have no reason to doubt a Catholic priest. Who should we believe? The exorcists that have the experience of dealing with the fallout of the practice…or you?

Besides, not everyone who practices other occult activity are possessed…some are, some aren’t. Just because a person doesn’t get possessed, does that mean that their behavior doesn’t carry the risk? Are you willing to discount the rite of exorcism because it can’t be scientifically proven with a wide enough sample of people that have dabbled in other occult practices that is representative of the population as a whole?

 

[godisgood77]

Wow… I really can’t believe this thread is still going …. It’s been awhile.

If some are going to make the argument that you can not separate yoga from it religious meaning… How would those same people defend the Catholic religion taking over and repurposing a multitude of pagan rituals and holidays? Which is the exact same idea…

If a Catholic does yoga for improvement of their physical health, God bless them… Can we stop wasting time on silly arguments?

 

[Evania]

Sarcasm is the protest of the weak, Evania.

I rarely use it.

At any rate, if I ride in a car with someone who is an atheist, does that make me yoked to him, as St. Paul is addressing?

And if I am actually, say, literally yoked to someone who is Hindu, for a play, do you believe that St. Paul would admonish me for doing this?

Is that what your point is here?

Whoops, my mistake…You only just post the sarcastic memes.

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14

If you have issue with this passage, it would be fruitless to argue it over with me. I didn’t write it. However, I do agree with it.

I would say that there is no fellowship between the Hindu religion and Catholicism. Can you reference any passage in the Bible where God encouraged this? In fact, I could point to numerous instances where He actually vehemently spoke against it.

As for the the example of Christianizing Easter, here is the difference.

We aren’t the Pope. In fact, if you want me to post the multiple warnings from the Pope on Yoga, I will. However, I know you would dismiss them, because your chair sits higher than his.

 

[PRmerger]

Whoops, my mistake…You only just post the sarcastic memes.

No. They are not sarcastic. At all. I mean exactly what they say. For example, if the GIF says “Nope”, I mean…nope.

Sarcasm is when you say, “That’s really great, PR” but you mean, “That is not great, PR”.

Or…“Yoga has nothing to do with being yoked” when you *really *mean “Yoga has everything to do with being yoked.”

That’s sarcasm.

But when I post a GIF that says, “NOPE” in a delightfully droll way and I mean “NOPE”, that’s…

not sarcasm.

That’s humor.

 

[PRmerger]

If you have issue with this passage, it would be fruitless to argue it over with me. I didn’t write it. However, I do agree with it.

I agree with it, 100%. Hence, my response of Amen! previously.

I would say that there is no fellowship between the Hindu religion and Catholicism. Can you reference any passage in the Bible where God encouraged this? In fact, I could point to numerous instances where He actually vehemently spoke against it.

Could you please answer the question as to whether you believe St. Paul is addressing whether it’s sinful to be literally yoked to a Hindu for, say, a play?

As for the the example of Christianizing Easter, here is the difference.

We aren’t the Pope. In fact, if you want me to post the multiple warnings from the Pope on Yoga, I will. However, I know you would dismiss them, because your chair sits higher than his.

Be careful, Evania. I won’t report you for this, for it is good for you to be here and in dialogue with thoughtful, non-scrupulous Catholics who can provide valid and trenchant refutations to your arguments.

But if you keep posting in the manner above, you won’t be here long, sadly. :nope:

 

[Evania]

No. They are not sarcastic. At all. I mean exactly what they say. For example, if the GIF says “Nope”, I mean…nope.

Sarcasm is when you say, “That’s really great, PR” but you mean, “That is not great, PR”.

Ahhh…I see.

So they aren’t “sarcastic”, they’re more “passive-aggressive”. Gotcha. Either way, no hard feelings. Let’s move on…

 

[Evania]

I agree with it, 100%. Hence, my response of Amen! previously.

Could you please answer the question as to whether you believe St. Paul is addressing whether it’s sinful to be literally yoked to a Hindu for, say, a play?

Be careful, Evania. I won’t report you for this, for it is good for you to be here and in dialogue with thoughtful, non-scrupulous Catholics who can provide valid and trenchant refutations to your arguments.

But if you keep posting in the manner above, you won’t be here long, sadly. :nope:

I’m sorry if you are getting frustrated, but I have provided you with quotes from the Pope and you don’t agree with it. Should I not quote him anymore?

 

[PRmerger]

I’m sorry if you are getting frustrated, but I have provided you with quotes from the Pope and you don’t agree with it. Should I not quote him anymore?

You should refrain from making remarks about our chairs being higher than the pope’s.

Please learn from some of the other prolific and charitable posters who have been here for a long time, so that you can stay and learn, Evania.

 

[PRmerger]

Ahhh…I see.

So they aren’t “sarcastic”, they’re more “passive-aggressive”. Gotcha. Either way, no hard feelings. Let’s move on…

http://gifsforum.com/images/gif/facepalm/grand/disappointed_gif_44556.gif

 

[Evania]

You should refrain from making remarks about our chairs being higher than the pope’s.

Please learn from some of the other prolific and charitable posters who have been here for a long time, so that you can stay and learn, Evania.

Ahhh…I see.

I should sit and learn from the “condencending Christian”. Thank you for enlightening me, sir I will try to do better.

Feel free to stop the personal attacks so I can stop reporting you.

Blessings!