Yoga alternatives

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elange

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I converted to Catholicism 4 years ago. It has been the best 4 years of my life! However, I have a dilemma. I was diagnosed, treated, and am now in remission from ovarian cancer. I need some sort of gentle exercise. I used to do yoga and enjoyed the relaxing effects along with the stretching and flexibility I gained. I do understand that yoga postures are paying homage to certain gods and therefore we cannot participate. I have no problem with that. I do need something else, though.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you!
 
I’m glad you are in remission!

Yoga is a topic that comes up here quite often. While we cannot give any kind of medical advice , my opinion is that it is possible to engage in stretching exercises and have them be just that… stretching exercises. If your doctor thinks this is the best form of exercise for you, you should heed his/her advice.

And by the way, I have some back issues and i benefit from stretching. I pray while I’m doing it!
 
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Just breathe & stretch and ignore all the “mumbo jumbo”…once you let go of all the mysticism and cult of personality associated with yoga it is really just controlled breathing and stretching.

(ducking all the thrown sweaty yoga mats from all the ferverent yogis who will certainly think I am a Philistine for doubting and trivializing yoga)
 
Yoga done purely for exercise, with no religious aspect intended or practiced, should be fine.

Most of the “yoga” classes I see today are about stretching, exercise and relaxation. When you have somebody holding a yoga class in a bar with the sound system blaring rock music, as my friend does, it’s not exactly a religious or even New Age experience going on. It’s an exercise class where you stretch your muscles in a bar with rock music.
 
I am friends with some prayer warriors who believe that yoga is satanic and something that you should not take part in if you are Catholic.

I have never heard of anyone who has a problem with stretching. Why don’t you start a stretching program, and leave the group yoga to the new agers.
 
With yoga, I don’t know what to think.

I shared my experience on this topic, because I thought it was relevant.

I think a no yoga policy is overkill, but some people who are a lot holier than me say you shouldn’t do it.
 
Halloween is a pagan holiday with strictly pagan origins. I love to dress up (I was Mary Poppins this year), hand out candy, decorate my office when the commander lets us.

Doesn’t make me a pagan.

As long as you talk to your doc and get clearance from your medical team, yoga is fine. Doing yoga for the health benefits doesn’t mean you’re celebrating other gods.

And congratulations on your remission! God is good!
 
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Have you thought about pilates? It combines stretching with strength training and doesn’t have many spiritual aspects.
 
I’m just curious if you would benefit from playing tennis. One consideration for you might be whether you want to spend time with the sorts of people that go to yoga. Some are perfectly fine, but many are new-agey types who are selfish people. They talk about things that don’t really support your faith. The dynamics might be better if you play tennis with a Catholic tennis player. At first, you may end up chasing balls a lot of the time, but it gets better if you persist.

I suppose it would be difficult for me to join a group of women because all I see is the potential gossip and trouble. Would you feel you envy them? For me, those groups invite comparison to others, which I’d rather avoid.
 
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Yoga is fine if you’re not engaging in any of the spiritual practices associated with it. An alternative would be pilates, but it is a bit less gentle.
 
Nah, its based on military training and so a spirit of guns, violence and and warfare.
If you cant do Yoga then you cannot do Pilates either 🙂.
 
elange said:
yoga postures are paying homage to certain gods and therefore we cannot participate.
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That would only be true if that’s what you intended to do. If your doctor thinks yoga is best for you, you can certainly follow his instructions.
 
Self-hypnosis for healing … trance … and then bring up your body’s healing forces … direct them to where they might be needed.
 
Yoga is just fine. I like Pilates better, however, because it works on strengthening the core.
I find the “yoga” or “no yoga” debates here ludicrous.
 
that sounds very new age.

God heals. God is our healing force.
 
BlueMaxx said:
Just breathe & stretch and ignore all the “mumbo jumbo”…once you let go of all the mysticism and cult of personality associated with yoga it is really just controlled breathing and stretching.
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Yogis in India say that the exercises cannot be separated from the religion, and it bothers them that westerners think that they can separate it.
 
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