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ptisme
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So what would be an example of a complicated yoga pose that I should avoid during a class at the Y?
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friardchips
Guest
For example a person standing straight with their hands by their side…! Yes, this is apparently Yoga (obviously not
).And a person lying on the floor with the back arched slightly…! (wow, so unlikely that millions of people wouldn’t have done that anyway!) - do you get the idea? Things which people do sometimes as a rule anyway. That one you posted is taught by fitness exercises outside the realms of Yoga. It is so silly. I know, because I was involved in the creation of a logo using one of those simple exercise bodily shapes.
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friardchips
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Just to avoid the Yoga class would be the simple thing to do that way one doesn’t have to put oneself at risk. I am talking about myself here. You could do what you wanted.
There is an example that I think makes clear what I’m thinking here. You know hand shapes people make to sign to deaf people. For me, Yoga represents communication symbols that instead of one’s hand forming to make the symbols one is using the whole body. These have been used to worship false gods and demonic presences behind reincarnation-psychology and are probably recognised in Satan’s domain as such, which also explains why there are many reports of Christians being pulled away from their religion once taking up Yoga after innocently rejecting in intention the spirituality side of things. Having been involved in advertising I know about communication and the power of symbols.
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friardchips
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Again, does the Hindu religion have any form of praying, other than Yoga?
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Michael_Mayo
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I think that is the biggest fallacy out there. See what St John of the Cross has to say about emptying the mind.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=894914
Christian meditation begins with reflection on the life of Christ and leads to the inner silence of contemplation.
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Michael_Mayo
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Repetition of mantra is very important as well as offering insense.Again, does the Hindu religion have any form of praying, other than Yoga?
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friardchips
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I agree with St. John of the Cross too. Mantra. But the purpose of putting to side one’s distracting thoughts isn’t to empty the mind but to clear it of distractions in order to make way for God. Yes, there are such dark waters which are a holy space over which the Spirit hovers, I believe, and when we go there we sit patiently in contemplation, but this is not forcing one’s way there, but allowing one’s soul to be carried and at times filled by God, at His discretion. Other forms of non-Christian meditation are emptying the mind and summoning power for the self - it is intrusive and non-specific at times but also dangerously specific at other times, if you know what I mean, about what it is allowing to fill it. Unless one is safely in the hands of the God we know then there is the risk of danger. The Christian seeks holiness.
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friardchips
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With the Christian mantra one does not repeat like a parrot. One can say the words now and then if one’s mind is beginning to fill with too many distractions but one doesn’t need to keep saying the words.
And words are important. Not just intention. I could intend to love God and speak all loads of rubbish. I am then communicating rubbish. We have so many holy words to pray and we don’t need to repeat them as if God is deaf. And position too is important for such things. There is a place for all things.
Another chant example are the Taize chants but again they steer clear of anything that could be considered a frenzy even though they do repeat. It is slow and calm and using holy words that the Christian knows are holy and sacred.
There is a time and place for all things and when things find their way to the Christian Church that particular thing has found its time and place (correct usage) i.e:- incense and rosary beads and many other things, even music. Everything in creation came to be through Christ and so it is that all things find their way back if put in proper order. All for the glory of God.
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Michael_Mayo
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I am not familiar with methods of “summoning power for the self’”. in any case, that would involve a nonempty mind. But that term “empty mind” needs qualification. Does it mean unconsciousness? I don’t think so in any tradition. I think you speak well of it in saying, “But the purpose of putting to side one’s distracting thoughts isn’t to empty the mind but to clear it of distractions in order to make way for God. Yes, there are such dark waters which are a holy space over which the Spirit hovers, I believe, and when we go there we sit patiently in contemplation, but this is not forcing one’s way there, but allowing one’s soul to be carried and at times filled by God, at His discretion.”
And yet that takes patience on our part and some degree of effort to redirect as distractions come. Some effort to release let them go. The biggest dangers are those of the ego, spiritual pride.
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Michael_Mayo
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In Hindu prayer I think there is some belief that the words themselves contain particular vibrations so that when repeated, say a hundred or thousand times there is some effect. But also there is the personal relationship with particular deities.With the Christian mantra one does not repeat like a parrot. One can say the words now and then if one’s mind is beginning to fill with too many distractions but one doesn’t need to keep saying the words.
And words are important. Not just intention. I could intend to love God and speak all loads of rubbish. I am then communicating rubbish. We have so many holy words to pray and we don’t need to repeat them as if God is deaf. And position too is important for such things. There is a place for all things.
Another chant example are the Taize chants but again they steer clear of anything that could be considered a frenzy even though they do repeat. It is slow and calm and using holy words that the Christian knows are holy and sacred.
There is a time and place for all things and when things find their way to the Christian Church that particular thing has found its time and place (correct usage) i.e:- incense and rosary beads and many other things, even music. Everything in creation came to be through Christ and so it is that all things find their way back if put in proper order. All for the glory of God.
Christian mantra is not about getting God to hear us, but as you say, calming the mind. Does the vibration of the sound have anything to do with it? Or is it more our relationship to the Lord? Maybe both. Once when I as meditating the words “Sanabitur animam meam” came to me. Those are the old Latin words for “my soul shall be healed”. They are so soothing and comforting.
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christofirst
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Friardchips,
Your tenacity is in a sense admirable, and certainly undeniable. If you want to better understand the way of prayer to which I am drawn, I offer this presentation from Augustinian Father Martin Laird, which explains the silent prayer we have been peripherally discussing here (it really has nothing to do with yoga, after all), and might hopefully dispel any misconceptions about it, better than I ever could. You can skip the introduction by going right to 7:23 to hear Father’s explanation:
youtube.com/watch?v=9TEXUTyP4rI
Of course I understand if you are not interested or do not have the time, but I offer it all the same. Is it the only way of prayer? Of course not. But is it a legitimate and beneficial way of prayer, firmly established in our Catholic Faith? Certainly.
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friardchips
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I don’t think the ‘summoning’ (sure, maybe not the exact correct word) is meant to mean that but this can be the effect. It brings self-confidence and a separation of wills rather than a humble bringing together. It augments one’s trust in one’s “ego” at a particular height of consciousness which then carries on when people go for fill-ups. Holiness and Wisdom is granted graciously by God normally at a gentler pace and we don’t seek to be super humans in the meantime. We accept our state a little more. Patient with ourselves.
Thank you for acknowledging the paragraph. I knew you’d know what I meant
I don’t know whether I completely agree. Yes, a convoluted mind can cause issues and make it harder to discern what is from God maybe. An emptier mind can be more open to the Holy Spirit. But distractions can also tell us what we are worried about and maybe something that is from the heart that God would like to address. For example, if an image came to mind repeatedly it would be worth addressing what it represents, during prayer.
I agree what you said about pride. Very clear. And this is where the Christian has an advantage in that we are taught about it being a danger so can work on it. This is one problem on a practical level that I see with Yoga, is that we are aligning ourselves and taking the advice from those who maybe don’t understand at all that pride is the enemy’s choice meat. They are not thinking about the things, or at least all of them, to the same degree, as the Christian, for understandable reasons which are not altogether their faults.
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friardchips
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Hi. Thanks for the comments. Nice to see you’re still with us!
Will watch the video. I’ve got a few to look forward to tonight now with a cup of hot choccy as people have been generous with their links, all good stuff! So thank you; looking forward to it! 
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friardchips
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“Healing” is a very good word. If not The Word. Well, vibrations come from a rhythm so the idea of vibrations is really interesting. We think of the rhythm of the Father’s breathing of the Holy Spirit, so there must be a rhythm and so holy vibrations, or ripples if we think of calm waters. I think of holy lands such as Africa (despite their troubles) having a kind of vibration. I guess it depends what vibration we are joining with or in our sense, being brought into.
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friardchips
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Btw…even if I watch it and don’t agree with it, whatever the outcome, I am not personally criticizing your prayers; if people have found God through a certain way or means then who is anyone to say you haven’t. I am thinking from the long-term, Church as a whole, perspective. God probably does steer us when we ask to be put in His hands, what I am talking about, is removing any possible danger altogether, not necessarily by arguing that Yoga could never be done, but suggesting that the Church breaks/cuts any possible links to a non-Christian Eastern spiritual “vibration” - as Michael Mayo cleverly described - that might exist behind the practice, once and for all. And this would be, I think, to get a blessing from the Church after a thorough investigation. At the moment they have ISIS and BOKO H. to worry about but when things have died down…maybe?! We have already become involved with Climate Change. I am sceptical about that but even as a sceptic I trust that once the Church gets involved it uncovers the truth and the lie. It is when we ignore that we are negligent. Anyway, I’ll watch the video and see. Quite enjoying this thread.
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ptisme
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I have had shoulder pain now for the past few weeks since racket ball. Inspired by this thread I did the workout below (and focusing on the Lord the whole time) and voila: no more pain! The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways!
youtu.be/F5RVd_zRxno
youtu.be/F5RVd_zRxno
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Michael_Mayo
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And some of us are more sensitive to the vibes.
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friardchips
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Sure.
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friardchips
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Great that your pain is healed. We can also offer up our pain for the suffering. Redemptive.
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ptisme
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Sorry to hear you have no Tylenol in your medicine cabinet. Or even a medicine cabinetGreat that your pain is healed. We can also offer up our pain for the suffering. Redemptive.
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