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friardchips
Guest
Sorry to hear you have no Tylenol in your medicine cabinet. Or even a medicine cabinet
Most of it is out-of-date, kept in a medicine box, where everything falls out each time. A cabinet is far too luxurious! 
- Status
Most of it is out-of-date, kept in a medicine box, where everything falls out each time. A cabinet is far too luxurious!
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Gary_Sheldrake
Guest
Good evening Friardchips. Actually, there is no such thing as the Hindu religion. Hinduism is a term conferred by westerners in the 18th century upon the many and diverse religious and spiritual practices of the people who inhabit the Indian Subcontinent. Among these, not all practice yoga. Among those who do, there are six branches, and of these, I believe you are referring to doing postures, which is referred to as Hatha Yoga. Meditation is called Raja Yoga and prayer or devotion is done in what is called Bhakti Yoga, but Raja Yoga can also be seen as a form of prayer. Jnana Yoga is intellect and wisdom, which includes study of scriptures, Karma Yoga is the yogic equivalent of what Buddhists call right action, or doing good deeds, and Tantra Yoga deals with ritual. I should note that these are all condensed and oversimplified characterizations of these practices, but I have presented them in this way in order to fit the flow of conversation.Again, does the Hindu religion have any form of praying, other than Yoga?
There is no one set God that any of these practices vector on. It is believed that these can be practiced as a means of union with whatever it is a person worships, albeit most âHinduâ scriptures that pertain to yoga come from the Mahabharata, which deals with the Avatars of Vishnu, and among whom Krishna is the incarnation of God who teaches about yogic practices in the section or book called the Bhagavad Gita. The actual âBibleâ of yogic practices was written quite a bit later by Patanjali.
All the best,
Gary
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friardchips
Guest
Hi there!
Informative post, thank you! So the different forms of Yoga represent the various elements that make up what they see as the higher intellect, so if one was reaching for say wisdom, as youâve mentioned, then theyâd pray a specific variant of Yoga? Hence, the âdeitiesâ side of things - they are the target characters to whom people approach in each separate branch of, letâs say Hinduism, for easinessâ sake, e.g:- Vishnu or Krishna etcâŚeven though that deity for that particular strength is not an overall god or goddess? And yet Yoga is in a sense quite a generic term because it is the way eastern practices generally pray in a very widespread area amongst many peoples, as opposed to being a facet of one religion?
Also, seeing as you seem to know quite a lot, do you know please where the âMayanâ energy-source belief fits into the practices, if it does? And the story of Gilgamesh and how it fits in with Eastern spirituality ( I reckon about 500-800BC is the date for that particular story)?
I wonder if these ancient peoples believed that any of these energy sources / characters / gods and goddesses created the Universe or whether the people did not or maybe could not comprehend anything outside of time.
Thanks again!
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Gary_Sheldrake
Guest
Good evening Friardchips: Most yoga poses replicate the movement of things found in nature, and being that humans are found in nature, there is an algorithmic synthesis between the natural behavior being replicated and the physical benefits sought from the movement. Some poses are meant to build strength and some build on flexibility, and so on.
Can you elaborate on what communication symbols you are being conveyed in yoga poses, and as a follow on question, can you substantiate these meanings to any particular texts such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali or any other authentic yogic text or writing?
With regard to Christians being pulled away by yoga, I think Christians are pulled away for a variety of reasons, foremost among them (I would think) is that they were looking for something else in the first place. As for advertising, it is my observation that it is often used to characterize things in a given way in order to sell something. For instance, its arts and practices could be employed to promote ideas about what other people do.
All the best,
Gary
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Gary_Sheldrake
Guest
From Friardchips:
All the best,
Gary
Good evening Friardchips: Actually, I think if someone were to be reaching for knowledge from a yogic approach, they would study. Prayer would be more of a means of connecting with God.
Westerners get confused by the use of the term âgodsâ in Hinduism. The core of Vedic philosophy is pantheistic, wherein there is one God who is in turn expressed in all things. Whether it is in the form of a person, a bird, a rock, a tree, the sun, the moon or some god or another, at their core they are all God. You mention Krishna. In the Hindu scripture âThe Song of Godâ Krishna says that no matter who or what you worship, they are all in fact him.
Yoga has it roots in Hinduism (as we call it), however, the branches of yoga could be and are applied to any religion, whether practitioners of those religions are aware of it or not. The branches are simply exercise, meditation/prayer, devotion, study of scripture, good works and ritual, (or Hatha, Raja, Bhakti, Jnana, Karma and Tantra).
I am not at all familiar with the Mayan culture, but I am thinking of perhaps exploring it someday. As a disclaimer, I donât in fact know a lot about anything. For everything I think I come to know, it only creates another hundred new things I donât know.
I can say that Hindus do in fact think that the universe was created by God, but they call him Brahman, but similar to us, Brahman is part of a Holy Trinity, although they came to use that term thousands of years before we did.
All the best,
Gary
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friardchips
Guest
So yoga to connect, then the study. Makes sense.
Interesting.
So a Yoga exercise could be the reading of Scripture? Is this western Church Yoga or original Eastern Yoga? Iâm not being facetious, but do they study in certain positions also or is that before then, to connect. So theyâd do a position to connect and then do the study, or if another version, do good works?
Donât let that stop you!
All things came to be through Christ and so all must return. This is why the Church tries to see the reaching for God in other religions, to seek out the truths within. Where does the belief in reincarnation come in then or is that a confusion? See, itâs the âconnectingâ part I see as a problem here. I suppose when we pray to God there is a connection of sorts but I think that is an inappropriate way for religious people to describe prayer to God. Connection sounds very automatic, like Broadband. If that is how some Eastern spiritualists view praying to God then where is the humble approach? A connection sounds too much like a certain celebrity appearing in the U.S and stating âthere are various ways to tap into the Almightyâ. God is three persons in one not an electrical power-point. Maybe there is a difference of thought there. Being a Christian I believe that the fullness of all lesser truths are in Christ so I donât think that all more obscure elements are evil necessarily in other forms of worship, people mean well, but just not receiving the healing that Christ in all fullness can bring - that is an objective point of view not a criticism I wish to add. I think the Christian has a duty to wish to share rather than look down, because if that is the case, then can we say we are Christian, so recognising the good in and how it could fit in is certainly loving. Not sure about participation in the connecting though.
Thanks for taking the time to write these posts, btwâŚ!
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Michael_Mayo
Guest
The main issue seems to be that distinction between our effort which enables or opens us more fully to the Holy Spirit and any effort to force or control the Holy Spirit. There are many things we can do to better connect to God, like receiving the sacraments, fasting, reading scripture and the many methods of prayer. Can we also include yoga? But do they influence God or us? Or both?
We are called to participate in this relationship and not just be passive.
We are called to participate in this relationship and not just be passive.
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ptisme
Guest
Or yoga may be either here nor there with all that for some people like myself and itâs a good stretch video to compliment plymetrics and core strengtheningâŚ
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friardchips
Guest
This attempt: ââŚand any effort to force or control the Holy Spirit.â is the result of this: ââŚmany things we can do to better connect to GodâŚâ. I also question these three words: ââŚconnect to God.â As I put forward, He is not a power-point to connect to, like an object power-source, God is three persons in one God to either talk to, to be with, be in the presence of, or listen to. I canât be in a relationship with a battery but I can with God. The Sacraments arenât there to tap into, to connect to, Jesus is there to heal us, to reign in our hearts and guide us as the Shepherd of the flock. I agree with what you said about being âopenâ though, so we can be guided. What does connection bring, results for feeling consistently consoled? We donât influence God. He gives us what we need, when He knows we need it. We are called to participate, true, but in the knowledge Christ shares with us not partaking in spirituality where Jesus hasnât walked the earth and told us all about how to practice it. With the Holy Spirit in the Bible we have a teacher, The teacher. Who is the authority on Yoga? Where does the knowledge stem from? We have the faith that is handed down to us and how to practice it, so why do Christians need to look for extra results? Christ came to offer love to all, but did He place Himself in amongst writings from other religions or did He complete the Hebrew Scriptures to offer Himself to mankind through that history of worship. There are truths in these other ones no doubt that suggest shades of Him but it is the history of the Jewish people that is our ancestry. When we understand that we can go out and share our faith but I donât think that means partaking of all practices outside of the Catholic Church which can be sacrificing our own integrity and risking watering our own understanding.
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friardchips
Guest
How did you first find out about it?
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friardchips
Guest
*watering down!
You understand something of St. John of the Cross so you must therefore understand about desolation and the importance of redemptive suffering - consolation and desolation. Also dryness is a part of the faith too.
You understand something of St. John of the Cross so you must therefore understand about desolation and the importance of redemptive suffering - consolation and desolation. Also dryness is a part of the faith too.
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ptisme
Guest
Ymca class my wife wanted to do as a little couple thing. Apparently a forbidden apple wasnât available
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friardchips
Guest
Thank you for sharing that.
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SyroMalankara
Guest
An interesting side-note: it wasnât an âappleâ as we know it, that the Bible mentioned, but it came to be associated with âan appleâ in English because the word for âfruitâ in many Indo-European is the same word as âappleâ. Most fruits were name ___-appel, example - banana - was appel of paradise, orange - orangappel, etc⌠along with this, in Latin mÄlum (an apple) and mÄlum (an evil)
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friardchips
Guest
Eating forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge is actually a great example in this thread!
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ptisme
Guest
Thatâs why I used it. Only nobody has forbidden westernized yogaEating forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge is actually a great example in this thread!
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friardchips
Guest
Probably only because to outline every practice that might be considered cult practice would be very time-consuming. The CCC has lots on New Age and although it doesnât mention Yoga it is pretty common sense to see how the practice of Yoga might come under that banner if one is to read the whole section. I imagine that many would hold the same opinion as you - that to bring Christ into the framework instead of whoever/whatever, is enough, but as has been repeatedly put to posters before: does intention not have to be educated?; who has the authority to teach Yoga - did Christ teach Yoga, did He give us instructions, did the Saints for they must have known about Yoga if it is a widespread Eastern practice that has been going for longer than Christianity, did St. John of the Cross?; these Yoga teachers - where do they get their knowledge and how do they know what is beyond the physical realm?; if yoga is a form of connecting then doesnât this means communication of sorts with or without the spirituality?; if demons are used to being tapped into via Yoga then why are they going to disregard this worship all of a sudden in the West and simultaneously why do people ignore the dangers to do with the psychological trap of so-called reincarnation?; what is wrong with exercise without going into Yoga?; what is wrong on the spirituality side of things with praying the meditation we have been taught or learnt as Christians? (as one person said recently, âOne would think people are more worried about gaining happiness in this life than they are life eternalâ.
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friardchips
Guest
Hi. Saw two videos - one by Fr. Laird and another showing a woman doing Yoga. I listened attentively and gave the priest longer than the time I viewed the woman because as soon as she finished bringing the Lord into her workout she stuck her lycra-padded rump in the air ungainly as if being lifted by a crane. I was like: âOkay, nextâŚ!â I went on to this priest and what he said is interesting about how meditation came about, if he is correct, and although he states that Jesus is quoting lines of scripture instead of dialogue with Satan, this does actually contradict Pope Benedict who noted it was a battle of genius theologians. However, I wasnât going to dismiss it quite yet until he started making fun of Deuteronomy then realised this wasnât something I liked to listen to, as this was poking fun at holy Scripture, and the Holy spirit doesnât inspire people to make fun of Himself, and the only person we know who does like to do that, isâŚso these guys are inspired by the wrong person, in my opinion. If one has a real pious love of the Church, of Rome, of Jesus and Scripture then they wonât make fun of God. Straight up. Glad Iâve stuck to my insights so far.
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friardchips
Guest
There are many people who like to make a name for themselves, by doing and saying fancy things on the television and on videos, so please be careful what you consider to be holy knowledge.
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friardchips
Guest
Thanks for these, just watched them.
They must have strong leg muscles. Maybe their going low then back up again is a kind of bow because in Catholicism we bow our heads at the beginning of the Glory Be and every time Jesusâ name is said and weâre also supposed to do this when Our Holy Motherâs name is mentioned too. Bowing happens a lot and kneeling of course. We also bow as we pass the altar when we cross from one side of the Church to the other.- Status