Now, your interpretation is erroneous over things which have been made most certain.
The highest authority in the Church - THE POPE - advised against Yoga for spiritual reasons : whole point behind the thread (outlined on the first page, in fact).
Then in proper context he also “advises” against the catechism.
“You can take a million catechetical courses, a million courses in spirituality, a million courses in yoga, Zen and all these things. But all of this will never be able to give you.”
And the Vatican document on New Age clearly expresses the same sentiments. I would go further in advising exactly what the new poster advised to anyone who considers it okay to do Yoga as a Christian in full confidence that this is the general opinion of the Church to stay away from it - despite heretical writers cited on here stating the opposite.
That document provided questions for discernment rather than the damning blanket statement you suppose:
**
The following questions may be the easiest key to evaluating some of the central elements of New Age thought and practice from a Christian standpoint. “New Age” refers to the ideas which circulate about God, the human being and the world, the people with whom Christians may have conversations on religious matters, the publicity material for meditation groups, therapies and the like, explicit statements on religion and so on. Some of these questions applied to people and ideas not explicitly labelled New Age would reveal further unnamed or unacknowledged links with the whole New Age atmosphere.
“Is God a being with whom we have a relationship or something to be used or a force to be harnessed?**
God is a being with whom we have a relationship. Yoga Stretches can help us offer our bodies to God, help us to relax in God and help us to enjoy the gift of our bodies. It honors our incarnation.
- **Is there just one Jesus Christ, or are there thousands of Christs? **There is only one Christ whether ones does yoga stretches or not.
*** The human being: is there one universal being or are there many individuals?** We are each unique individuals embodied in great gifts. This has nothing to do with stretching other than utilizing the gift God has given us.
*** Do we save ourselves or is salvation a free gift from God? **Salvation is a free gift from God and has nothing to do with stretches.
*** Do we invent truth or do we embrace it? **We embrace the truth starting with the Gospel and actual Church teaching.
*** Prayer and meditation: are we talking to ourselves or to God?** We open our hearts and minds to God. Stretches and postures, including prostrations and kneeling can help us do that.”
And you yourself have gone this way and that, one minute saying you don’t practice Yoga for spiritual reasons and only doing it for exercise, then the next minute suggesting it is okay. I have no idea where your personal opinions lie because of your swaying dramatically in the wind during each separate bout of discussion; nevertheless, the advice has been given. Not by me. By those who do know what they are talking about and in the position to guide us with knowledge that is no doubt most accurate.
I do it for both physical and spiritual reasons but many can do it simply for physical reasons.