Inner Hinduism professes pantheism, which denies that there is only one infinite Being who created the world out of nothing. But there are countless demons, fallen angels, whose job is to undercut Gods Word wherever they can. Bravo, Katie! I am not afraid of yoga. 11:30). VATICAN CITY (AP) _ The Vatican warned Catholics on Thursday that such methods as Zen, yoga and Transcendental Meditation can degenerate into a cult of the body, and it urged proper Christian prayer. Im not sure that anyone is offended by your statement. What does the church have to say about Yoga. Kneeling, singing, sex, prostration on the floor all of these have been used in pagan practices. 11 It is written: As surely as I live, says the Lord,every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God., 12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.. Answer. Healthy Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute. Learning Resources - Free printable resources for schools, parishes, and more. Yoga practice may indeed constitute sin. If the breathing and body positions are simply done for exercise and health then there is nothing wrong with it. The gods that others believe in, since they arent the true god, have to be evil as there is no middle ground. Pilates is an exercise program, not a religious statement. Surely, you dont mean that we cant do anything Jesus didnt do? doing labyrinth walks, taking yoga and Tai Chi. exactly. I feel no convition warning me off from yoga as a practice of physical exercise. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in other religions, according to the text proclaimed by Pope Paul VI, and regards with sincere reverence those ways of conductwhich, though differing in many aspects from the ones [the church] holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.. Katie, Something else to consider First, I totally get trying to separate out the physical poses from the spiritual aspects of yoga since that has, historically, been my approach. who draws the line between a stretch/posture/pose being yoga & not yoga. If you are convicted by the Spirit that yoga is not for you, then you need to follow that. He showed us how to pray. and since He is God Incarnate, all of Gods Word, the Bible, is what we should be obeying. PF,I think Im more with you than I thought I would beI do agree that practicing yoga in a studio where the teacher is spouting Eastern religion viewpoints and instructions is dangerous as a possible route to falling away from the faithbut what about yoga postures at the Y? While I agree with your conclusion, I have watched many of my friends and relatives walk the path towards New Age with seemingly innocuous beginnings. Katie, Bethany,Im thinking it depends on whether God designed the action, as with sex, and wrote into it certain elements, such as the procreative and unitive, as opposed to postures that humans designed. I even tried to turn the volume down and put on praise and worship music. That's my background, and here are my thoughts on Catholicism and yoga: Catholic Church Teaching and Documents that Mention Yoga, this post about harnessing the power in a womans natural cycle. You may want to add new age deception to your list of resources.The host of that website was heavily involved in the New Age movement, converted, and has clarified yoga on catholic answers many times. Deanne affirmed my experience with her own, sharing, "We are called to be fit instruments for Christ - mind, body, heart, soul - to do His will. A body can be used to embrace a loved one or strike someone in anger. There is not an official faith and morals based Catholic Church teaching on practicing yoga. There is no sin that is greater than Gods love.So, how I was intending this to relate to yoga is that to me its a practice about the heart as in, Im a Christian and my heart belongs to God no amount of physical stretching (even if others around me have alternate views) is going to change that for me. Sure, I would be happy to clarify. Are we tempted to deny the reality of sin or do we accept that there is such a thing? So, for those people who enjoy core-strengthening exercises, but want to avoid yoga, SoulCore is not only a viable alternative, it also could add to your spiritual life! I like how you point out that homeopathy, and many of the natural healing and wellness methods (discussed here on KS too), have been condemned because they are used in other spiritual practices. Always good to have you around! Some how putting others on one side of the line and of those people that do those things Christs love transforms our hearts from the inside. The comments to this post sadden me. As a devout Catholic who also enjoys using yoga poses in my exercise routines, I love this post and totally agree with your conclusions. No, it is because they know that they have a personal area of weakness, and they are as the Bible advocates fleeing from temptation. Youd think so by the songs we sing. Some Catholics say yoga is a helpful exercise regimen. No, you cannot do yoga as a Christian. Red flag. Enjoying your discussion! How interesting. It is more a question of constantly revisiting the sources of our own faith so that we can offer a good, sound presentation of the Christian message. There is generally no will or intent in demonic possessionits not required. Im not about to let Satan get a foothold by tricking me into complacency, the greatest trick in his toolbox, if there really is something spiritually dangerous here. Both the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutra contain rhetoric that translates into words like God and Lord. For some, thats enough to call it a religion or religious. But we need to consider the definitions of words like God or Lord in cultural contexts different from our own. Katie, Your husbands analogy does make me stop to think, so thank you for sharing it. If you eat the meat that everyone likes to cling to (seeing that is more important than the commandments) you will not go to hell. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. Just because a spiritual practice comes from outside the Christian tradition doesn't automatically mean it conflicts with church teachingnor does it automatically mean the opposite. Here is my take on it: Yoga helps be relax and be healthy and therefore a better wife and mother and isnt that what God wants is for me to grow as a wife and mother? The analogy of an atheist taking the Eucharist is what is pushing me in that direction. This sparked a long discussion about how to pitch yoga to young people, especially in our heavily Catholic region of south Louisiana. So people who worry that doing yoga is making them susceptible to an ancient religion are worrying over false information. Finally, how do explain the fact that the Protestants decided to dump 7 books from the bible in around 1500 AD. I have practiced both gymnastics and yoga and see many similarities. Of course He can! God bless, Katie, 1) Quick question regarding We cant be afraid of falling into sin on accident. You bet your life. hindus are not a highly regulated group. Saint of the Day for Tuesday, July 4th, 2023. I agree with you, and with Dustin, when you say It is not the action that defines the intent, but the intent that defines the soul and guides the action. That is very well put. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to. Nuns, monks and many of the Saints practice(d) contemplative prayer which essentially IS meditation. Is drawing the line on where one might end and the other begin for particular yogic practices nigh on impossible? Do you have to do that during any other exercise? Its better to err on the side of caution. May we all find ways to exercise that lead no one to sin!Katie, I think the instructor and the type of yoga matter. But I doubt he would have ridden in a limo, even if Peter paid for one Nothing too showy. Katie. This focus on the self is contrary to the focus on God to which we are called. Check out their website. I would agree with other posters, and encourage everyone to go to Romans 14, and read the WHOLE chapter. That distinction is this: anything that calls itself yoga is possibly tainted. Church of England responds to yoga class ban - Anglican Mainstream Ill have to dig deeper than the first page on that site, but thank you for summarizing. Its just exercise in the same way that what I choose to eat is just food, that what I wear is just clothes, that what I give with or buy with is just money. The Vaticans reflection on the New Age even admits/warns that some practices are labeled New Age as a marketing technique and remain harmless. Is it possible that especially for those more shaky in their faith, that the practice of yoga could be a slippery slope into loss of faith? If you say I can do the exercises of yoga and not believe that its leading to me god and then its not true or not harmful, then the world tell you its all good. It is true that with each pose you are bowing to false gods. 10. As a non-catholic christian, thats exactly how I approach the question and you expressed it so well. If you directly ask, and find out that it was, then your opinion of the meal might change. So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers.Yoga ends with the saying namaste meaning the divinity or light within me salutes the divinity or light within you. This piece of scripture acknowledges the existence of other gods, and to me allows for the practice of yoga and connection with these other dieties/spirits/etc. In New Age teaching techniques for going deeper into ones own soul are ultimately an appeal to ones own ability to reach the divine, or even to become the divine. Christian prayer, however, has a double orientation which involves introspection but is essentially also a meeting with God Christian mysticism is essentially a dialogue which implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from the self to the you of God. . Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. Both Christians and other (Eastern) religion practice meditation, our monks chant, our prayers repeat. At the time I was like cool, these Catholics have redeemed some great spiritual disciplines!. Is God always on Americas side? One must use Catholic teaching about the spirit to make certain that theyre using their body and mind for the purpose of seeking holiness and not seeking spiritual enlightenment, oneness with nature, or opening their heart to anything other than the Lord, who is God. I also keep in mind that when we are talking about physical-fitness yoga, the word yoga almost becomes arbitrary. Scripture does not mention him on a chariot as far as I know. Why not do pilates or some other form of movement and stretching? ((BesidesEven after 7 children & I am still in great shape! New Age truth is a matter of finding ones own truth in accordance with the feel-good factor. 9. God created us and out bodies and said that it was good. I am a christian though. While yoga was just one example offered among many, the Holy Father touched on a matter of great debate among faithful Catholics who happen to prefer this kind of exercise. Is a marathon runner who stretches his legs properly with runners pose opening himself up to demons? Well, then let me rephrase my point-yes Christians CAN do yoga, should they is another issue. WHAT DOES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SAY ABOUT YOGA? We are faced daily with decisions about how to live and what to do, etc. I have never really thought of whether, as a Catholic, I can do Yoga. Or simply, I bow to you.2 Peter 3:16 Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters around to mean something quite different from what he meant, just as they do the other parts of Scripture-and the result is disaster for them I have read quotes with Scripture to defend yoga. Since youre a frequent reader of our website, we want to be able to share even more great, As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important, yoga has never belonged to any one religion, celebrating Halloween does not make you Wiccan, founded by a yoga teacher, Alan Haras, and a newly ordained Jesuit priest, Bobby Karle. Others concentrate on methods of achieving success and wealth. The physical aspect of yoga (exercise) is not reliant on any Eastern religion. Recently, I was shocked when I found a whole site of people who proclaimed they were christian and were quite hateful toward yoga, those who practiced it and, especially, those who did it and professed to be catholic and/or christian. Meggan,I agree that some get overly concerned about matters that dont seem all that importantbut I cant condone pre-marital sex on that list. @cirelo, I read your post Nostra Aetete in my email. What is Young Life, and what do they believe? | GotQuestions.org Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. I think they have true benefits. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. I appreciate your perspective, and know that I for one am certainly not judging your convictions. What is the Church? It's Role & Purpose According to the Bible Im not sure where people are getting their information when they claim that the motions of yoga are inextricably linked to the spirituality of yoga all the different classes/videos that Im familiar with are just variations of hatha yoga (or asanas), which is only one tiny part of the idea of Yoga. How much better would it be to go to a Christian based yoga class? This article is a web-only feature that accompanies Spiritual exercises: Can other religious practices strengthen your Catholic core? which appeared in the May 2013 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. There are many ways to get fit. It is not the action that defines the intent, but the intent that defines the soul and guides the action. Pope Francis Says Yoga Doesn't Lead Us to God - Catholic Online A body can be used to toil to support a family or plunder time away at a casino. And fear of the Lord and the fear of hell may be two separate things, but flying in the face of one will certainly land me in the other. Their bodies are saying I give myself fully to you, while they are not really giving fully. i think its good to be mindful of what messages we are sending as believers with our actions, but i also think that fear can drive us to throw the baby out with the bathwater at times. Sometimes demons come in b/c weve opened the door, even if we dont think weve invited them in. Of course! Be wise, be sober. Just thought Id pass along this article I bookmarked from CNN. I would advise those who feel closer to God by doing those kinds of things to be very wary. I wear a rosary bracelet when I do it and it actually helps me find time to meditate on GOD and the beautiful blessing my body is experiencing carrying a child of God in my womb; it forces me to focus on my body (created by God), the miraculous concept of simply breathing that God created, and I have more energy and feel better about myself and can be a better, Godly, wife and mother when I take the time to do the yoga because I feel better afterwards. Everyone Has Parasites - Get Rid of Them Naturally! A body can be used to image the trinitarian love of God in the marriage embrace or in the exact same action, to stain two souls in an act of extramarital lust and spit in the face of Gods beautiful plan. For me personally, a few years back I chose to change my diet to that of a kosher one. This is by no way a thorough look at Gods full Word, but a starting point. Still struggled. I liked Milehimamas twitter comment. Yoga What Does The Catholic Church Say About It no. I think people who are scared that it is a form of pagan worship have not ever tackled it from an exercise perspective before and are assuming that the new age principals are an integral part of yoga. Yoga cannot fit with Christianity we live in a world of relativism where people think they can make true whatever they believe. Can you stretch without it being religious worship? We have to be so on guard. Yes, like the Christmas tree, and the Easter bunny. The Galatians were reprimanded severely for looking for ways to get a feeling that was not scriptural. However, we do not do so to decide if it is permissible for any Christian to do such a thing, but rather to discover what God has to say to ME about MY engagement in this practice. the Christian understanding of God is in himself personal, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.. It reminds me a bit about the issue of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Katie. The asanas are only linked to spirituality if you intend them to be. What's going on here? The movements ARE the religion. Just a quick correction the Rosary does not come from Hinduism. I have practiced yoga and never felt it was leading me away from Christ. I hope that cleared things up Im not trying to chastise you, only to explain what I felt you misunderstood. Joseph says an absolute NO to any form of yoga. Here are some of my evaluations: A sin is an act of the will, and to sin requires full knowledge of sin as well as full intent. Yes.With freedom. You simply cannot separate the movements from the meditation; any pagan practice opens yourself to demonic influence. I used to think that if I prayed with my hands folded instead of palms flat together, that I was praying to Satan because my fingers were pointing down, and only to God if the fingers were pointing to Heaven. I think theres a distinction, and one that Catholics should be warned of, yes?Thank you for your comments! . Can you? We ask readers to log in so that we can recognize you as a registered user and give you unrestricted access to our website. Some key points include: Are you still with me? If one is to discuss this subject with any degree of intelligence, one must first determine if the physical motions of yoga can be separated from the spirituality that often comes with it, and which may be the foundation of the practice in Eastern religions. To all of us, please be cautious about where you throw your judgements and how you do so b/c it can potentially do more harm than good.I thought this was a great topic and enjoyed the many view points shared here. Thanks for putting all that out there. I do not say these things in hate or condemnation. I mean, this is the catholic church, an we hold as true extra ecclesiam nulla salus!. You claim to prefer the words of Christ, but if Scripture is the Word of God, arent all parts of Scripture the words of Christ? Pope John Paul II would say no. That sent me on a search. The relationship of the person, group, practice, or commodity to the central tenets of Christianity is what counts.. The yoga Ive done most recently was via P90X videos with Tony Horton, the buff guy making men in the armed forces kill their abs in the photo above. The point of Christian prayer and meditation is to grow deeper in a relationship and friendship with God. I am a Christian not catholic. Katie. It was said with trepidation and often seemed awkward. Making the sign of the cross does not make you Catholic. I still wont go to an actual class. However, they were put here for us to make use of for our well being.Just because someone of another spirituality uses herbs to heal doesnt mean Christians should not use them.Frankly Id trust a product of nature (created by God) over a product of man (made by man). And I thought if this was the only person I was judging a Christian by, I would not be in any way inclined to find out more about Christ. Bear with me to the end of this one; itll be worth it. Ill live my life without a Rosary and among people who are drinking and doing yoga all day long, but I will never see pre-marital sex as not important. ahem, thanks for the interesting post, Katie! Practicing yoga does not make you Hindu. Thanks for tackling it-youve given me a lot to think about . These are difficult questions to answer. P.S. Christians know that [in the words of John Paul II] In bringing about the redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of redemption.. As far as Jesus would travel? Making the sign of the cross does not make you Catholic. Bishops Applaud Supreme Court's Defense of Religious Freedom in Groff v. DeJoy Case, Daily Readings for Tuesday, July 04, 2023, St. Elizabeth of Portugal: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, July 04, 2023, Consecration of America: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, July 04, 2023. Yoga is not running obsessively or making fitness the first focus in your life. Those practisisms are NOT Orthodox. I enjoyed yoga. So practicing yoga may give you a natural euphoria or enhance a meditative state. Someone had told me that was how it worked, and I believed. Yoga - Wikipedia New York Citys Catholic Underground is an experience of church like no other. Is social commitment something shirked or positively sought after? God is not Catholic or Baptist or Presbyterian or Lutheran. Let me go through all my volumes of the Ante-Nicean Fathers and see where they began doing yoga. I also think the new Zumba is on the line. 'yoke' or 'union' pronounced ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind and mundane suffering ().There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in . What does Catholic Church say about yoga? - Wellbeing Port Please provide an email address so that we can contact you about your feedback if necessary. But all of this will never be able to give you.freedom", he explained. As a Catholic, any faith that doesnt worship the one God who is true is a pagan religion, so a Hindu wouldnt call themselves a Pagan Hindu but I merged the terms from my own perspective. Really good clarifying question, though I hope this helps other readers, too. It can be an extremely rewarding, enriching, and life-changing practice (just read Thomas Merton, Mother Theresa, or St. Augustine to get a glimpse). However, I have to agree with Tonya that every pose I saw on the wholyfit site is from yogaso rather than an alternative to yoga, Id call that Christian yoga and I think thats pretty cool! I would like to see what scriptures you have used to form your belief, so that I can analyze them for myself. Maybe you should read more of Pauls letters to get a better sense of the freedom our faith affords us. Dustin from Engaged Marriage & Fit Marriage. Im sorry for the confusion. Thats personal. The fabric is stretchy knit and they all have a wide, flat elastic waistband. Sorry about the confusion! Its a BIG difference. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 asks, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? Dead on, Sarah! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. I have a pre-natal yoga DVD (that Ive actually been meaning to get out and start doing regularly again) that I love! Priests and religious who have the difficult job of confronting this on a daily basis have a better idea of what one is actually dealing with.Thats just my two cents. Exactly what I was thinking, Sarah, just much more eloquently said Thanks for backing up with such great Scripture! Christians should not rely on feng shui to manipulate their environment to produce peace. The problem with the Eucharist analogy is that the Eucharist is REAL and TRUE and this other stuff is not, so I see no reason to be afraid of it! If God had his way, I doubt there would be any denominations or divisions within the church. I feel like so many things people look for an approval from their priest or Rome or their minister but the cool part is Jesus says that we are all now priests that we can pray directly to him no need to run down to your local parish just ask! Answer For many Christians in the West who don't understand the history behind it, yoga is simply a means of physical exercise and strengthening and improving flexibility of the muscles. I also know that Jesus was not born during this time period, so I have to use scripture and my brains to figure out whats appropriate. How do explain the fact that the New Testament was only formalised in the 4th Century AD? If something so directly pagan and idolatrous can be permissible, who are we to decry yoga as too vile to be redeemed by God?. But that was one iffy experience in years and years of different yoga studios and classes. The first and foremost foundation for all things is the Scriptures. Scholars have determined that yoga originated in the South Asian tradition because yoga is one of the six Hindu darshana, meaning philosophical traditions, and some key tenets of Buddhism and Jainism appear in yogic philosophy.

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