Papist Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 An encyclical issued on June 4, 2013 by Metropolitan Markos of Chios on Christians who practice Yoga and whether or not it is merely a physical exercise. He basically explains that the Hindu religious practice of yoga was established for the sole purpose of entering into a spiritual state, and never had anything to do with exercise until a few decades ago when Hindu yogis explained it this way when they were trying to win converts in the West. Encyclical 14: Is Yoga Exercise? http://thesobornost.org/2013/06/orthodox-statement-on-yoga/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Interesting, though I have to disagree. While it is pretty easy to get sucked into the spiritual side of yoga, because almost every yoga instructor injects the spiritual element into it, and it's not something I would recommend young people do, it's not impossible to do some of the movements divorced from their spiritual meaning. Like, okay, my ankles severely pronate, so my knees and hips and walk are affected. So my doctor gave me a prescription for special shoes and told me to do the "pigeon pose" and "Downward facing dog" poses, to stretch and strengthen the some specific muscles in my feet and hips. Most of the benefits anyone would get through yoga can be gotten through pilates, but I don't think it's impossible to do some yoga moves or positions without thinking about their spiritual connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Given that pilates is basically just de-spiritualized yoga, I don't see why this needs to be such a big deal. This Metropolitan isn't saying anything Catholics don't already acknowledge, which is that the new age / Hindu spirituality taking place with some yoga practitioners is a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apotheoun Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I agree with Metropolitan Markos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChildForever Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I don't really get the hype about yoga. Maybe it's just so trendy and that's why some people like it? At my internship, one of our RNs was also a yoga instructor so during an activity period she would instruct yoga for about half an hour. It was open to staff and patients. I did it a few times and my conclusion is that it's just a bunch of different stretches. :idontknow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seven77 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJU00VzJ3LE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 The spiritual power of a religious ritual is not diminished by rationalizing away it's spiritual attributes. Yoga is a Hindu religious ritual, it's spiritual nature cannot be seperated and placed to the side. No amount of relativistic thought makes it spiritually safe for a Christian to practice a false religion's ritual for physical exercise. I agree with Metropolitan Markos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 No amount of relativistic thought makes it spiritually safe for a Christian to practice a false religion's ritual for physical exercise. So when a Hindu gets on his knees and folds his hands, closing his eyes, he's participating in a Christian ritual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJU00VzJ3LE Why? Back on topic: Most of my yoga instructors have totally de-spiritualized it. But they're pandering to college-age kids who just want to be hot. The one instructor I had who did spiritualize it I couldn't stand. But it is totally possible to do yoga without the spiritual elements. Or to replace Hindu spiritual elements with Christian ones. I sometimes say a rosary (mentally) while doing Ashtanga. You can time the phrases with your moves between poses. It works great. :-) If I'm not mistaken, the Catholic Church is not one to criticize heathen practices that can be transformed to glorify Christ. I mean, isn't there a whole host of Catholic traditions that originated in pagan worship? The origins of a thing do not necessarily desecrate it for eternity. The Chabad Lubavitch movement justifies things like Matisyahu's rap by explaining that the form of a thing has no moral valence in and of itself. It's just a form. It's what you fill it up with that matters. They're all for taking profane things and sanctifying them by filling them up with God. I'm pretty sure just about anything can be transformed to the glory of God. So... I find this statement rather snobbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 So when a Hindu gets on his knees and folds his hands, closing his eyes, he's participating in a Christian ritual? Yoga would be better compared to the Mass or Baptism, since it was crafted for a similar but of course false effect, oneness with Hindu gods and goddesses and the inner self. If hindus were to copy the Mass or Baptism for simple exercise it would a mockery. Which is how many Hindus must feel westerns are doing to one of their most important rituals. Have you thought of the dangers to your soul, the danger to those you may influence, by defending the use of Yoga if you are wrong and it's spiritual elements cannot be separated? Christians are strictly forbidden to practice the rituals of pagans. Is your soul worth risking to defend a ritual you probably don't fully understand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Yoga would be better compared to the Mass or Baptism, since it was crafted for a similar but of course false effect, oneness with Hindu gods and goddesses and the inner self. If hindus were to copy the Mass or Baptism for simple exercise it would a mockery. Which is how many Hindus must feel westerns are doing to one of their most important rituals. Have you thought of the dangers to your soul, the danger to those you may influence, by defending the use of Yoga if you are wrong and it's spiritual elements cannot be separated? Christians are strictly forbidden to practice the rituals of pagans. Is your soul worth risking to defend a ritual you probably don't fully understand? Yes, I've considered the potential dangers, and have decided that in my situation it's not a danger. I'm not some dumb college kid looking to be more attractive for some hot boy, I'm not some neophyte, lukewarm Christian looking for some spiritual connection. I'm trying to fix my feet. I'm not defending the use of yoga unilaterally, either. I'm highly qualifying my defense of using some of its exercises in a particular situation. The Catholic Church has not forbidden the use of yoga exercises when they're pursued in the way that I'm doing them. So until that changes, I'm not doing anything wrong. If I were Orthodox, it'd be different. But I'm not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) I don't think you're dumb, simply misguided. The Church has condemn participating in the rituals of false religions and that is what Yoga is. God bless Edited June 21, 2013 by KnightofChrist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seven77 Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) It is theoretically possible to sever the physical exercise from the religious/philosophical elements...but this must be explicitly done and sincerely intended. Most offerings of yoga out in the communities can't/don't know how to properly sever the two in a way that can be encouraged. That's my take on it--and for the record I don't bear any hatred for a similarly named prepared food made from milk curdled by the action of cultures. Edited June 21, 2013 by Seven77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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