Christian Yoga

From Time:

The yoga teacher sits in a lotus position atop a polished wooden platform. Behind her, verdant woods are visible through panoramic windows. Gentle music tinkles from overhead speakers. Two dozen students in spandex outfits, most of them women, settle onto purple and blue mats to begin the class with ujjayi, a breathing exercise. Their instructor, Cindy Senarighi, recommends today's mantra. "'Yahweh' is a great breath prayer," she says. "The Jesus Prayer also works. Now lift your arms in praise to the Lord."

The platform is an altar, the tinkly tune is praise music, and the practice is Christian yoga. Senarighi's class, called Yogadevotion and taught in the main chapel of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minn., is part of a fast-growing movement that seeks to retool the 5,000-year-old practice of yoga to fit Christ's teachings. From Phoenix, Ariz., to Pittsburgh, Pa., from Grand Rapids, Mich., to New York City, hundreds of Christian yoga classes are in session. A national association of Christian yoga teachers was started in July, and a slew of books and videos are about to hit the market. But the very phrase stiffens yoga purists and some Christians--including a rather influential Catholic--who insist yoga cannot be separated from its Hindu roots.

Comments

[Jean M. Heimann]

The most noted critic of Yoga and the New Age Movement is the Holy Father, although others such as Father Mitch Pachwa and Fr. Hardon have been quite vociferous as well.

The stretching exercises in themselves are ok, but the religious indoctrination that inevitably accompanies it is not. We are not "God" (as they teach)-- there is only one God.

[Liam]

Actually, religious indoctrination does not *invariably* accompany them. I've even been to a Hindu-oriented ashram of sorts to participate in yoga (years ago) where not a peep of spirituality, let alone religion proper, was heard. It was entirely about physical stuff. And consistently so. There were classes available where there was intermingling of the stuff, but there was plenty of choices that did not involve that.

[DancingOx]

But the very phrase stiffens yoga purists and some Christians--including a rather influential Catholic--who insist yoga cannot be separated from its Hindu roots.

In the same way evergreen trees and solstice festivals can not be separated from ancient European pagan religions?

I enjoy the physical act of yoga, while I am irritated by the sanskrit blather of the instructor. Not that I'm anti-sanskrit, (some of my best friends speak sanskrit :) ) but the false sense of authenticity that saying the sanskrit names of the poses is a ruse that fools so many people.

Then there's the whole "Namaste" followed by a patronizing and unsatisfying explanation, such as "I respect the energy within you" to which I respond, "I wouldn't confuse my digesting 'On the Border' meal with some sort of metaphysical energy..."

[frank sales]

I must be getting soft but the idea of prayerful yoga doesn't really bother me. St. Paul advised us to pray constantly. The peaceful state that yoga practitioners aim for during exercise may be very conducive to productive prayer. Of course, the prayer must be real prayer -- God-focussed and not centred on our "internal energy".

[mcmlxix]

"We are not "God" (as they teach) -- there is only one God."

Well actually this isn’t quite true. For every 2 Hindus there are 3 opinions on Hinduism, as it’s a religion that focuses itself less on orthodoxy than on orthopraxy…not unlike Judaism.

For the majority, the view is monotheistic. As we believe that the ONE God is three persons, one of whom manifested in incarnate form, the majority of Hindus (Vashnaivist, Smarta, etc.) believe that the ONE God is unlimited in his manifestations/incarnations.

Monism (god is all, all is god) don’t believe the hype. Instead, the majority view is that God is in all and all in God...Atman, the Holy Spirit pervades and hold everything in existence…big difference!

I had to correct this big-little error...just a pet peeve of mine. If a stand up for what a Hindu may or may not believe, then some day someone might stand up for me when I’m accused of being a statue worshiping, death-cookie eating Cat lick.

Religion: comes from Latin and means to bind, so a religion is a system in which someone is bound by and to that which and to whom they believe. This does not need to imply the supernatural in any way, however, the most common context for religion is spiritual or supernatural and so is a system of how one is bound to or united with a god or spirit. In Christianity, for example, we hear Jesus say, "take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me."

Yoga: comes from Sanskrit and means to yoke, so from an etymological standpoint, religion and yoga are equivalent. This is particularly true when yoga is used in its broadest sense where it is the process of attaining union with God. But there are also many types or schools of yoga. Of particular interest in this context is bhatki yoga, which is the spiritual practice of rendering loving devotion to God. Karma yoga is fulfilling your duty through work in loving service to God…Opus Dei. Many in the west are also familiar with hatha yoga, which involves physical and mental exercises practiced so as to order the mind, command the body, and control the passions. For some this is the end in itself, but in the greater context of yoga, these exercises are part of the discipline of devotion and the process toward union. It’s a tool of discipline like many that the saints have handed down to us, not a way in itself of salvation.

All of that said, I’ll keep to professing the name of Jesus (not Krsna or others), and in the west, yoga does attract a lot of DIY self-worshipping types who often go down the New Age rabbit hole. It also attracts those who want to pronounce exotic words while working on a tight tush.

[jennifer]

Very informative, mcmlxix.

My personal experience with yoga is at a mid-town YMCA and the class was filled with middle-aged, overweight women from an urban neighborhood who were, like me, trying something new...maybe an exercise that's good for your body but you don't sweat too much?

[Nancy]

Can anyone speculate on why Christianity, a religion based on the Incarnation, has so little by way of physical practice, while Hinduism, which at bottom denies the goodness of the created universe, has yoga?

[pha]

Can anyone speculate on why Christianity, a religion based on the Incarnation, has so little by way of physical practice, while Hinduism, which at bottom denies the goodness of the created universe, has yoga?

Forgive me, but neither statement is really accurate.

First, Christians have always maintained that physical practices, including bodily postures, can have a profound influence on recollection and dispositions of the spirit. Innumerable prayer guides throughout the centuries have discussed the value in standing, kneeling, bowing, prostration, and so forth. The rubrics of different rites actually specify some postures in liturgical worship. Some forms of personal Christian prayer even incorporate the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat.

Even the short CDF document "Some Aspects of Christian Meditation" has a section on "Psychological-Corporal Methods" (nos. 26-28).

Second, though I am not a Hindu, I have studied a bit of Hinduism, and I do not agree that it "denies the goodness of the created universe" (though some Hindus may deny that the cosmos is created). Many Hindus, for example, view the cosmos as an emanation from or an extension of Brahman (the Supreme Being, both immanent and transcendent); the cosmos is therefore good, only the illusion that it is distinct from Brahman is a problem. But there is some diversity within Hinduism on such matters.

See, for example, Nine Beliefs and Five Obligations of Hindus.

[pha]

I am generally inclined to agree with Liam, DancingOx, frank sales, and mcmlxix on this matter.

Christians should neither accept all beliefs and practices arising from non-Christian contexts nor reject all beliefs and practices arising from non-Christian contexts, but should carefully discern which are worthy of acceptance and rejection.

I think it is best to follow the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

"The majority of the 'great religions' which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as 'the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,' neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured." (Some Aspects of Christian Meditation)

The CDF document is an excellent resource for discerning the helpful & harmful elements.

[mcmlxix]

Nancy, I have asked that question many times. Speculation, I cannot.

But I also don’t think that the average Hindu necessarily denies the goodness of the created universe. Maybe indifferent or agnostic to that proposition would capture it better. Since their deities are incarnational, it would be unlikely that they would fall in a Gnostic category that matter/universe/body are evil.

This really raises the question of maya, which is a concept with no one view. To some it’s that the created universe IS illusion; to others it’s that the universe is VEILED in illusion. This illusion is a glamour...a glamour if evil…which produces a spiritual mindset in people of ignorance, passion, and goodness (which is really pride).

To a Christian way of thinking, this glamour of evil is one result of original sin...a distorted, disordered spiritual mindset. To the Hindu and Christian both, this glamour must be overcome in order to achieve holiness (which is where yoga, spiritual exercises, etc. come into the picture), but holiness isn’t necessarily needed in order to achieve salvation. In both religions salvation comes from God alone. How exactly that is achieved in Hinduism is more ambiguous to me, whereas in Christianity, I only need to look at a crucifix to understand.

[mcmlxix]

PS. Good point, pha, regarding postural rubrics, as well as the matter of discernment.

This first chapter of James is really helpful here:
* Testing leads to patience, and patience to perfect work.
* God won’t chastise any who seek wisdom; He’ll give it to them.
* Ask in faith, not wavering...ask without having a double mind.
* Man is tested by concupiscence...the effect of original sin.
* Every gift comes from the Father above.
* Meekly receiving the indwelling Word is the path to salvation.

[Nancy]

very interesting reflections, all of you. thanks!