Yoga in the spirit of faith (Diocesan newspaper presents yoga)

Florida Catholic ^ | Linda Reeves

[Coleus]

Yoga in the spirit of faith

---

TFC PHOTOS BY LINDA REEVESCarol Mastropietro leads a faith-based yoga class. The yoga teacher is interested in showing others the joys and benefits of yoga, something she says saved her life.

By Linda Reeves, Boynton Beach

Carol Mastropietro lights a candle, turns the stereo on low and then begins to lull her students with a soft calming voice and some wisdom.

"Clear your mind. Let go of the outside world. Take a deep breath and feel the Holy Spirit come inside," said Mastropietro. "Tonight we are going to talk about people who suddenly leave our lives. Did you allow them to leave freely with light and love?"

Mastropietro, a parishioner of St. Thomas More Parish in Boynton Beach, is a trained and licensed Kripalu master. She also directs a ministry called "Yoga in the Spirit of Faith." Her ministry meets on Thursday evenings at St. Thomas More Parish's educational facility. Her ministry and Christian approach to Kripalu, a form of yoga that emphasizes proper breathing, alignment and movement, is aimed at helping people become physically and spiritually healthy in order to bring them closer to God and the healthy life the Creator has made for them.

"It is important to be able to quiet the mind and turn off the outside world," said Mastropietro, a yoga enthusiast for the past decade. "My purpose is to bring yoga into faith. It is a practice performed in class and off the mat."

Mastropietro's theory is simple: being quiet allows a person to create an inner sanctuary, a place quiet enough to hear the Lord's voice. Studies also indicate that the ancient practice of yoga, which involves complete concentration and physical disciplines, tones the body, reduces anxiety, normalizes blood pressure, reduces pain, prevents insomnia, eliminates addictive behavior, improves self-esteem and sharpens abilities.

"Some people think yoga is way out there," said Mastropietro. "My program is faith-based. I want to help people learn the joys and the benefits of yoga and show people that it is not a strange practice."

Mastropietro wants to promote the faith-based yoga class to other parishes. At this point, about 15 people take the class at St. Thomas More.

Mastropietro's passion for yoga began in 1995 at a time when her own life was rocked with an array of difficult personal challenges.

"I was diagnosed with breast cancer," Mastropietro said. "The doctor scheduled 25 radiation treatments for me and put me on a strict diet. I could not believe that everything was happening at once. I was drained of my energy and I could not sleep. Yoga relaxed my mind and helped me get through the tough times. It saved my life."

St. Thomas More parishioners Joan Patino and her mom, Liz Gill, participate in the weekly yoga classes at the parish.

"My mom led me here," said Patino. "It is a great class and I like being able to spend time with my mom."

Gill says that she likes working out with her daughter, too, and says she has benefited from the breathing techniques that she learned from the classes.

Joan Patino and her mom, Liz Gill, both parishioners of St. Thomas More Parish, clear their minds as part of a class called "Yoga in the Spirit of Faith." The class is held at the parish on Thursday evenings.

"Carol talks about breathing in the Holy Spirit and letting in the light. Breathing helps me have more energy."

The yoga gatherings are also a time for fellowship. Before and after classes, students chat about everyday life and issues, doctor's appointments and out-of-town guests. New students to the class are greeted and welcomed into the yoga circle.

"This is my first visit," said Sybil Anthony, who read about the program in a St. Thomas More parish bulletin.

"I took yoga many years ago and I loved it. I thought I would give it another try."

Yoga in the Spirit of Faith is for anyone who wants to learn how to tune out the world's frequency and tune up his or her body. The only requirements to take the classes are one must bring a towel or a mat and wear comfortable clothing.

Classes begin with a thoughtful reading that is briefly discussed and referenced during the class. The readings emphasize a message and perhaps shed new light on a past situation or circumstance.

Mastropietro says she was personally inspired as she read the June 30 meditation to her class:

"Have you ever been touched by people who are here today, gone tomorrow but never forgotten? Did you allow them to leave or did you mourn and suffer their loss for too long?"

She ended the class with a suggestion.

"Take peace and love out the door," said Mastropietro."Spread your sunshine and be Christ-like."

Yoga in the Spirit of Faith classes are held at 6 p.m. Thursdays at St. Thomas More Parish, 10935 S. Military Trail, Boynton Beach. For more information about this program or to arrange a program at your parish, call 561-374-8753.

[Coleus]

Just what we need is Hinduism in the Catholic Church.

Mastropietro, a parishioner of St. Thomas More Parish in Boynton Beach, is a trained and licensed Kripalu master.>>>

Kripalu is what/where George Felos studied before he took on the terri shciavo case.

Portrait of a Spiritual Killer: George Felos, in His Own Words

[Selkie]

Florida strikes again.

[Jaysun]

I recently had a customer that went on and on about yoga, karma, enlightenment, etc. Those that participate in this nonsense don't become "enlightened" they become mentally ill. Schizophrenic to be exact.

[Coleus]

Definition of Hinduism        Hinduism

In Hinduism it is of minor importance what sort of worship is adopted, provided one recognizes the supremacy of the Brahmins and the sacredness of Brahmin customs and traditions. In the pantheistic all-god Brahma, the whole world of deities, spirits, and other objects of worship is contained, so that Hinduism adapts itself to every form of religion, from the lofty monotheism of the cultivated Brahmin to the degraded nature-worship of the ignorant savage.

Chakras

"Energy points" in your body derived from Hindu spirituality, including gods and goddesses. This concept is contained in many New Age and eastern religion based activities, such as Yoga and Reiki.

Yoga: Health or Stealth?     The Cross and the Veil

Yoga, meaning union or yoking in Sanskrit, is one system of Indian (Hindu) philosophy. The practitioner of yoga seeks to yoke himself to the universal spirit through a complex, ancient science of philosophic meditation and self-purification (asceticism ).

Pictures of a Desecration: Photo Report of Hindu Ritual at Fatima

Pictures of a Desecration hindu ritual at Fatima

[Rennes Templar]

Nice try, but yoga didn't cause Felos to do what he did.

If more priests used yoga to channel their energy, there would be less perversion amongst them.

[Coleus]

Nice try, you're not making sense. What yoga do you practice?

If more priests used yoga to channel their energy, there would be less perversion amongst them. >>

yea, right, in your dreams.

[spycatcher]

[Antioch]

That's nothin' A few months ago, I took this photo in mid-Kundalini invasion of a historic Anglican church in Toronto. Hasn't history shown us that turbans have a way of multiplying, like tribbles? As for Yoga and other entertainment, all of should stay out of churches- it aint a social club.

[SaintThomasMorePrayForUs]

I'd prefer rosaries to yoga any day of the week. Catholics already have spirituality. No need to innovate with New Age mumbo jumbo.

[mlmr]

Yoga teaches one to empty the mind.

Christiantiy teaches prayer to fill the mind with the Holy Spirit.

[pro610]

The Vatican has published many reports condemning using eastern mystic practices such as Yoga and contemplative prayer.
This practice should be reported and condemned .
Yoga is kundalini energy,kundalini energy is serpent power.
I think we all know who the serpent is....

[Aquinasfan]

AAAAAUUUUUUURRRRGGGGHHH!!!

OK, I feel better now.

"Clear your mind...

Wrong. Catholics are never to do this. Our intellects are what distinguish us from animals. This is self-abnegation.

Let go of the outside world...

Detach yourself from reality? Leave your senses? This is analogous to getting drunk or high.

Take a deep breath and feel the Holy Spirit come inside," said Mastropietro.

More likely a demonic spirit.

[DarkSavant]

I recently had a customer that went on and on about yoga, karma, enlightenment, etc. Those that participate in this nonsense don't become "enlightened" they become mentally ill. Schizophrenic to be exact.

My brother is a testament to that. It can be helpful, but you absolutely need a teacher who knows what he's doing, not some new agey hippie.

[DarkSavant]

The Vatican has published many reports condemning using eastern mystic practices such as Yoga and contemplative prayer.

Source? Many Medieval saints(St. john of the Cross, Teresa of Avila) were renowned for their contemplative prayer.

[Salvation]

No wonder Florida gets hit with hurricanes.

This is NOT a Catholic practice.

[Salvation]

St. Thomas More

Type:	Parish
Address:	10935 S. Military Trail, Boynton Beach, FL, 33436, United States of America
Web Address:	Go to Web Address
Phone:	(561) 737-3095
Weekend:	Sat: 4, 5:30 p.m. Sun: 7, 8:30, 10:30 a.m.; 12:15, 1:30 p.m. [Spanish], 4:30 p.m. [Vietnamese]
Weekday:	Mon thru Fri: 6:30, 8:30 a.m.; 5:30 p.m. Sat: 8:30 a.m.
Holy Day & Vigil:	6:30, 8:30 a.m.; 12 noon; 5:30 p.m. Vigil: 7 p.m.
Confessions:	Sat: 3 to 4 p.m. and on request.
Devotions:	Prayer Group, Tue: 7:30 p.m. Prayer Group, Wed: 7:30 p.m. [Spanish].
Wheelchair Access:	Yes
Updated:	01/15/2004

[LuisDeQuiros]

Contemplative prayer is the exact opposite of what these people are doing. Contemplation is a fruit of mystical theology, and presupposes apprehension of the true nature of the divine, not bogus feelings of "spirit". St. John of the Cross never once "emptied" his mind.

The saints are unanimous in their condemnation of Eastern religious practices. Pope Benedict referred to Indian religious practices as "auto-erotic" and "morally cruel". Here is a news report from 1989 describing a document approved both by our present Pope and John Paul II:

---

Vatican Warns About Zen, Yoga


VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican Thursday cautioned Roman Catholics that Eastern meditation practices such as Zen and yoga can ``degenerate into a cult of the body'' that debases Christian prayer.

``The love of God, the sole object of Christian contemplation, is a reality which cannot be `mastered' by any method or technique,'' said a document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The document, approved by Pope John Paul II and addressed to bishops, said attempts to combine Christian meditation with Eastern techniques were fraught with danger although they can have positive uses.

The 23-page document, signed by the West German congregation head Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was believed the first time the Vatican sought to respond to the pull of Eastern religious practices.

Ratzinger told a news conference that the document was not condemning Eastern meditation practices, but was elaborating on guidelines for proper Christian prayer.

By Eastern methods, the document said, it was referring to practices inspired by Hinduism and Buddhism such as Zen, Transcendental Meditation and yoga, which [may] involve prescribed postures and controlled breathing.

Some Christians, ``caught up in the movement toward openness and exchanges between various religions and cultures, are of the opinion that their prayer has much to gain from these methods,'' the document said.

But, it said, such practices ``can degenerate into a cult of the body and can lead surreptitiously to considering all bodily sensations as spiritual experiences.''

The document defined Christian prayer as a ``personal, intimate and profound dialogue between man and God.''

Such prayer ``flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the person praying in a spiritual privatism.''

Attempts to combine Christian and non-Christian mediation are ``not free from dangers and errors,'' the document said.

It expressed particular concern over misconceptions about body postures in meditation.

``Some physical exercises automatically produce a feeling of quiet and relaxation, pleasing sensations, perhaps even phenomena of light and of warmth, which resemble spiritual well-being. To take such feelings for the authentic consolations of the Holy Spirit would be a totally erroneous way of conceiving the spiritual life.

``Giving them a symbolic significance typical of the mystical experience,when the moral condition of the person concerned does not correspond to such an experience, would represent a kind of mental schizophrenia which could also
lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral eviations.''

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is the Vatican's watchdog body for doctrinal orthodoxy. The document did not name any particular individuals, groups or religious movements that have strayed in the use of Eastern meditation practices but the congregation often acts in response to complaints.

AP-NY-12-14-89 0937EST
(C) Copyright 1989, Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

[Leo Carpathian]

Looks like Catholics are becoming big thorn in devil's butt. Attacks from all sides. It will only strengthen the belief and love for God. Just look at communist empire that tried to eradicate God from people's souls. They are on the garbage bin of history, while Jesus reins there stronger than ever.

[8mmMauser]

Pinged from Terri Dailies

8mm