Posted on 09/26/2012 9:17:56 PM PDT by Jyotishi
-Yoga instructor Cori Withell was told activity was part of Hindu religion -37-year-old banned from using Catholic church hall despite paying up beforehand -She said the class was just for exercise and did not feature meditation -Ban not Catholic church policy - decision left to discretion of individual priests
Banned: Fitness instructor Cori Withell was told she could not hold her yoga class at a Catholic church as it was a Hindu religious activity
She meant her yoga classes to be a calming and relaxing experience for all those concerned.
Instead, Cori Withell has ended up flustered and frustrated after a priest banned her from his church hall because her lessons are ‘not compatible’ with the Catholic faith.
The 37-year-old instructor was told by Father John Chandler that yoga is a Hindu religious activity and therefore not in keeping with his rules on promoting Catholic activities.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
thumbs up - a priest who knows his priorities
Bookmark bump.
Way to go Priest.
Too Hindu for any Christian. Anything Hindu is far from Christianity.
I think it’s past time for Catholic churches and retreat centers to clean out all the yoga, reiki, eastern religious stuff and centering prayer.
So? I’m a baptist, and I wouldn’t want it in my church either.
Way to go Father!
I looked because I thought maybe she’d be innocent, and now I feel guilty for doing so. Thanks a lot, St. Isidore’s.
WOW, I was under the impression only Muslims had the monopoly on religious intolerance.
Good for the Catholic Church. Excerpts from article below:
“Syman describes yoga as a varied practice, but she makes clear that yoga cannot be fully extricated from its spiritual roots in Hinduism and Buddhism. She is also straightforward in explaining the role of sexual energy in virtually all forms of yoga and of ritualized sex in some yoga traditions. She also explains that yoga “is one of the first and most successful products of globalization, and it has augured a truly post-Christian, spiritually polyglot country.”
Reading The Subtle Body is an eye-opening and truly interesting experience. To a remarkable degree, the growing acceptance of yoga points to the retreat of biblical Christianity in the culture. Yoga begins and ends with an understanding of the body that is, to say the very least, at odds with the Christian understanding. Christians are not called to empty the mind or to see the human body as a means of connecting to and coming to know the divine. Believers are called to meditate upon the Word of God — an external Word that comes to us by divine revelation — not to meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables”
http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/09/20/the-subtle-body-should-christians-practice-yoga/
Huh...my wife does yoga, I’ve done it, never saw anything spiritual in it. I guess this piece doesn’t change my mind. It really helps with flexibility and core strength.
That is a strange comment in the context of this story.
Yoga is based on Hinduism and has practices like astral projection, OBEs, chanting, and the stretches and positions can be used to honor the gods. (small g) Would you call them intollerant if they banned a Celtic winter solstice event?
> ...chanting...
Chanting
By Lori Smith
Yoga from a Christian Perspective Resources - Christians Practicing Yoga
http://www.christianspracticingyoga.com/chanting.htm
> WOW, I was under the impression only Muslims had the monopoly on religious intolerance.
Yes Muslims do have the corner on intolerance but it can be found almost everywhere.
Do not stretch your tendons and muscles. It’s satanic!
I never heard of anyone talking about or practicing yoga during my first 20 years of life growing up in India as a Hindu. And my family was pretty devout religious, which I am not. My wife and kids are Christians. Only after arriving in US at age 21 I heard of all these yoga classes going on everywhere. I never have attended a single yoga session in my life. So I do not know first hand anything about it. But my impression is it has more to do with physical exercises than religious rituals. If indeed they were pushing Hindu religiosity during yoga sessions, I do not think it would be so popular here.
> I never heard of anyone talking about or practicing yoga
> during my first 20 years of life growing up in India as a Hindu....
The practice of Yoga, especially the physical postures and exercises are much more popular in western countries than in India, the land of Yoga’s origin. Some general information about it and Hinduism from about.com:
Introduction to Yoga Philosophy - The Bhagavad Gita
Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita
By Ann Pizer, About.com Guide
Updated September 16, 2012
About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
The Bhagavad Gita is part of the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic poem. In the Gita, Arjuna, a great warrior, is faced with a difficult decision: whether or not to fight in a battle between his kinsmen. He is torn between his duty to fight alongside his brothers for a just cause, and his reluctance when he sees those he must fight against include his other relatives and mentors. Krishna takes the place of Arjuna’s charioteer and offers Arjuna advice on how to deal with the situation. Included in this allegory are lessons on how to lead a moral life, which form the foundations of the spiritual practice of yoga.
Although we say that the Bhagavad Gita in an ancient yoga text, it has very little to do with the physical practice of yoga (asana). The Gita follows Arjuna’s quest for spiritual guidance, and Krishna’s answers to his questions on how to realize his inner spirituality and take responsibility for his life and role in the world. Krishna counsels Arjuna to practice:
karma yoga, the yoga of service
jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge, particularly self-knowledge, and
bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion.
http://yoga.about.com/od/bhagavadgita/a/thegita.htm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.