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Yoga is not “stretching exercises!”
Yoga is Transcendental meditation through physical contortion.
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I’m aware of that.
But the TM people reel folks in with stretching exercises.
And many folks do resist being brought onto the boat ... but that’s where we get back to the idea of a cesspool I’d mentioned. The culture doesn’t SEEM like filth so much of the time and the demarcation point between where it’s just on the toes and you’ll plunge over your head is hidden beneath muck that is made out to be harmless.
For comparison: Star Wars is also awash in doctrines like TM ... looks glamorous and entertaining ... but can be still thought of as a floater on the surface of the cesspool.
There are branches of Yoga. Hatha yoga is largely a physical practice, and the exercises have been used by dancers for a very long time. I was first taught some of the positions by a very elderly ballet teacher many decades ago. I never heard a mantra.