Yoga

Where is the Messiah said:
Edward, I tried to click on your profile, but it's all blocked up. Glad you decided not to leave.
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Yea, Im not one for social media and I.d. theft has been the number one crime commited in my country for over a decade now, so I dont try to mingle on the interwebs. not to much. besides not everyone that comes here is a Christian. I tried to leave due to the arguing but my request was not granted so I figured, maybe I am supposed to stay... I have learned a couple things and surely someone out there has been impacted by what The Lord has given me. I also felt The Spirit when I saw the little cartoon that said to stay.
I keep thinking I am gonna log in one day to find out my request was granted but delayed.
 
Where is the Messiah said:
sukhasana1.jpg

What is this stretching? Is she stretching? Or is she praying? See post #18
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Or is she meditating?
 
This is all starting to remind me of the Jehovah's Witnesses a little bit too much.

They don't celebrate Christmas. Why? Well, because it's actually the pagan holiday Saturnalia we are celebrating. Bet you didn't know that. Bet all those years you went to church and celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ you were actually celebrating a pagan holiday you have never even heard of until now. Ha ha! Fooled you! All this time you thought you were celebrating Christmas, didn't you?

See how stupid that sounds? How can you ACCIDENTALLY celebrate something? So there's a lesson to be learned here you see, don't let people misrepresent your beliefs. If YOU believe sending your kids off in costume to collect candy that it's innocent, then that's exactly what it is. But if you teach your kids nonsense, it's going to mess them up.

And if you read the teachings of yoga and don't recognize anything that conflicts with your faith, why avoid it? On the other hand, if you DO, then OK, you have a valid concern. I've still yet to hear what those concerns could be though.
 
A number of well-intended Christians have been recently promoting Christianized yoga in North America. In their classes, they usually do the same hatha yoga asanas as the new-agers, but add scripture quotes and Gospel music. Subhas R. Tiwari, a Hindu University of America professor who has a master’s degree in yoga philosophy, comments: “Such efforts [to Christianize yoga] point to a concerted, long-term plan to deny yoga its origin. This effort . . . is far from innocent. It is reminiscent of the pattern evident throughout the long history and dynamics of colonizing powers.”[43] Tiwari holds that efforts to Christianize yoga are unjust “encroachment” and thinly veiled Christian proselytism of Hindus.

http://edhird.com/2013/04/05/yoga-more-than-meets-the-eyes/
 
Unlike Judaism, Christianity and Islam, one does not have to believe in or worship something to be impacted by Hinduism. This systemic religious difference is hard for many westerners to comprehend. Because all in Hinduism is maya or illusion, belief for yogic Hinduism is nice but not initially necessary. Nothing is what it appears to be. The belief or meaning structure is often introduced much later at a deeper level of initiation. Because Hinduism is technique-based, the performance of the yogic asana is sufficient to open up the chakra energies which produce the psychic interaction.[13] Similar to the way that psychoactive drugs have mental, emotional and even spiritual impact regardless of what one knows about them, yoga also has a chemical impact regardless of one’s yoga knowledge or belief. The initial irrelevance of belief and worship is one of the reasons why yoga practitioners often promote yoga to North Americans as either non-religious or religiously neutral.
http://edhird.com/2013/04/05/yoga-more-than-meets-the-eyes/
 
With yoga and Hinduism, nothing is what it seems. This is why it has been described as the embrace that smothers. Trying to separate the so-called physical from the spiritual in yoga is like attempting to remove arsenic from a bowl of sugar. Yoga has always been shrouded in illusion and secrecy, and can intentionally look like whatever you want it to in the short term. Hindus are well aware that yoga is an ancient form of divination. The bible does not encourage us to see how close to the line we can get before we fall in, but rather to flee idolatry. In the end, the yogic road leads to idolatry and monism, to serving two masters. The Lordship of Jesus is what is at stake.
http://edhird.com/2013/04/05/yoga-more-than-meets-the-eyes/
 
What folks in the West call yoga is nothing more than the yoga asanas, or physical poses. It is but a very small part of the entire breadth of yoga. Taken from SwamiJ.com, "Traditionally, Yoga (Sanskrit: union) has referred to the realization through direct experience of the preexisting union between Atman and Brahman, Jivatman and Paramatman, and Shiva and Shakti, or the realization of Purusha standing alone as separate from Prakriti. Yoga is the realization of union between the microcosm of individuality with the macrocosm of universality."

So, is yoga bad? Not the physical poses. The rest? Well, that's up to you to decide.
 
Huntingteckel said:
Anyway, yoga is very helpful. I used to do about 15 or 20 minutes a day and I always felt great. I actually need to go back to it. I'm all stiff because of my job.
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For those with multiple sclerosis it is one of the best stretching exercises that can be done.

In a recent study, those with MS who have practiced Yoga have a reduction in MS-related fatigue and depression.
 
Yoga is good exercise and stretching, no more than that if you don't make it any more than that.
I've done yoga, kung fu, and various other arts and exercises. Leave the religion out of it and it's just exercise.
Though what is considered "meditation" in Asia (emptying the mind) and what the Greek mystics mean by "meditation"
(deep contemplation) are very different things.
 
Glomung said:
Yoga is good exercise and stretching, no more than that if you don't make it any more than that.
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This is the same as me regularly attending a Mormon temple, and participating in the singing. Then saying, "Hey, it's good for my vocals. I don't care about all the rest of the stuff they do, I just like to sing."
 
Where is the Messiah said:
This is the same as me regularly attending a Mormon temple, and participating in the singing. Then saying, "Hey, it's good for my vocals. I don't care about all the rest of the stuff they do, I just like to sing."
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That's actually a sound principle. No different than listening to certain music with less than desirable lyrics. It's all about what's in the heart. But those with a weak mind could be susceptible to some things so it may not be ok for everyone.
 
I want to encourage you all to go to the link I posted in an earlier reply. It's an article written by a reverend but it is surprisingly unbiased. Lots of information I was totally unaware of. Most of his sources are indeed yoga masters and Hindu professors.
 
gonefishing said:
I want to encourage you all to go to the link I posted in an earlier reply. It's an article written by a reverend but it is surprisingly unbiased. Lots of information I was totally unaware of. Most of his sources are indeed yoga masters and Hindu professors.
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Ok.
 
gonefishing said:
I want to encourage you all to go to the link I posted in an earlier reply. It's an article written by a reverend but it is surprisingly unbiased. Lots of information I was totally unaware of. Most of his sources are indeed yoga masters and Hindu professors.
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TH420X said:
Ok.
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Alright, I read it and don't buy it. I still believe that the physical and spiritual can be separated. I've seen it in myself, as well as numerous others. Again, a weak person could be infiltrated so I wouldn't suggest it for everyone, just like I won't condemn it for everyone. Interesting read though!
 
TH420X said:
Alright, I read it and don't buy it. I still believe that the physical and spiritual can be separated. I've seen it in myself, as well as numerous others. Again, a weak person could be infiltrated so I wouldn't suggest it for everyone, just like I won't condemn it for everyone. Interesting read though!
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You don't have to buy it.
Yoga is the Hindu word for salvation. Nine out of ten Hindus agree that yoga is Hinduism.[12] Without yoga, there is no Hinduism. Without Hinduism, there is no yoga. Yoga is inescapably religious in a way that most North Americans will not notice.[16] This is why many well-meaning North American Christians have uncritically or unwittingly opened their spirit to yogic Hindu philosophies that clash with Christ’s teaching.
Here is the danger. We think it's harmless and we can participate in the physical part and ignore the spiritual aspect, yet yoga gurus and masters know they are inseparable. This is hard for most to accept because it doesn't fit our belief system. It's kinda like passive proselytizing, they don't care if we do yoga, they're not preaching it. We like it, we want it, we arrogantly say we are in control of our mind, body, and spirit. They know that through yoga you involuntarily open yourself up to spirits. They are not the nasty ones with horns and big pointy teeth, they masquerade as peace and love and enlightenment. Love only comes from God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not Brahman.
 
Don't get me wrong, I understand what both you and the article are saying. I'm simply saying it doesn't apply to everyone. Maybe if I were a true yoga master, sure, but I am not. I'm just using to some of the exercises as part of a well rounded routine. Nothing more. As such, no worries! ...for me. YMMV
 
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