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Alternatives to Yoga Mel Thursday, December 8, 2011

Question:

Dear Brother,

Thank you in advance for answering my question. I know that Yoga is something that I should avoid, but I am wondering about alternatives to Yoga, such as PraiseMoves and Wholy Fit? These programs are NOT the same a Christian Yoga. PraiseMoves and Wholy Fit involve performing stretches while meditating on Scripture. Do you think that such stretching programs are acceptable?



Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)

Mel:

There is no such thing as a "Christian" alternative to Yoga. The problem with Yoga is not just what or who one meditates upon. The very postures are designed to align one's "Ch'i" with the "cosmic energy".

This is not just my opinion that Yoga cannot be Christianized. Even Crl Jung, who was into the occult, warns about Yoga: 

"One often hears and reads about the dangers of Yoga, particularly of the ill-reputed Kundalini Yoga. The deliberately induced psychotic state, which in certain unstable individuals might easily lead to a real psychosis, is a danger that needs to be taken very seriously indeed. These things really are dangerous and ought not to be meddled with in our typically Western way. It is a meddling with Fate, which strikes at the very roots of human existence and can let loose a flood of sufferings of which no sane person ever dreamed. These sufferings correspond to the hellish torments of the chönyid state..." --C. G. Jung, Introduction to The Tibetan book of the Dead 

Yoga Masters from India also make the point that Yoga under any other name is still Yoga.

I recommend that people read the article, Yoga Renamed Is Still Hindu by Subhas R. Tiwari, a professor at the Hindu University of America and graduate of the famed Bihar Yoga Bharati University with a master's degree in yoga philosophy.

Also of interest are the words in an Open Letter to Evangelicals about Hindu evangelization:

Hindus everywhere are becoming stronger and more assertive: ... 2) The West is clearly open to the Hindu message, ready to hear about yoga, meditation, mysticism, healing and the ancient ways. Such "products" were too sophisticated for public consumption 30 years ago, but today they're the hottest item on the shelf. Not a small part of this phenomenon is related, indirectly, to the coming of age of the New Age movement...

Consider these words a warning:

A small army of yoga missionaries - hatha, raja, siddha and kundalini - beautifully trained in the last 10 years, is about to set upon the western world. They may not call themselves Hindu, but Hindus know where yoga came from and where it goes.

 Also refer to the article, Former Hindu guru Rabi Maharaj, No part of Yoga can be separated from the philosophy behind it by Marie Anne Jacques.

Other reads are from the Church, Some Aspects of Christian Meditation and A Christian Reflection on the New Age.

I would advise not participating in PraiseMoves and Wholy Fit, and any other program advertised as a "Christian alternative to Yoga". Yoga under any other name is still Yoga.

Stick with traditional exercises.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary


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