Let’s look at this
from a purely logical point of view. First of all, anyone who truly understands
yoga (such as a Hindu) will tell you that yoga positions were never
designed to be exercises. They were designed to do one of two things – worship
one of more than three million Hindu gods and/or facilitate the flow of prana
(life force energy) through the body.
As Fr. Pacwa states in
his book, Catholics and the New Age, ” . . . (H)indus did not devise
these exercises for athletic limbering or muscle building. All were meant to
lead the practitioner to enlightenment and awareness of his or her inner
divinity.” (pg. 33).
Legendary guru B.K.S.
Iyengar confirms this in his book, Light on Yoga, where he says
that some yoga positions “are also called after gods of the Hindu pantheon
and some recall the Avataras, or incarnation of Divine Power.”
Having said all that,
we come to a purely logical conclusion - it’s not possible to “just
do them as an exercise” when the so-called “exercises” aren’t just exercises.
That would be like
saying the sign of the cross can be used as a triceps exercise. Sure, you can
use it that way, but it’s not – and never will be – a triceps exercise. Like
yoga positions, it can never be a mere “physical action” or “neutral” because
it has a profound spiritual meaning.
Others attempt to lend
Christian names to these poses, or to pray the Rosary while practicing them;
however, none of these actions negates the intrinsic Hindu meanings in these
poses, at least not according to Bishop Norberto Carerra.
In his pastoral
instruction on the New Age, A Call to
Vigilance: Pastoral Instruction on New Age, Bishop Carerra
writes: “However much proponents insist that these techniques are valuable as
methods, and imply no teaching contrary to Christianity, the techniques in
themselves . . . in their own context, the postures and exercises, are designed
for their specific religious purpose. Even when they are carried out within a
Christian atmosphere, the intrinsic meaning of these gestures remains intact.”
So even if you think
you’re stretching your back, if you’re using the Sun Stretch to do so, whether
you intend to or not, you’re still posing in a position of worship to the Sun
god because that’s what this pose was designed to do. It was never designed as
a back stretch.
It works the same way
with someone who uses the sign of the cross to work out their triceps. They may
indeed be working out these muscles, but regardless of their intentions,
they’re still working out these muscles by making a sign of profession of faith
in the Triune God.
My advice is that if
the idea of posing yourself in a position of worship to a Hindu god is even
remotely bothersome to you, stop doing it. There are plenty of other
exercises/stretches you can do that work just as well as yoga.
- See more at:
http://www.womenofgrace.com/blog/?p=17011#sthash.h9jpXusQ.dpuf
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