Here was a Letter to the Editor of the U.P. Catholic written in response to my article on Yoga (previous post). My reply to this response is in the Comment Box-
6-20-10
Dear Editor,
I wish to respectfully disagree with Fr. Isodore Bard on his assessment of the practice of yoga. Throughout his response he seems to refer to yoga as a type of religion. Yoga is not a religion of itself, it is a discipline, much along the lines of any discipline such as Pilates (based on yoga), or dance, or any athletic training. It is also a form of physical therapy, and as such is used by physical therapists world-wide. As a yoga practitioner for nearly forty years, a yoga instructor for the past nine years, and a born and bred Catholic, who attended Catholic school for twelve years, I have found that the practice of yoga has greatly enhanced my spirituality and my faith.
The primary goal of yoga is to allow practitioners to gain familiarity with their own bodies and mental states. The breathing exercises are designed to enhance the various poses and create a feeling of comfort within oneself. We Catholics are instructed to care for the temple of the Lord, our bodies. By keeping them healthy, and becoming more aware of who we are, and our purpose, we naturally seek contact with the Higher Being God, the Holy Spirit, with Jesus Christ, with Mother Mary, and with the saints. Using the poses and the breathing, remaining in the posture is given more meaning when a prayer is uttered and sent upward. You are focusing on using your body’s energy to send the prayer on its way. It is a refocusing of who we are and why we are here. It is a moment of peace when we can recall all that has been given to us, away from the noise and distractions of daily life. The meditation and chanting are not meant to dissolve one’s individual self in search of emptiness, but to clear the mind and make it more receptive to the flow of grace, to clarify one’s self, and to seek out God’s purpose. This practice is no different than that of Monks and priests who chant and meditate in search and praise of God’s grace.
His assertion that there is nothing about serving other people in a yoga practice, I also find questionable. Is it not a service to help others attain physical well-being so they are better able to go out and do God’s work? Yoga is not about “escaping the world” it’s about becoming better, more healthy, human beings.The ability to practice yoga is a gift from God. The power we are striving for is God’s grace. Enhancing our physical well-being through a consistent practice of yoga, gives strength to our bodies and to our immortal souls, and better enables us to achieve our purpose on Earth of helping others.The practice of yoga, with its accompanying stretching of the muscles, ligaments and tendons has proven to be beneficial to many sufferers, including myself, of arthritis, fibro-myalgia, and other auto-immune diseases. It provides a way to get relief without the use of pain medication (which can be truly “mind-altering”), and enables those sufferers an opportunity to get out and practice their faith by helping others.
I would also like to address his comment about yoga postures and his comparison to the sign of the cross and kneeling. I agree that motions can have “spiritual significance.” In fact, in my personal practice of yoga, I have applied that significance to some of the postures. For example: The triangle pose, or down-dog pose: meditating on the trinity while in these poses can provide powerful insights into this mystery. The Salute to the “Son” (my interpretation) is a series of poses that can directly relate to the way of the cross. The warrior poses for me have always been a reminder that we are strong, brave, balanced warriors for Christ. The Pose of the Child is a recognition that we are children, and that to attain our heavenly reward, we must remain spiritually child-like. The Corpse pose is a complete surrendering to God’s will. Of course we cannot forget the prayer hand pose, which brings to mind Our Mother Mary. In fact, I refer to my personal yoga practice as “Hail Mary Yoga” since the time it takes to pray a Hail Mary is also a good length of time to maintain a posture. These positive connotations of specific motions are just as affirming as the sign of the cross or kneeling and have true and good spiritual underpinnings.
It has always been my belief that what a person gets out of life is directly related to what they put into it. There is nothing evil or occult in the practice of yoga, unless there is evil in the practitioner. Yoga, by itself, does not open the door to a spiritual realm; prayer does. And yes, the world is occupied by God and angels, and demons. Someone who chooses an evil path will find evil in anything they do, but the reverse is also true. When a good path is chosen, good can come from anything they do. Are we not here to obliterate evil? Is turning something some theologians consider wrong into something in praise of God evil? For me it is a tool, a weapon in my personal assault against the demons that stalk us all.
It would probably be beneficial to restrain oneself from denouncing something of such strong physical and spiritual benefits, until one has personally explored it. In this exercise-oriented culture we live in, the merits of yoga exercises are abundant. The physiological benefits are scientifically proven. Many of the postures used are therapeutic and are utilized by physical therapists, sports people, dancers, gymnasts, and those unable to perform aerobic exercises. The gentle movements are conducive to relieving stress and increasing cognitive functioning, and are geared to individual abilities. Are all Catholics then to refrain from physical therapy and other forms of disciplined exercise?
I am not a theologian, but over the years I have done extensive reading on our faith and on the lives of the saints, along with my study of yoga and physiology. Nothing I have read has indicated that the practice of yoga is a sinful one. Yoga, along with regular walking, has been a tool for me to find a more dedicated mental prayer life. It has given my prayer life a discipline and enabled me to apply that discipline to my daily Rosary, Divine Mercy, and prayers for others. It has fostered my gratitude for all God has provided for me, and has been a blessing in my life. Yoga has been in use since biblical times, and continues to benefit people today. It can be a path to better health, more dedicated mental prayer, and to the banquet.
Thank you.
Yours in Christ,
Jill M. Bevins, MALD, EdS
My response is spread out between two comment posts here, since it was so long!
ReplyDeleteTo Jill M. Bevins, MALD, EdS,
Thank you for your intelligent and well thought out reply to my article on Yoga. I hope you find my response likewise respectful and thorough!
The overwhelming timbre of the other 7 or 8 responses I received concerning this article was to deny the connection between the physical actions of yoga and any corresponding spiritual effect. Yours uniquely stood contrary to these in saying that there is in fact a spiritual effect, but that this can be redirected (or sort of ‘baptized’) in such a manner so as to be an act of Christian worship. Please let me know if I’m understanding you correctly.
To be honest, I’m not sure what to think yet about your Catholic brand of yoga! I with-hold any thoughts on that for time being. For now though, I give it the benefit of the doubt, and suppose for the sake of argument that it really is a form of worship to the One Triune God. If that is in fact the case, it says nothing at all about the mainstream version of yoga- by which I mean to say that even if your uniquely Christianized yoga gives glory to God, it doesn’t follow that the yoga which the rest of the world practices holds no spiritual dangers. Specifically, I think the heart of your own philosophy concerning yoga can be summed up in your following statement: “The meditation and chanting (in yogic practice) are not meant to dissolve one’s individual self in search of emptiness, but to clear the mind and make it more receptive to the flow of grace, to clarify one’s self, and to seek out God’s purpose.” This seems to me a vision of yoga which is unique to you, and is not a view held by the overwhelming majority of those who practice yoga.
My question for you is how far would you be willing to defend everyone else’s yoga? Is the yoga being practiced right now in Indian Hindu ashrams legit ? (i.e. “Eat Pray Love”) Does that give glory to our God as well? In my article I do not refer to yoga as a religion, but I do refer to it as a religious practice. It is certainly that- I’m not clear on how that can be denied. It is noted in any definition of Yoga, in any dictionary or encyclopedia I could find online or otherwise, that it is a Hindu, Buddhist, or Jainist practice. ( A position to the contrary would need to be defended against this clear evidence.) The question at hand is whether or not the practice can be separated from its religious foundation and spiritual goals- or if those spiritual goals can be changed while wearing the same skin. (Some would say that the question is whether or not there are any differences between religions, but I don’t think that’s what you’re saying. If it is I’ll respond accordingly.)
In the other direction (as to how far I would take my own arguments) I see no problem whatsoever with Physical or Occupational Therapy, dance, athletic training, or pilates as I understand it. These are distinct disciplines from yoga. These exercises are a means to the goal of greater physical health, which has of course a spiritual effect as well (and mental as well, in the case of pilates? Don’t know much about that.) in providing for health and well-being. However, these exercises are not engaged in, nor were designed as a means to, a spiritual goal which stands contrary to Christianity.
One thing I’m not arguing is that our physical actions cannot be raised up as a form of worship. Of course as Catholics our worship is mainly comprised of physical actions. Incense, bells, sign of the Cross, kneeling, fasting, pilgrimages, holy water, going to confession, silent retreats, Lenten mortifications, receiving the Eucharist and so on. I heartily agree with your following statement: “ By keeping [our bodies] healthy, and becoming more aware of who we are, and our purpose, we naturally seek contact with the Higher Being God, the Holy Spirit, with Jesus Christ, with Mother Mary, and with the saints.”
(to be continued...)
(...continued)
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I deeply disagree with your statement, “This practice [of yoga] is no different than that of Monks and priests who chant and meditate in search and praise of God’s grace.” Here I give you your own words, “It would probably be beneficial to restrain oneself from denouncing something of such strong physical and spiritual benefits, until one has personally explored it.” If direct experience has an exclusive claim on how we can come to learn about things (false premise, but by your own logic…), then I tell you as a priest, who has chanted and meditated with monks, that until you have personally explored these Christian practices it would be beneficial not to denounce them by equivocating them with the religious practices of other religions. I think I come across a bit smarmy in saying that, but I mean it really and truly- you strike me as someone who has a deep capacity for silence and meditation. My own personal experience has been to find that the Catholic Church has a deep, rich tradition in mental and physical prayer, and there’s no need to supplement it with religious practices foreign to our own tradition. In the end, that’s what at the heart of my energy in responding to this- I hope you will explore, study and come to love some of these Christian practices of prayer (maybe you already have to some extent? I don’t know). I hope that’s where my response leads you (to a deeply meditative retreat at Marygrove, or to a hermitage at the Companions of Christ the Lamb in Paradise, or to an Ignatian retreat or to time spent in prayer at a convent), but I fear that I only drive the wedge deeper in debating (especially in written form, which always comes across 11 times meaner than could possibly be perceived in person). That’s really my honest intention.
As for that false premise concerning the necessity of direct experience in order to have the authority to speak on a given subject: this principle applied in other areas shows it to be incorrect. (random examples: one doesn’t need to visit China to know it’s run by a communist government, one doesn’t need to touch a hot stove to know it’s hot, one needn’t have a mental impairment to know what a mental impairment is, or drown to know that drowning results in death).
All the same, I’ll tell you that I have not directly experienced yoga. My article was however proof-read by a friend of mine who practiced yoga after a near-fatal care accident as a means to dealing with his pain. He studied yoga at an ashram in India after having been introduced to it in the States, and afterwards eventually converted to Catholicism. He has been studying advanced Theology for some years now, and is currently a seminarian for a Diocese out west.
I know my response isn’t yet complete, especially since I withhold my thoughts on your Christianized yoga- but before I close out for now here’s a few other odds and ends I disagree with:
“There is nothing evil or occult in the practice of yoga, unless there is evil in the practitioner.” If the only thing separating those who practice yoga from evil influences is the existence of evil in the yoga practitioner, that seems to me a fairly fallible barrier.
Your statement, “Yoga, by itself, does not open the door to a spiritual realm; prayer does” seems to stand directly contrary to your later statement, “I agree that motions can have “spiritual significance.” In fact, in my personal practice of yoga, I have applied that significance to some of the postures.”
(to be continued, yet again...)
(...continued)
ReplyDeleteFinally, I really have the responsibility to respond to this statement, “Nothing I have read has indicated that the practice of yoga is a sinful one.” My own fault there- I really should have included a “Further Reading” reference in my article.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfmed.htm (this is a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The footnote for the first section explains that they are referring, among other things, to Yoga)
Also, this following document found on the Vatican’s web-page was written by a Pontifical Council: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html
Yoga is mentioned in section 2.1, though I recommend reading the whole document!
God’s blessings- I look forward to your response,
i.b.
I would like to respond to Jill M. Bevins letter. Ms. Bevins points out that Fr. Isidore has no first hand experience with yoga, as if studying and listening to what the Holy Father says in warning against the practice were not enough.
ReplyDeleteI would like to offer for concideration what Laurette Willis, a former yoga instructor has to say on the subject. In her article “Why a Christian ALTERNATIVE to Yoga?” she addresses some of the very points Ms. Bevins makes in her letter. I will repeat Ms. Bevins comments in caps, and copy and paste Laurette Willis comments from her article in regular typeset. I’ll post each comment in it’s own comment box.
Laurette Willis says “From experience I can say that yoga is a dangerous practice for the Christian and leads seekers away from God rather than to Him. You may say, “Well, I’m not doing any of the meditation stuff. I’m just following the exercises.” It is impossible, however, to separate the subtleties of yoga the technique from yoga the religion. I know because I taught and practiced hatha yoga for years. Hatha yoga is the most popular yoga style available on store-bought videos and in most gyms.”
***YOGA IS NOT A RELIGION OF ITSELF, IT IS A DISCIPLINE, MUCH ALONG THE LINES OF ANY DISCIPLINE SUCH AS PILATES9BASED ON YOGA, OR DANCE, OR ANY ATHLITIC TRAINING.***
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, yoga (coming from an east Indian Sanskrit word which means “union with god” or “to yoke”) is “a mystic and ascetic Hindu discipline for achieving union with the supreme spirit through meditation, prescribed postures, controlled breathing, etc.”
“Yoga is Hinduism”
Again and again we hear or read, “Yoga is science. It is not religion.” But what do Hindus and true yogis say?
TIME magazine featured a quote from Subhas Tiwari, a professor of yoga philosophy and meditation at the Hindu University of America in Orlando, Fla.: “Yoga is Hinduism.” You may read the full article from the Sept. 5, 2005 issue at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1098937,00.html which included a quote from yours truly that “Christian yoga” is an oxymoron (contradiction in terms – like a “Christian Buddhist” – no such thing!).
In an article dated May 14, 2006, Darryl E. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel quoted Sannyasin Arumugaswami, managing editor of Hinduism Today. Arumugaswami said Hinduism is the soul of Yoga “based as it is on Hindu Scripture and developed by Hindu sages. Yoga opens up new and more refined states of mind, and to understand them one needs to believe in and understand the Hindu way of looking at God. … A Christian trying to adapt these practices will likely disrupt their own Christian beliefs.”
(cont'd)
ReplyDeleteMs. Bevins continues***The primary goal of yoga is to allow practitioners to gain familiarity with their own bodies and mental states. The breathing exercises are designed to enhance the various poses and create a feeling of comfort within oneself.***
It seems the enemy has a counterfeit for almost everything the Lord offers.
Yoga’s breathing techniques (pranayama) may seem stress-relieving, yet they can be an open door to the psychic realm – inhaling and exhaling certain “energies” for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing (Paul refers to satan as “the prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2, and I doubt the air to which he is referring is oxygen, but rather the psychic arena some call “the second heaven” which is certainly not a playground). Whenever you see the words prana, ki or chi, these refer to “life force” energies.
Cont'd
ReplyDeleteThe final point made by Ms. Bevins’ that I would like to address…***The Salute to the “Son” (my interpretation) is a series of poses that can directly relate to the way of the cross. The warrior poses for me have always been a reminder that we are strong, brave, balanced warriors for Christ. The Pose of the Child is a recognition that we are children, and that to attain our heavenly reward, we must remain spiritually child-like. The Corpse pose is a complete surrendering to God’s will. Of course we cannot forget the prayer hand pose, which brings to mind Our Mother Mary. In fact, I refer to my personal yoga practice as “Hail Mary Yoga” since the time it takes to pray a Hail Mary is also a good length of time to maintain a posture. These positive connotations of specific motions are just as affirming as the sign of the cross or kneeling and have true and good spiritual underpinnings.***
Laurette Willis asks…”Did you know that yoga postures are offerings to the 330 million Hindu gods?
The "salute to the sun" posture, used at the beginning of most classes, pays homage to the Hindu sun god. It's impossible to extract Hindu spiritualism from yoga.
Both chanting and the customary relaxation period at the end of a yoga session also have an agenda that may surprise the weekend yogi. Before becoming a Christian, I remember numerous instances of “traveling outside my body” during yoga relaxation periods. I wonder who – or what – checked in when I checked out? Whether you believe such phenomena can happen or not, some medical professionals claim such experiences have led to psychosis. (Note: even Christians may be “oppressed” by demonic influences.)
While practicing yoga may not seem to have an adverse effect on your Christian walk, it may be effecting your Christian witness. Of course not everyone who knows and trusts you will jump into yoga and find themselves engulfed in a New Age lifestyle for 22 years as I was, but some weak ones might – and be hopelessly lost as others have been. Would you agree that we are responsible for planting seeds of faith or doubt that can lead people to Christ or away from Him?”