Yoga is Hindu. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, we had this issue with my mom, yoga, and Reiki. Both yoga and Reiki really helped with some health issues she had. However, once she learned that they are essentially worshiping or appealing to other gods, she stopped.

I don't get this kind of response.

If you have your believe (let's say, Christianity), how can you end up worshiping other gods? Do you believe those other gods also exist? If you believe in the divinity of Jesus, do you also believe in the divinity of gods in other religions? How can you end up worshiping or appealing to them, if there's only one real god (Jesus, Allah, whatever you believe in)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, we had this issue with my mom, yoga, and Reiki. Both yoga and Reiki really helped with some health issues she had. However, once she learned that they are essentially worshiping or appealing to other gods, she stopped.

I don't get this kind of response.

If you have your believe (let's say, Christianity), how can you end up worshiping other gods? Do you believe those other gods also exist? If you believe in the divinity of Jesus, do you also believe in the divinity of gods in other religions? How can you end up worshiping or appealing to them, if there's only one real god (Jesus, Allah, whatever you believe in)?

You don't have to believe that other gods actually exist in order for Jews and Christians to violate the first commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (BTW, there is an interesting piece on this commandment from the atheist perspective here: http://atheism.about.com/od/tencommandments/a/commandment01.htm)

For example, read this letter below, (Full disclosure: I have excerpted it a bit):

From: T. R. in Belgium

Dear Rabbi,

Could you please enlighten me on the controversy surrounding wearing wigs made of human hair from India, and also is it permissible to continue wearing one. Thank you in advance, T. R.

Dear T.R.

The Rabbis who oppose the use of Indian-hair wigs are not just splitting hairs. The root of the problem is that the hair from India seems to come from idolatrous ceremonies. Worshipers grow their hair in honor of a certain god, pledging to cut the hair at the temple of the god as a sacrificial thank-offering when their prayer is answered. ...

The hair is then auctioned to wigmakers, earning the temple a hair-raising 5.6 million dollars. ...

The problem is that the Torah not only forbids idolatry itself, but also prohibits deriving benefit from any accessory, decoration or sacrifice to idol worship. Primarily, such a sacrifice is forbidden only when it is similar to the Jewish Temple offerings of meat, flour, oil, wine and water. However, when this object of idolatrous sacrifice (tikrovet avoda zara) is whats normally offered, and is cut or broken in honor of the god, it is also forbidden to derive benefit from it in any way. Furthermore, the sacrificed object can never be nullified, even if its been changed or altered by some process, and even if its been indiscernibly mixed with some other permitted material.

http://ohr.edu/1698

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
1. Yoga isn't a corporate fitness program where you can just get certifications like you're teaching fucking pure barre and Pilates. It's a religious practice, and the physical asanas are just one very, very narrow part of it. "Namaste" does not have a watered-down New Age meaning like, "I bow to the light within you." It means "I bow to the God within you." External yoga is useless without internal yoga - meditation, pranayama, etc - and the purpose is to achieve union with the Divine.

I am sorry this is making you angry. However, whether you like it or not, this "corporate" fitness program is doing many people, especially elderly people, a great deal of good. External yoga is not useless without internal yoga. It just may be helping people with things that don't interest you (like maintaining mobility into old age). Maybe you could consider that this kind of kind of practice may eventually lead people to explore the real yoga that is so important to you. But please don't try to bully people away from doing something that helps them so much.

[Anonymous]

Your yoga practice can be whatever you want it to be. The Hindu religion doesn't "own" yoga.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, we had this issue with my mom, yoga, and Reiki. Both yoga and Reiki really helped with some health issues she had. However, once she learned that they are essentially worshiping or appealing to other gods, she stopped.

I don't get this kind of response.

If you have your believe (let's say, Christianity), how can you end up worshiping other gods? Do you believe those other gods also exist? If you believe in the divinity of Jesus, do you also believe in the divinity of gods in other religions? How can you end up worshiping or appealing to them, if there's only one real god (Jesus, Allah, whatever you believe in)?

You don't have to believe that other gods actually exist in order for Jews and Christians to violate the first commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (BTW, there is an interesting piece on this commandment from the atheist perspective here: http://atheism.about.com/od/tencommandments/a/commandment01.htm)

For example, read this letter below, (Full disclosure: I have excerpted it a bit):

From: T. R. in Belgium

Dear Rabbi,

Could you please enlighten me on the controversy surrounding wearing wigs made of human hair from India, and also is it permissible to continue wearing one. Thank you in advance, T. R.

Dear T.R.

The Rabbis who oppose the use of Indian-hair wigs are not just splitting hairs. The root of the problem is that the hair from India seems to come from idolatrous ceremonies. Worshipers grow their hair in honor of a certain god, pledging to cut the hair at the temple of the god as a sacrificial thank-offering when their prayer is answered. ...

The hair is then auctioned to wigmakers, earning the temple a hair-raising 5.6 million dollars. ...

The problem is that the Torah not only forbids idolatry itself, but also prohibits deriving benefit from any accessory, decoration or sacrifice to idol worship. Primarily, such a sacrifice is forbidden only when it is similar to the Jewish Temple offerings of meat, flour, oil, wine and water. However, when this object of idolatrous sacrifice (tikrovet avoda zara) is whats normally offered, and is cut or broken in honor of the god, it is also forbidden to derive benefit from it in any way. Furthermore, the sacrificed object can never be nullified, even if its been changed or altered by some process, and even if its been indiscernibly mixed with some other permitted material.

http://ohr.edu/1698

It makes no sense. You believe those other gods exist, or they don't. If they don't exist, they have no power, no chance of influencing you. The Hindu gods don't affect you any more than Bigfoot affects you, or the Purple People Eater. If you believe in your "true" deity, then you believe others are also made up human concepts. You don't have any other gods ahead of the "real" god, because those other gods don't exist.

[Anonymous]

OP,

I think you and your friend would enjoy this book, The Goddess Pose:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/06/01/411202468/those-yoga-poses-may-not-be-ancient-after-all-and-maybe-thats-ok

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your yoga practice can be whatever you want it to be. The Hindu religion doesn't "own" yoga.

The Hindu religion is also for all. But it's only fair to give credit where it is due I.e it's roots in Hinduism. Don't be just a taker, be a giver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, we had this issue with my mom, yoga, and Reiki. Both yoga and Reiki really helped with some health issues she had. However, once she learned that they are essentially worshiping or appealing to other gods, she stopped.

I don't get this kind of response.

If you have your believe (let's say, Christianity), how can you end up worshiping other gods? Do you believe those other gods also exist? If you believe in the divinity of Jesus, do you also believe in the divinity of gods in other religions? How can you end up worshiping or appealing to them, if there's only one real god (Jesus, Allah, whatever you believe in)?

You don't have to believe that other gods actually exist in order for Jews and Christians to violate the first commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (BTW, there is an interesting piece on this commandment from the atheist perspective here: http://atheism.about.com/od/tencommandments/a/commandment01.htm)

For example, read this letter below, (Full disclosure: I have excerpted it a bit):

From: T. R. in Belgium

Dear Rabbi,

Could you please enlighten me on the controversy surrounding wearing wigs made of human hair from India, and also is it permissible to continue wearing one. Thank you in advance, T. R.

Dear T.R.

The Rabbis who oppose the use of Indian-hair wigs are not just splitting hairs. The root of the problem is that the hair from India seems to come from idolatrous ceremonies. Worshipers grow their hair in honor of a certain god, pledging to cut the hair at the temple of the god as a sacrificial thank-offering when their prayer is answered. ...

The hair is then auctioned to wigmakers, earning the temple a hair-raising 5.6 million dollars. ...

The problem is that the Torah not only forbids idolatry itself, but also prohibits deriving benefit from any accessory, decoration or sacrifice to idol worship. Primarily, such a sacrifice is forbidden only when it is similar to the Jewish Temple offerings of meat, flour, oil, wine and water. However, when this object of idolatrous sacrifice (tikrovet avoda zara) is whats normally offered, and is cut or broken in honor of the god, it is also forbidden to derive benefit from it in any way. Furthermore, the sacrificed object can never be nullified, even if its been changed or altered by some process, and even if its been indiscernibly mixed with some other permitted material.

http://ohr.edu/1698

It makes no sense. You believe those other gods exist, or they don't. If they don't exist, they have no power, no chance of influencing you. The Hindu gods don't affect you any more than Bigfoot affects you, or the Purple People Eater. If you believe in your "true" deity, then you believe others are also made up human concepts. You don't have any other gods ahead of the "real" god, because those other gods don't exist.

You are missing the point. For Jews, Muslims, and Christians at least, our God expects us to worship only Him. We are not supposed to do anything that even looks like worshiping other gods. It's not that we fear any actual influence from Krishna, Ogun, or Huitzilopotchli.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I think you and your friend would enjoy this book, The Goddess Pose:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/06/01/411202468/those-yoga-poses-may-not-be-ancient-after-all-and-maybe-thats-ok

Not OP. But the audacity of the author baffles me. ( or maybe not). Like she is an authority on it.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

OP is justified to be annoyed that yoga is treated as a bauble, a fashion accessory to a certain lifestyle message.

I love yoga, and I mean like mantra, yantra, meditation, Vedas, Sutras, Saivism, love it! I practice hatha because it is part of the whole, but I don't really ask the people at the studio to talk abut seed syllables or any specific teaching. It's Hindu origination is what makes hatha yoga part of such a rich and fully realized, deep, vast, life positive and nurturing, brilliant philosophy, or one could say philosophies.

You can participate at the level of exercise. It's wholesome. You can leave it there.

God is bigger than creation. Like a vast central mountain, souls approach to god from every direction. I can read Julian of Norwich, and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and appreciate the approach of souls to God in both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate yoga.

Awkward poses with strangers and the threat of random farting.

Whats not to love?

brilliant response! Thanks for the laugh as I stare out at the snow that keeps getting higher and higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The middle guy is hot. I'd like to study tantric yoga with him.

[Anonymous]

Get over yourselves, all you religious fundamentalist freaks of every stripe!

[Anonymous]

As a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural person, OP, I think your point of view needs to be refined just a little.

A Yogi could very well be any ethnicity, as long as they are Hindu. Right?