Question to Conservative Catholics only: WHat are your thoughts about Yoga?

[Anonymous]

I tried yoga last week. I didn't follow the whole thing of salute and namaste because I'm conservative Catholic and only tried yoga for the purpose of streching and alignment since I'm a very active athlete.

I mentioned to the instructor that I was just there to try out the streching technique; she was very cool and helped me out. the 2-3 ladies that attended the class that day were somewhat okay, a little weird and overly sensitive. One lady couldn't do much of the poses and she cried. The other one cried at the end of class for I guess some reason. I thanked the instructor for the class, then I departed.

I was just aware that the Catholic Church condemns yoga, what are your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance and God's blessings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tried yoga last week. I didn't follow the whole thing of salute and namaste because I'm conservative Catholic and only tried yoga for the purpose of streching and alignment since I'm a very active athlete.

I mentioned to the instructor that I was just there to try out the streching technique; she was very cool and helped me out. the 2-3 ladies that attended the class that day were somewhat okay, a little weird and overly sensitive. One lady couldn't do much of the poses and she cried. The other one cried at the end of class for I guess some reason. I thanked the instructor for the class, then I departed.

I was just aware that the Catholic Church condemns yoga, what are your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance and God's blessings.

If all you want is physical exercise, maybe you should try Pilates?

Yoga isn't meant for a physical workout, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Eh, I think you can enjoy yoga and be Catholic. I equate it to the western writer's works on Buddhism that focus more on the concept of spirituality and mindfulness in a way that can be applied to your own faith/deity etc rather than the theological doctrine. Think of it more as taking from it what you can and modify your thoughts as needed....for example if "Namaste" concerns you some folks may say something related to their comfort level "peace be with you" or "may you go in peace." Just some quick examples to give you a sense of what I mean.

[Anonymous]

This thread addresses appropriation of yoga: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/528034.page

[Anonymous]

OP, there is some Christian version of yoga where they focus on scriptural passages while doing similar types of poses and stretching.

You might want to look into that or pilates. Ot Tai chi.

That said, my devoutly Catholic mom who was the most holy person I have ever met, did yoga stretches when she was alive. She was asian though so she had other cultural practices (Shinto based) that were not completely "Catholic."

[Anonymous]

I'm conservative Catholic. I do yoga for stretching. My yoga studio has no discernible religious content to it at all, so far as I can tell. If they did I'd just ignore it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tried yoga last week. I didn't follow the whole thing of salute and namaste because I'm conservative Catholic and only tried yoga for the purpose of streching and alignment since I'm a very active athlete.

I mentioned to the instructor that I was just there to try out the streching technique; she was very cool and helped me out. the 2-3 ladies that attended the class that day were somewhat okay, a little weird and overly sensitive. One lady couldn't do much of the poses and she cried. The other one cried at the end of class for I guess some reason. I thanked the instructor for the class, then I departed.

I was just aware that the Catholic Church condemns yoga, what are your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance and God's blessings.

If all you want is physical exercise, maybe you should try Pilates?

Yoga isn't meant for a physical workout, sorry.

The English language was invented so that Norman lords could converse with their anglo saxon servants. It isn't "meant" for chattering on websites. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tried yoga last week. I didn't follow the whole thing of salute and namaste because I'm conservative Catholic and only tried yoga for the purpose of streching and alignment since I'm a very active athlete.

I mentioned to the instructor that I was just there to try out the streching technique; she was very cool and helped me out. the 2-3 ladies that attended the class that day were somewhat okay, a little weird and overly sensitive. One lady couldn't do much of the poses and she cried. The other one cried at the end of class for I guess some reason. I thanked the instructor for the class, then I departed.

I was just aware that the Catholic Church condemns yoga, what are your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance and God's blessings.

If all you want is physical exercise, maybe you should try Pilates?

Yoga isn't meant for a physical workout, sorry.

The English language was invented so that Norman lords could converse with their anglo saxon servants. It isn't "meant" for chattering on websites. Sorry.

Aww, your faulty comparisons are cute. <3

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the input.
I was just trying out yoga for the streching purpose and it was okay, I will try Pilates and see how it goes

[Anonymous]

Also, I'd maybe try other classes--that's a lot of crying for a yoga class. Not normal!

[Anonymous]

Go to a power yoga studio. Something like Core Power Yoga. This is a workout and while they may say namaste or ohm its rally about stretching and getting a good workout. The teachers say motivational things but it's not religious at all.

[Anonymous]

Conservative Catholic here. I recently started prenatal yoga- had never appealed to me before, but I have really found the stretching and balance exercises helpful with pregnancy pains (more so than Pilates which I did last pregnancy). Anyway, I'm a pretty traditional Arlington diocese Catholic (active in the parish, etc) and really don't see a problem with it as long as you approach it as a physical rather than spiritual activity, nor have I gotten any negative responses when I've mentioned doing it to others in my faith share group.

Definitely recommend trying a different class/yoga studio as yours sounds pretty odd.

[Anonymous]

Catholic Yoga:

In chakrasana, you say prayers for the souls in purgatory the entire time you hold the pose.



In virabhadrasana III you say an Our Father or Hail Mary.



And so on! Improvise!

[Anonymous]

Try doing Holy Yoga. I love it! You can even do it at home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5RVd_zRxno

[Anonymous]

Keep fooling yourselves ladies. It makes you feel less guilty right?

Can't fool God.