Kosher yoga

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p>As I posted earlier, some fitness instructors have been Christianizing yoga out of fear that its Hindu origins open you up to demonic possession. It’s the same kind of assimilation which annoys theologians about Hinduism:

When Cathy Chadwick instructed her three yoga students to move into warrior position… she read aloud the prayer of St. Theresa of Avila. “Good Christian warriors,” Chadwick softly said as the women lunged into the position…

Chadwick is one of a growing number of people who practice Christian yoga, incorporating Biblical passages, prayers and Christian reflections. Occasionally, teachers rename yoga postures to reflect Christian teachings or, as Chadwick did with warrior position, include religious metaphors… [Link]

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p>Good Christian warriors, assume the position! Apparently Catholics in yoga haven’t gotten the memo:

In a 1989 letter, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who is now Pope Benedict XVI, said practices like yoga and meditation could “degenerate into a cult of the body…” [Link]

Never mind that meditation is designed to do the exact opposite. Trying to keep up with the times, the Vatican issued the memo over IM. Here’s an actual, unedited transcript:

c^th0l1k: omg y0gA rOxX0Rz LOL
V^tic^n_1: newayz h0 dAt sHiZz b3 d3m0nIc ROTFL

The NYT reported recently that HinJews are now jumping in. Well, technically, they’re shuffling in while complaining about the weather

A similar movement is taking place in Judaism, with teachers merging teachings or texts into yoga classes… Stephen A. Rapp, a Boston yoga teacher, developed Aleph-Bet yoga, a series of postures meant to represent Hebrew letters… Rapp expresses the Hebrew letter ‘bet’ in the posture Dandasana, where one sits on the ground with legs and arms straight out in front. [Link]

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p>Some Hebrew letters translate pretty easily into yoga positions:

Others seem to require a ménage à trois with gay aliens:

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I am fully tolerant of threesomes with gay aliens. Being a New Yorker, I may even have seen it performed one night in Washington Square Park. I can’t say for sure though because it was 3 am and I was kind of in a hurry to meet my dealer.

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p>I’m still waiting for someone to Jain-ize krav maga. That’s one mashup I’d pay to see.

In closing, I’d just like to say the old Yiddish farewell ‘sholem aleykham.’ Any resemblance to a Muslim greeting is purely coincidental, because religions don’t borrow from others, they’re transmitted on stone tablets directly from the mouth of God.

Related posts: Possessed by yoga, Yoga fusion run riot, ‘Laughing yoga’ video clip, Hip-hop yoga, Yoga for Kerry, Yoga for ‘ullu ke patthe’, Shalom, The Hindu Hammer: Desis in entertainment, Benedict maledict, Papal pull

22 thoughts on “Kosher yoga”

  1. c^th0l1k: omg y0gA rOxX0Rz LOL

    You are so teh haxor, Manish. Brought back memories of counter strike back in the day.

  2. Not much left to say. Can’t think of a reason why someone secure in their religious moorings and the moorings of their religion to do these ‘me-too’ attempts of fending off insecurity.

  3. some fitness instructors have been Christianizing yoga out of fear that its Hindu origins open you up to demonic possession.

    The putatively tolerant Russian orthodox do a little sliming of their own.

  4. “Christian Yoga”???? I don’t think even Desis call is “Hindu Yoga”…Yoga besides the physical plane is looked at in terms of spirituality and NOT religion.

    What next? Debate over which religion the Kamasutra belongs to?

  5. Actually, depending on which yoga class you go to, there can be a fair bit of religious content. I’ve been to classes where the teacher had us recite various mantras and invoked various Hindu deities in prayer at the end.

  6. yoga has a hindu origin, agreed – but more in the sense that ‘hindu’s seems to be a word used to call out anyone from the sub-continent, cf. Salman Rushdie as ‘escritor hindu’ in the jaguar smile, or the hindukush , or (?) the reference to the hindu and the turk in the bulla jaana song….
    does it have a religious linkage to the vedas or animism, which to me would be what might imply blasphemy by yoga practitioners. Barring that – theologians shouldnt have reason to worry.

  7. Actually, depending on which yoga class you go to, there can be a fair bit of religious content. I’ve been to classes where the teacher had us recite various mantras and invoked various Hindu deities in prayer at the end.

    ohh.. missed the above. answers my question – but that sounds like a bit of customization. I think Iyengar’s the final word on this right – btw , for a 70+ yr old, dude has some intense moves – what’s his take on this in his book?

  9. For a start: History of yoga

    The Vedas is a collection of hymns that praises a higher power; it contains the oldest recorded Yogic Teachings and is considered divine revelation. Thus, the wisdom of the Vedas is known as Vedic or Pre-classical Yoga. Vedic Yoga is characterized by ritualistic ceremonies from which the Yoga practice that requires Yoga practitioners to transcend the limitations of the mind originated.
  10. For a start: History of yoga

    Thanks Daksha dude – you’re very skilled (did I get that right?) 🙂

  12. Actually Iyengar is good as far Asana is concerned, which all of us by now know is only one of the eight parts of Yoga not one eigth. Check out the Patanjali Yogasutra online some time, or read up here at http://www.dharmacentral.com Yoga is Hindu as in Sanatana Dharma.

  13. It is very funny that you mention Jains and Krav Maga..I never thought anyone would lol. I am actually a very religious Jain and work for Krav Maga Long Island. Krav Maga actually teaches to be non-violent as much as possible at first. Do anything to avoid physical fighting unless you ABSOLUTLEY have to. When there is no other alternative, then you beat the shit out of the other person.

  16. From the same article that Manish is quoting:

    But Swami Param, head of the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy in Manahawkin, N.J., said that if people could not acknowledge the Hindu element of yoga they should not bother studying it. [Link]

    If you simply Google “Yoga Hinduism” you can find many other examples of similar claims. Here’s just one:

    Since the many Yogas are the spiritual/religious disciplines of the Hindu religion (and its related sects; i.e., Buddhist, Jain and Sikh), the only genuine teachers of any aspect of Yoga are qualified members of the above traditions. [Link]

    While I’m not happy at Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism being called “related sects”, the point of the quote above is that there are many Hindus who see yoga and Hinduism as being inextricably intertwined.

  17. I attend classes at the Laughing Lotus yoga center in Manhattan and there is most definitely a Hindu religious/spirtual tinge to the lessons. The classes usually begin with the chanting of yoga sutras and other mantras. I’m a Sikh and I really don’t have a problem with it. In fact, I much prefer it that way. I’ve tried the strictly workout style yoga at my gym too and it just doesn’t have the same effect in holistically nourishing my mind/body/spirit.

  18. I attend classes at the Laughing Lotus yoga center in Manhattan

    Do I assume right that you ascribe to the principles espoused by the deliriously happy yogi ramesh . 😉

  19. Here we go again. The goras setting the agenda. ItÂ’s not good enough to utilize what the orientals have to offer. Their practices must be changed for Christian purity. How hypocritical! Yoga is based on our religious traditions. If they donÂ’t like that fact, why even delve into paganism?

  20. I keep vacillating between amusement by the flattery of others trying to gain some “ownership” of yoga and disgust by the Christian warrior reference. How do you reconcile the very different agenda of “Christian warriors” (is this not a reference to the violent Crusades?) with the peaceful practice of yoga?

  21. As long as its made clear that Yoga comes from Hinduism, Christianization of the practice doesn’t seem bad. As long as they’re actually practicing the proper Asanas (as opposed to ‘tweaking’ them for less painful positions), saying a Christian prayer instead of a Hindu one isn’t all that wrong. However, what is bad, is changing the names and assuming ownership of it, like Ek Aurat mentioned. But I have found that regardless, when I mention Yoga, everyone thinks of Indian culture and Hinduism.

    Another part of this discussion revolved around Yoga and its part in religion. Someone already stated that is indeed Vedic teaching, but just to add, its said that Shiva himself came down to earth to teach some odd 300 Asanas to keep the body in perfect working condition.

    About Christian warriors: I don’t really understand this at all. I’m going to assume that some of the titles of the Asanas might translate to something dealing with warriors, but it has no distinction to the Kshatriya caste or warriors in general.

    Ek Aurat also brought up the Crusades, but I tend to doubt that. Most Christians are in agreeance that mindlessly fighting the Muslims (and losing) for several years was wrong and stupid. And it has very little meaning to Yoga which as no place in war or peace, but health/medicine.

  22. Just returned from the Yogaville community in the mountains of Virginia.

    I think westerners have given yoga, meditation, etc the boost it needed.

    There is a much more friendly, relaxed and open atmosphere compared to the yoga centers/ashrams in India and westerners have a much more realistic approach to celibacy than do Indians.

    At the same time they are very fervent about spiritual progress.

    I think the western take on yoga is just what India needs.