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Promoting a Christian Alternat
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Cyndi
Posted 2005-05-28 8:08 PM (#24740)
Subject: Promoting a Christian Alternat



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I just received the following from the Hindu Press International. I found it to be very disturbing and strange...thought I'd share this with you guys. Although, I'm not really sure how I feel about this article - I'm puzzled about it - especially the part about the woman claiming to have left her physical body and not being sure about *who checked in, and who checked out*, however, it was very interesting to say the least...the very least. Did I mention that this came from a *former* practictioner of Yoga. My opinion and my immediate reaction to this is that this woman obviously did not make a connection with her practice and therefore had to find a way to criticize and judge something in which she failed to understand - this is ignorance with a capital I.


NEW YORK, USA, May 18, 2005: A former American practitioner of yoga has
cast the fitness regime in a narrow Hindu religious context and offered
a "Christian alternative" says this article in the Hindustan Times
(based on a report in Christianity Today magazine). "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 practised
hatha yoga for years," said Laurette Willis. "Those who think yoga is
little more than a series of stress-relieving stretching exercises may
be surprised to learn about the true foundation of the
multibillion-dollar yoga craze in North America. There are an estimated
15-20 million people practising yoga in the US and over 50,000 yoga
instructors offering classes at approximately 20,000 locations," says
Willis. (HPI adds: Willis is a professional actor, motivational speaker
and standup comedienne whose website is
http://www.laurettewillis.com/.)

Over the last several decades, she says, yoga has been embraced by the
mainstream of society--and even the Christian church. "We don't often
think of other religions having missionaries, but the philosophy and
practice of yoga have been primary tools of Hindu 'missionaries' to
America since 'Indian priest and mystic' Swami Vivekananda introduced
yoga to the West at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago," Willis writes.
Willis offers an intriguing perspective on pranayama, one of the
fundamental techniques of yoga that teaches breathing well. "Yoga's
breathing techniques (pranayama) may seem stress-relieving, yet they
can be an open door to psychic influences, as is the customary
relaxation period at the end of a yoga session. Before becoming a
Christian, I remember numerous instances of 'travelling outside my
body' during yoga relaxation periods. I wonder who--or what--checked in
when I checked out?" she says. Citing an unnamed staff member of a yoga
academy, Willis adds, "I've received some stunning confirmation from an
unlikely source. A staff member of an east coast Classical Yoga Academy
wrote to me, 'Yes, all of yoga is Hinduism. Everyone should be aware of
this fact.'" In February 2001 Willis said the idea for a Christian
alternative to yoga came "from the Lord."


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Posted 2005-05-28 8:18 PM (#24742 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


I think Willis is channelling Andy Kaufman and ****ing with folks.
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Cyndi
Posted 2005-05-28 8:30 PM (#24743 - in reply to #24742)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat



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Huh?? and ****ing with folks. Care to elaborate the **** part Bruce?? I didn't quite get that,
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belovedofthegod
Posted 2005-05-29 7:43 AM (#24748 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


Its interesting but the number zero (Sunya) was invented in a very religious context by Hindus to describe the Ultimate. Thus, "True Christians" should stop using the number zero as it leads away from God band is inherently heretic,

Regards.
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Empress Echo
Posted 2005-05-29 10:46 AM (#24752 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


I hate to see things like this - the lunatic fringe tainting the entire picture.  I hope that the sensible people of the world will not judge all of Christianity by such foolish ideas as this lady has.

shake

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Bay Guy
Posted 2005-05-29 9:43 PM (#24762 - in reply to #24752)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat



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In February 2001 Willis said the idea for a Christian alternative to yoga
came "from the Lord."


Hardly surprising, since Lord Siva also gave us yoga.

Om nama Sivaya.
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jeansyoga
Posted 2005-05-29 9:47 PM (#24764 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


I have heard/read this same sort of thing before, mostly from articles brought to me by someone saying "Can you believe this crap?"

There will always be someone speaking out against anything they don't understand. People who practice yoga know how silly this is, so I'm not too worried.

Granted, people can have confusing experiences that they might associate with whatever new thing is going on in their lives. The general public obviously does not feel this way; they're turned on to yoga and they want to know more! Plus, the fact that this woman is an actress and stand-up comic makes me suspect that rather than being confused and afraid, she is just using this as a publicity stunt. I'll be very surprised if it gets her the attention she is hoping for.
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elson
Posted 2005-05-31 4:25 AM (#24832 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alte


There's no mystery here. This is just another fast-talking con artist making a buck off of cautious people. In this case, the caution is religious, rather than for their health or wealth.

If you look at her web page, you will see that she is the founder of a "Christian" form of aerobics. You could look at this as being either a service to people who would not seek exercise in another venue, or as a clever marketing ploy to create a market for a product that she wants to offer.

I think that the same could be said about this yoga "alternative." The fact that she trashes yoga in the process is part of the "creating a market" thing. As with many niche markets, an effective ploy is to trash the competition. In this case, the competition for her "Christian Yoga" is real yoga.

This is fairly transparent to thinking folks, and as for the others, who really cares...

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Trianglechoke7
Posted 2005-07-21 11:28 AM (#27877 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


As a Christian, I do not find find yoga to be a spiritual practice. For me, all of the movements and and breathing exercises are benificial on a purely physical level for purely scientific reasons - there is no spirituality behind it.
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*Fifi*
Posted 2005-07-21 1:06 PM (#27884 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


As a Judeo-Christian believer I find the yogic experience brings me closer to God. J-C values strive to get one out of one's comfort-zone, out of merely thinking of ourselves, right? Bikram yoga gets me so far out of my comfort zone; I am in constant communication with God during my practice. How does God teach us lessons? Mostly through humility, I think. Is there anything more humbling than a Bikram class? One can also dedicate one's daily practice to a loved one or better yet, to an enemy.

But, not all practices are spiritual in nature. It's a personal thang.

(PS With Mr. Bikram, what you see is what you get - he's probably less scandalous than many preachers out there since Mr. B is very overt and not hiding anything.)
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bigmamma
Posted 2005-07-21 6:58 PM (#27897 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


Right on Elson! I had the same reaction. Christian alternative ----Puh-leeese!
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Posted 2005-07-22 7:50 AM (#27927 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


i think it's strange too.

as an eccuminical christian, i believe that most paths lead to God, that they are 95% the same, and the 5% difference is usually culture, language, and symbology (and sometimes a little bit of complete bunk, like sexism, racism, etc). Therefore, what would be the problem of adding things in from other religions if the disciplines lead in the same direction or enhance the 'first' chosen path?

similarly, christians practice meditation. for some reason, it's downplayed greatly in neofun****etalism, but it has been a long-held devotional practice in western religions. anyway. . .
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Posted 2005-07-22 7:53 AM (#27928 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


also, i doubt she ever 'checked out' of her body, but had a euphoric floating feeling. therefore, nothing could enter. just because she wasn't mindful and thereby wasn't 'present' doesn't mean that there was some whacky body snatching going on (and besides, to the best of my knowledge, whacky body snatching doesn't exist--because even OOBEs and APs are an aspect of being fully present and extending beyond the body, rather than leaving the body to travel beyond it. therefore, even then, you could never leave the body, and nothing could ever come and take your place.

crazy woman. must be a newbie christian.
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innerline
Posted 2005-07-22 3:49 PM (#27943 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


People like this take on a tremendous amount of Karma. She personaly needs to be careful of being out of her body cause of the kind of entities that can and probably are in her space. Religions can be conduits for entities that want power but are not allowed to have a physical body anymore. I have a few christian students of yoga and their six chakra is very occupied by fear of letting go. The fear of losing control and finding out that life force flows most powerfully beyond belief or control systems. When I look at her picture her chin tells alot about her personality. A strong rigidity. Makes it hard to kiss.
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tourist
Posted 2005-07-22 8:43 PM (#27967 - in reply to #27943)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alte



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OOOOOOOh! I had to go back and look - yes, a VERY hard chin! That sharp hair might be an issue in the lovin' department as well... I must dash to a mirror and check for sharpness
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nathss
Posted 2005-07-23 9:46 PM (#28032 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


The article did not surprise me because I knew many christian harldliners who did not let their kids practice yoga in schools as they believed that it was Hindu technique. The problem is that Christ used to practice Yoga as evident from following comments in new testaments.

1) Kingdom of God is within you.
2) When thy eye will be single, your body will be full of light.
3) Man must be reborn in spirit to enter kindome of God
4) I am the truth...
5) Before Abrahm was I am
6) In the beginning there was word and word was with GOD and God was the word

.....

How are the above comments related to YOGA? When yogis reach a certain stage, they can experience all the truth in bible as something personal and then move beyond scripture understanding.
e.g. When third eye opens, the two eyes close and single eye sees the body full of light.

Yogis when they are one in Christ consciousness, they can hear the sound that was in the beginning with God.

For more details, you may want to read

Second Coming of Chrsit by Yogananda. I think it is avaialbe at Amazan.com



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tourist
Posted 2005-07-24 12:30 PM (#28046 - in reply to #28032)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alte



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Hi nath - that explanation works for those with a liberal view of religion and spirituality but does not work at all for the "hardliners." There are also some very specific theological arguements I've read by those with far more education that I have that show that for many people, doing yoga for more than physical excercise just is not in line with their beliefs. And that is ok, I think. I find it sad though, that the ultra conservatives feel they need an "alternative" practice (which looks pretty much exactly like the non-alternative as I see it ) because it separates and divides people and communities when we really need a lot less separateness and more togetherness.
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*Fifi*
Posted 2005-07-24 12:50 PM (#28050 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


Ha, ha, ha, I like that about that lady's chin! I love facial diagnosis. I'm not very good at it, but I do notice her chin and lips are the opposite of Angolina Jolie's. Thus, in comparison, the mathematical equation for Ms. Rigid's chin-sexiness would come out to a negative number.

There's a book out there I've been meaning to read called "Jesus lived in India". It's an account of Jesus' life after resurrection. The theory of this book is that Jesus sailed to India and practiced Reiki for 16 years (or so).

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Empress Echo
Posted 2005-07-25 2:11 PM (#28115 - in reply to #28050)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


*Fifi* - 2005-07-24 12:50 PM Ha, ha, ha, I like that about that lady's chin! I love facial diagnosis. I'm not very good at it, but I do notice her chin and lips are the opposite of Angolina Jolie's. Thus, in comparison, the mathematical equation for Ms. Rigid's chin-sexiness would come out to a negative number. There's a book out there I've been meaning to read called "Jesus lived in India". It's an account of Jesus' life after resurrection. The theory of this book is that Jesus sailed to India and practiced Reiki for 16 years (or so).

!

Fifi, do you know the author of that book?  It sounds very interesting, though somewhat unusual!

Thanks!
Echo

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*Fifi*
Posted 2005-07-25 3:00 PM (#28116 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


Echo,

Looks like Amazon has the book "Jesus Lived in India: His Life Before and After the Crucifixion" by Holger Kerston starting around $22.00.

If you plug that title into Amazon they give you additional, similar titles. I'm inspired to see if my local library has any copies. One never knows....

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Bay Guy
Posted 2005-07-28 10:21 PM (#28360 - in reply to #28032)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat



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nathss - 2005-07-23 9:46 PM

The article did not surprise me because I knew many christian harldliners who did not let their kids practice yoga in schools as they believed that it was Hindu technique. The problem is that Christ used to practice Yoga as evident from following comments in new testaments.

1) Kingdom of God is within you.
2) When thy eye will be single, your body will be full of light.
3) Man must be reborn in spirit to enter kindome of God
4) I am the truth...
5) Before Abrahm was I am
6) In the beginning there was word and word was with GOD and God was the word

.....




Nathss --- These are marvelous observations. It is unfortunate that they have not
been more strongly emphasized in mainline christian interpretation.... BG
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tourist
Posted 2005-07-29 1:10 AM (#28374 - in reply to #28360)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alte



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Welcome back BG!
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Posted 2005-07-29 8:22 AM (#28381 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


actually, bay guy, i would say that they *have* been emphasized in 'mainline' christianity such as catholic, lutheran, anglican, orthodox, and those related. they have not been emphasized by neo-fundamentalist christianity which is largely an american development that has it's roots/started around the late 1800s.

neofundamental christianity is very vocal, very loud, though, so it *seems* like mainstream christianity. in fact, it is a relatively small aspect (though growing) of christianity, and most christians do emphasize these elements--which is why so many have yoga classes offered in their churches.
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tourist
Posted 2005-07-29 10:25 AM (#28391 - in reply to #28381)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alte



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Good point, zoebird. But those "fundies" as someone called them recently (maybe one of my kids...) are becoming so vocal the world is starting to believe, very incorrectly of course, that they represent North American values as a whole. Sound familiar?
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isha
Posted 2005-07-29 2:59 PM (#28417 - in reply to #24740)
Subject: RE: Promoting a Christian Alternat


It seems like many hardcore Christians really aren't acquainted with the history of the Christian Church. Reincarnation was one of the Christ's original teachings: it was outlawed in the 3rd century AD. Think about it: what does Christianity offer? Everlasting life! If you already believe in the transmigration of the soul and karma, then what power does Church have over you?
Bear in mind that the Catholic Church was the major temporal power for many centuries.
I read a book about the Christ by Dolores Cannon, a past-life regressionist. She writes that Jesus had an uncle who was a rich merchant with many sailing ships. In his teens and early twenties, Jesus traveled not only to yoga enriched India but also to England to study with the Druids.
Dolores started her own press since no one would print her books.
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