“Two workouts in one!”
“What a fabulous opportunity to spend a half hour or an hour stretching and toning your body AND worshiping with Jesus Christ at the same time.”
Certainly interesting. This should factor in nicely to the debate already stewing thanks to the Deepak Chopra vs. Aseem Shukla ‘Is Yoga Hindu?’ beef. (UPDATE: read Cora Wen’s take on this yoga mania!)
Not quite sure about Christian Yoga? Doesn’t it have origins in evil?? Just ask Pat Robertson.
(ps. beware: if you take a gander at the “related videos” you could spend all weekend debating the topic and/or being subjected to the evils that be!)
Earlier…Yoga and Hinduism: Deepak Chopra vs. Aseem Shukla Beef Continues with Fervor, Religious and Non
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Sounds like the evangelicals, fundamentalists, and evengelical fundamentalists are developing a relationship to yoga similar to that with rock music–with, on the one hand, those who think if they can use rock music to sell Jesus to the kids, it’s good, and, on the other, those who say that it’s inherently the devil’s music and lures good Christian kids into perdition, even when the lyrics are about Jesus.
Considering how much Christian rock generally sucks, I can’t help but feel some sympathy for the latter viewpoint…and the fake smiles on this video (was one of those women the bush pilot from Northern Exposure?) don’t do much to make me think Christian yoga’s gonna be much better…
that Cristyoga vid creeps me out in a Rosemary’s Baby type of way….
Okiedokie, Pat. Because, y’know, when I think of “spooky,” my first thought is “yoga.” As opposed to, say, all of the spooky, wacky things you’ve said: http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnyquotes/a/patrobertson.htm
*insert ginormous eyerolling smiley right about here*
this kind of makes me want to gag. I don’t think “Christoga” instructors should be wearing crop tops. And agreed with YogaforCynics those smiles are just CREEPY! I’ll pass thanks!
Hm. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. I’d rather see mindfulness and connecting with one’s body being adopted in any form than demand yoga remain “pure.” I admire how yoga has shifted and changed and morphed as lots of different groups have adopted it. Anything that Hindus and Christians (and Atheists, Canadians, vegetarians, etc…) can do and agree on, if even only in terms of “stretching” seems to me to be a step towards tolerance. Yoga doesn’t have to be “the cool kids club.” I’m not Christian, I’m not Hindu, and if that means I can’t be a yogi, than I won’t call what I do yoga.
Like Bruce Lee said, “Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.”
Interesting post! Happy Monday!
Wow—really scary quotes from Pat Robertson. Hard to believe they’re real.
Ol’ Pat really goes through phases. I am CONVINCED, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Jesus was a yogi.
To me the real problem with these yoga-mashups is the opportunism.
There is Christ-Centered Yoga, Yaweh Yoga ™, and Praise Moves ™, all of which are “yoga” to varying degrees. Praise Moves rejects even the word “yoga” as not Christian. I’m fine with people praying to whomever they want in lieu of meditation, or offering a pre-yoga invocation to Jesus (who would have loved yoga, I think), or having a yoga practice set to gospel music. Why not?
I’m not fine with people being so certain that yoga = evil. (Note that not all of the Christian yoga websites take that tack.) One Christian not-yoga website was pretty scary, it basically stated that during savasana your spirit leaves your body and you could be possessed by evil spirits and/or subject to mind control. I am not making this up. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
I had to watch and rewatch the Christoga video – Janine Turner what has happened? Why are you in the room with that blonde ventriloquist lady? Eeeks!
As for the general hubbub about X-Yoga and Y-Yoga and My-Religion-Goes-Here-Yoga…it’s fascinating. In a train wreck way.
I was hoping good ol’ Pat would reiterate what someone reported their pastor telling them about Yoga: if you practice yoga and quiet your mind the Devil will get in.
No wonder our Puritanically based nation is so type-a!
What a lot of people in America don’t realize is yoga that is popular here is not really a form that leads anywhere spiritually. What we call “yoga” here is actually hatha yoga. Which makes the body physically fit and clean. But true Yogis lead a very disciplined life. They are complete celibates, no sex, no masturbation, no lust in mind. Absolutely no lying, they cannot kill or participate in killing(no meat), they must not be attached to material things like wealth, they leave their homes and go to cave an meditate for hours at a time. So as you can see, even if yoga were the “evil” works of the devil that evangelicals make it out to be. Most people will never practice real yoga!
All I want to know is did jesus or yoga make the red-heads lips that…full?
O .. M .. G ..
it is not strange that the White Man should feel some ancient stirrings in his soul, and hear a timeless call from beyond, whenever he comes in contact with Hinduism.
For, long before Judaism and Christianity spread to Europe, Europe was largely Hindu. How ?
Centuries before Christ, Alexander the Greek arrogantly invaded India in order to conquer India – only to himself be humbled and won over by the wisdom and beauty of the Hinduism and Buddhism of ancient India.
Alexander’s generals and nobles joyfully embraced Hinduism and Buddhism, and took these Eastern Philosophies with them back to Europe ( Alexander passed away in the Mid-East, during the Greeks’ retreat from India to Europe ).
Thus, Hitler was not altogether wrong, when he tried to trace the Hindu lineage and link of the Germans !
Ancient Europe’s link to Hinduism comes, not from the popular yet erroneous theory of ancient white-Aryans having migrated into present-day India, but from the fact that the sublime wisdom of ancient India flowed out vigorously, yet peacefully, into far away lands, carried forth by visiting scholars and dignitaries, who in turn passed on to Kings under their tutelage this ancient wisdom.
Thus does it come to be that Latin has so very many words of Sanskrit origin.
For example, Volkswagen in the German language would translate to Lok-Vahan in Sanskrit.
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