Thank you Suhas Tambe.
I feel a little caught in the middle, because I would like to encourage other Catholics to do yoga, but some are concerned it means to practice another religion, and therefore will not consider it.
But many of those involved in Yoga say it is not a religion, that all are welcome, and that you can make it whatever you want it to be.
But then in the actual classes, some teachers seem to be adding what seem to be elements of religion, and I had a particular teacher that was a little preachy, so it seems that sometimes the teacher brings her own religion into the class, and from my perspective that’s not respectful of others in the class who might be of a different faith. As a Catholic, if I were a teacher I would not ask my students to say an “Our Father and three Hail Marys.” That would be to impose my own beliefs on them.
However, if they intend it to be a religion, then that’s their business and right, but that should be well communicated before going to a yoga class, since most people who are beginners think of yoga as “exercise.”
For me, Yoga is a wonderful form of exercise, a way to tone and stretch, a way to feel like 30 again, and a opportunity to do cool things like headstands and other tricks. On a loftier note, the discipline of it does make me more introspective and meditative, but that leads me back to my own faith.
I have been reading Patanjali’s aphorisms, and there is much of interest to me, but again, I see it in the light of my own religion, and how so much of it corresponds to what I already believe, but I reject anything that has to do with reincarnation or that all is one.
I believe the eight limbs could most definately lead someone to leading an exemplary life, but if one is dilligently practicing Catholicism, for example, much of that ground is already covered. So I really just want the asanas.
Is that still “Yoga”?
I think those who teach yoga to people like me who come to a studio off the street need to do a better job of communicating what they are actually teaching and what to expect.
And is there anything wrong with simply stripping the asanas out of yoga and practicing just them?
If someone were to take a uniquely Catholic prayer–the Rosary–and pray it daily with no belief in Catholicism and no intention to be a Catholic, they still might find it a worthwhile endeavor that brings them peace, and though they would not be practing Catholicm, no Catholic would fault them for using a Catholic prayer as their own private devotion.
Anyway, I’m trying to understand all this and sort it out, and that’s the main reason I came to this forum–hoping some could shed some light on it.
Though I am mainly doing the asanas, may I still call that a “Yoga practice” or is that being disprespectful to the true meaning of Yoga?
