Yoga benefits all who practice. You don’t have to be Hindu, to practice. There are many health benefits to practicing yoga. I think that the world would be a much better place if everyone would practice yoga. I happen to be Muslim and have a home yoga practice. It helps me dealing with stress and hormonal balance.
Yoga has been proven to have many positive health benefits. It is too bad that many people don’t want to learn about something that is new.
That the practice of yoga precedes Hinduism by millennia may be
countered by Hinduism ‘rejection’ of linear time line limitations.
And so begins the perennial Big Y little y controversy like the Big-Endian/Little-Endian intra-Lilliputian quarrels over the practice of breaking eggs, or which came first.
To say that Yoga isn’t something might be hurtful to someone that deeply believes it is.
To exclude someone from Yoga because they do not follow your deeply personal views of what it is may also be hurtful.
Even considering the ‘slight’ differences to outsiders of major religions may be viewed as slights to and cause deep, even violently powerful reactions from, to, and between believers.
One of the most constant symbols in Yoga is the lotus.
There are many petals that make up a lotus.
We can at least agree that it is beautiful.
What we experience in our consideration of the lotus is personal.
It is formed by both our past experiences, but also our present even presence, and on to and through our futures. (sic)
In your own time consider the vital and powerful root system, it runs deep.
Ismaila,
The root cause of the problem whether ‘Yoga belongs to Hindus’ is hiding in your own statement in the beginning of this thread.
Can you see that you have a deep-rooted division in your perception that there are “different” religions in the world? Can you see that someone else’s truth bothers you because your truth is relative and fragile? Can you see that a ‘thing’ must belong to ‘someone’ is also your conviction? Yoga too for you is a ‘thing’?
How my friend, in the same breath, you can say that Yoga belongs to all? Only by growing, experiencing subtly can one see the commonality in apparently diverse things. And then, everything appears connected, not divided. Yoga is then realized as all-embracing and nothing/ no one can take it away from you.
[QUOTE=IsmailaGodHasHeard;66790]So before people of any religion go and assume based on stereotypes, learn the facts.[/QUOTE]
Sure, we SHOULD learn facts. Here are some facts from the Yogasutras.
Chapter 1, Sutra 2: Yogashchittavrittinirodhaha - “Yoga is the restraint of mental modifications.”
Yoga can be Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, or Christian.
Given the definition above of Yoga, do you find any mention of Allah, YHWH, Mohammed, Jesus, etc. here? If not, how can Yoga be Muslim, Jewish or Christian? At the highest levels of Yoga, one discovers the Purusha [soul] as being distinct from Prakriti [matter/nature]. This leads to release from the cycles of birth and death as continuous experience of Samadhi leads to burning the seeds of Karma.
If one believes one particular religion alone leads to eternal heaven and everybody else who doesnt follow this religion is on a fast track to eternal hell, he/she has not understood Yoga.
Very Nicely put, Suhas.
Etymology of the word Yoga :- Sanskrit Root “Yuk” meaning to join or Union. Union of th individual self with the Universal Self. ie Atman with Brahman. Both these terms arise in Hindu philosophy. So to that extent, if you are practicing Yoga with a view to self realisation, I suppose one could be said to have some belief in the Hindu philosophy.
It is, however, perfectly possible to divorce the Atman/Brahman concept and still practice Yoga… but there would be still some concept resembling Brahman.call it what we will…Buddha , Universal Consciousness whatever. But a man who truly practices Yoga and is advanced on the path , goes beyond duality. So when all is one reality, distinctions fall away for it is not possible for the word distinction to have meaning unless there is some “other” which is negated by Yoga. A true Yogi takes no sides for he has none to take. He sees the self in all living and non living things. He has risen beyond Hindu, Christian or Moslem. He is beyond Good and bad… beyond duality.
[QUOTE=Suhas Tambe;67739]Ismaila,
The root cause of the problem whether ‘Yoga belongs to Hindus’ is hiding in your own statement in the beginning of this thread.
Can you see that you have a deep-rooted division in your perception that there are “different” religions in the world? Can you see that someone else’s truth bothers you because your truth is relative and fragile? Can you see that a ‘thing’ must belong to ‘someone’ is also your conviction? Yoga too for you is a ‘thing’?
How my friend, in the same breath, you can say that Yoga belongs to all? Only by growing, experiencing subtly can one see the commonality in apparently diverse things. And then, everything appears connected, not divided. Yoga is then realized as all-embracing and nothing/ no one can take it away from you.[/QUOTE]
I have to say that after reading all of surya deva’s posts I would never want to become a hindu or a yogi. The intention appears to be nothing more than a prideful need to be right, this is most unappealing. Stretching my body and breathing and offering thanks as I do it and being grateful to who I worship as God does not belong to anyone. People have stretched and breathed and worshiped since the beginning of time and will do till the end (whatever that means) If someone wants to read the bible and not become a Christian yet gets good stuff out of it and if they even want to try to sell it, thats their business. I keep my eyes on my own fries~
:-o[QUOTE=yogi33;67779]I have to say that after reading all of surya deva’s posts I would never want to become a hindu or a yogi. The intention appears to be nothing more than a prideful need to be right, this is most unappealing. Stretching my body and breathing and offering thanks as I do it and being grateful to who I worship as God does not belong to anyone. People have stretched and breathed and worshiped since the beginning of time and will do till the end (whatever that means) If someone wants to read the bible and not become a Christian yet gets good stuff out of it and if they even want to try to sell it, thats their business. I keep my eyes on my own fries~[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=yogi33;67779]Stretching my body and breathing and offering thanks as I do it and being grateful to who I worship as God does not belong to anyone. People have stretched and breathed and worshiped since the beginning of time and will do till the end (whatever that means) If someone wants to read the bible and not become a Christian yet gets good stuff out of it and if they even want to try to sell it, thats their business.[/QUOTE]
Yoga is not just stretching and breathing. Aerobics or warm-up exercises done in the gym are more like it.
Yoga has a philosophy/metaphysics behind it. It is always useful to understand what this is. This metaphysics does not allow for eternal hellfire for pagans, polytheists, graven-image worshippers, idolators, non-believers or proselytization of the infidel.
I have no problem with Christians cherry-picking the “good” verses of their books. Everybody does that with their respective holy books to some extent. But what passes as Abrahamic discourse is “my way only or eternal hellfire for you heathen”. There is no room in Yoga for such hatemongering.
If you really believe that non-Muslims or non-Christians are on a one-way street to hell, you are not a Yogi.
If a Christian/Muslim Yogi loves Jesus/Mohammed so much and they worship their God so much that their heart overflows with hatred of non-Christians/non-Muslims respectively, she is not doing Yoga properly - as simple as that.
So, to be a good Yogi, IMHO, one needs to be secular, broadminded and should give up belief in ideas like eternal hellfire for the heathen, etc.
[QUOTE=IsmailaGodHasHeard;66790]Yoga is for any patient person who believes in God. I am tired of some Christians and some Hindus saying that yoga is Hindu. That is not true. I have practiced yoga in the past and I have never been a Hindu. I have been a Christian since I was fifteen years old. So before people of any religion go and assume based on stereotypes, learn the facts. Yoga can be Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, or Christian. Yoga is what you want it to be. Thank you for listening.[/QUOTE]
Well said… I have been doing yoga nidra for 25 years and even though some Catholics believe that there is something wrong with Yoga Nidra , I think they are ignorant and do not understand what yoga nidra is. Some people say yoga nidra is a spiritual experience…well good for them…I don’t care…it’s a deeply relaxing experience for me and a great way to relax and relieve anxiety. To me yoga nidra is a formula which can be described as a relaxation practice.
Well put Albert 
I have only been practicing yoga for only 18 months. It is very beneficial in calming and relaxing. Also, it has increased flexibility. I also teach young children on the Autism spectrum. I incorporate some yoga with my students. It calms their systems, especially after lunch. When I think of YOGA, I look at how it benefits everyone.
There are many Indian players that are great at Monopoly board game! lol.
Basically the word “YOGA” (a long vowel sound “A”=> “aaaaa” itself is meaningless.
Is it denied the word “Yogam” is a Sanskrit word and it has a specific meaning ?
Yogam is derived from the root word (Dhatup)“Yuj” means Union or Yoke. This is Superficial–there is an Esoteric and Occult meaning–I will discuss it later.
Yogam is Noun and Yoga (short vowel sound “A”) is adjective.
Sahasra Yogam–Medical preparations (Pharmacopeia)
Gaja-Keasri Yogam–planets relative position (Astronomy)
Neecha Banga Raja Yogam–(Astrology)
Asaadhmendriyaartha Sam Yogam=Medical Science(Ayurvedham)
Yoga Paathanjalam==what is irrelevantly and irresponsibly used World Wide as "YOGA"
Yoga Vaasistam=Metaphysics
Yoga Ratnaavali=Medical preparations.
is it denied that Yoga Paathanjalam is NOT one of the “Shat Dharsanas” of Sanaathana Dharmam(a.k.a.Hindu Religion) ?
the other Dharsanas being Nyaayam–Vaiseshikam–Saankyam–Yogam–Poorva Meemaamsam–Utthara Meemaamsam (or Vedhaantham)
is Dr.S.Radhakrishnan’s(former President of India --former Professor of Philosophy in OXford-U.K) full Book on “Shat Dharsanas” and their inter-relationships and their Relevance to Religion, meaningless ?
One may practice or Not practice YOGAA–with the attitude “I don’t care,whether it is Relgion or Not-Relgion”–but one can NOT say that it is NOT a part of a religion
Now let me wait for “Feed-back” and then continue
I practice just for the health benefits, that’s it.
[QUOTE=IsmailaGodHasHeard;66790] Yoga is what you want it to be.
[/QUOTE]
Most certainly, I have heard that for many yoga moghuls it was a way to get rich quick, for many young guys it is a way to pick up chicks, while for others it is way to get in shape without having to do actual exercise. These reasons all supersede whatever the hell it was those silly Indians did for millenia, because objectively yoga is what you want it to be.
[QUOTE=specialt;68949]I practice just for the health benefits, that’s it.[/QUOTE] Cool…
Yoga is unity…yoga can be part of a religion…including Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc…and very much so. I, as a Christian, I believe in God…a higher power…but I also believe in finding myself…in learning who I am and what my purpose is…in becoming familiar with my mind and body. Religion is not a part of yoga…it has been on this earth before Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc, therefore I see absolutely no push and pull between the two…and in my life they marry beautifully. In fact, I feel that they compliment one another only to help unify my practice. Key work “MY” practice…and no matter who stands on their pedestal and pretends they know this and that…tries to interfere by bringing in the all knowing argument of what is what…Yoga is its own ‘entity’ so to speak. We as humans are too little to comprehend God, just like we are too little to comprehend what yoga really is…
So while we are here on this earth for the short time that is given to us, why argue about something that we do not understand instead of embracing it and spending our precious lives learning…developing…unifying?
The world is too segregated, corrupted and confused…Yoga might be one of the only practices on this earth that brings all sorts of people from all walks of life together. Why ruin that by claiming it as belonging to a specific person, religion, culture or even ethnicity?
I do not like to use words like monopoly and property, these are the wrong words to use. This never was an issue of possesion. Actually the Indic religions don’t have a problem with anyone doing yoga, the problem is within the antagonistic religions themselves. They are the ones who have a problem with yoga. There are two camps in the western religions, one that is trying to stay true to their own scripture and avoids all the doctrines and practices that come with the Indic religions and the other who tries to appropiate all the techniques in order to give their own religion an upgrade. The only thing that matters is that if people want to learn yoga, they should do so with acknowledgement and respect to its origin. In the past few centuries the west has been very receptive to the pragmatism of eastern spiritual techniques, but it is also important to realise that these techniques are part of a larger cultural, religious and historical background. Yoga is much more than a bag of techniques and a little bit of armchair philosophy. Anyone who is serious about yoga should have a very deep appreciation of the Indic traditions, an openness to its teachings, without trying to succumb to blind universalism and extreme reductionism to make it more palatable. If someone wants to practice yoga while remaining a member of their abrahamic religion, they should be respectful to the dichotomies between these paths and concious of the concessions they’ll have to make in either one direction.
[QUOTE=Sarvamaṅgalamaṅgalā;72440] Actually the Indic religions don’t have a problem with anyone doing yoga, the problem is within the antagonistic religions themselves. They are the ones who have a problem with yoga…[/QUOTE]
The Ultimate Goal is silence of the mind- the no mind as the Buddhists call it, Chitta Vritti Nirodhah !
As long as whatever practice you follow takes you there - it is Yoga. Yoga after all means Union with the Universal Consciousness & that is the aim of all spiritual practices.
I agree, my stand on the issue is very different now: Yoga belongs to the category of science. In fact the subject matter of Yoga, meditation in order to still and observe the activities of a mind is now a well established area of research in science. We know a lot more now about the physiological conditions and effects of meditation practice now, and have far better technologies and some promising new ones that will enable us to cultivate higher states of mind(the goal of Yoga) more easily and effectively.
The ancients have done a fantastic job in researching the mind and modern science is very indebted to them, but the ancients clearly have not exhausted the area of research here. Modern science is obviously not a religion. So it will borrow freely from Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Gnosticism, Sufism in order to draw from a body of knowledge, synthesize it into a scientific format and help that to bring about future advances
The problem I have with Hindus is that they are treating their body of philosophy, science and culture like a religion, what really should belong to science. Hinduism as a religion is a pointless exercise, it will lead us nowhere. There really is no need for its traditions, rituals, mythology in the 21st century. There is no need to preserve any of this - what does need to be drawn from though is the brilliant research they have done in the study of the mind. However, whatever research they have done, is now pretty much exhausted. It is time to advance on that research.
My vision for the future is a world where cultivating higher states of mind is an easy and effortless process. A world where all humans are using 100% of their capacity. An enlightened world where everybody is a Buddha.