Light on Christian Yoga

Gratitude - TEDxSF - Louie Schwartzberg

2012-01-28T19:45:00.002-05:00

Yoga Journal Magazine December 2011 Article: Does Yoga Conflict With Your Religion?

2011-12-27T13:22:00.010-05:00

To read the article, click on "Full Screen" at bottom left hand side of post, then type 85 of 116 further to the right and hit enter.

Yoga Journal December 2011: Article on Page 85, Does Yoga Conflict with Your Religion?

We are all on a journey

2011-05-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

I just recently read over all of the comments on several different posts and I'd like to address some of the hostile comments pertaining to Christians or Westerners who practice yoga. I am not an expert, I am a student, and I happen to be a student that learns the hard way. I've shared my personal experiences, and the fact that I have had and continue to have struggles as a Catholic who practices yoga. As a Christian, what I really desire deep down is a real relationship with Jesus Christ, to know Him as a person. Yoga offers a different perspective: how do I see myself and the potential that is so innate inside of me and inside of every person. How can I tap into my own potential and strive towards a more truthful union with God, Jesus Christ? I believe my struggles arose because I tried to delve so deeply into all of the dynamics that were going in inside of me, and I've learned the hard way to keep it simple. To delve into the spiritual, religious cause and effect of being a Christian who practices yoga opens up a whirlpool of confusion, endless questions, and unhealthiness. I love the practice of yoga! My God is Jesus Christ! Come what may there it is. I was taught and I practice a westernized version of yoga, Baptiste Power Yoga and I love it. Baron Baptiste created the Power Yoga flow. Baron's father, Walt Baptiste, was one of the first to introduce yoga in the West, the details are on his website

The wonderful thing about yoga is the holistic approach to living and being, the focus being on tapping into your own innate potential, seeing yourself in a new light. The discipline and the program does not delve into religious beliefs, but it is open to people of all religions and spiritual practices, and we all find common ground by practicing yoga together. We all have bodies, and we all have our unique challenges. My experience in a yoga class is that all of the dynamics/beliefs/lifestyles/differences that divide us disappear by the end of class, and we can smile at each other. We just shared 90 minutes together going through the same challenging sequence, and we found common ground. Yoga has helped me to be a better person, to find balance in my life, and it has helped so many people to be better people.

I believe yoga can be a catalyst to dissipate the differences that divide us and prevent us from seeing each other as fellow human beings all on a journey.

Seek and You Will Find

2010-02-28T21:57:00.022-05:00

"To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances;

To seek Him, the greatest adventure;

To find Him, the greatest human achievement." ~St. Augustine

Everyone one of us seeking God is on a journey.

All of us learning inevitably will make mistakes along this journey because we are human, especially if we make bold decisions and act on our inspirations, we might get it wrong sometimes- that is no excuse to quit.

Somehow, we have to find it within ourselves to keep believing, to keep searching for the truth...

I recently received an email from an intelligent young lady discerning deepening her yoga practice and even teaching yoga. She offered several interesting questions, and with her permission, the following is part of her email and my answers:

I have done some yoga myself, just following a video and really like it for all the health benefits of mind and body. Of course I understand that the eastern meditation is not congruent with all tenets of Christian prayer and I have read the Vatican documents (J.C. the Bearer of the Water of Life, and the one put out by JPII in 1989, can't think of the name) which warn of syncretism and the like. I was looking for someone to discuss with me just a little further about how yoga can be compatible with Christianity in general and Catholicism specifically. Perhaps you can just respond to these objections I've heard from people who say Catholics shouldn't do yoga

(I know, we're getting all Aquinas-y here):

1. Because yoga was originally a type of worship of pagan gods and as Catholics, we believe that our bodies are intimately connected and reveal our souls, when we do yoga we are participating in a pagan act/ritual of worship (even though we may not be conscious of it) with our bodies, therefore our souls are also participating in this.
I don't believe this, if you go to mass and pray to Christ and love Christ and sincerely want to do His will- how on earth can a good physical healthy yoga practice be harmful to your soul

The more you learn about something- whether it's yoga, Christianity, Acting, Music, whatever- the more you come to the realization of how very little you know, and that is where I am right now...

I think yoga is misunderstood by many devoted Christians- that is my understanding right now. It has very much to do with a person's circumstances, where they are spiritually and mentally, and most of all how firmly is their heart set on Christ because that is the most important thing! On the other hand, I really think yoga has the potential to save a person who does not feel comfortable and/or connected, or welcomed in a Church. I have not only seen this but experienced it myself. After my first yoga class, I naturally wanted to be whole, healthy, and maintain this peaceful, present state I experienced in yoga.One example, check out: streetyoga.org

2. We should not do yoga because the meditation is completely self-centered and self-seeking. It leads us to focus more on ourselves then on God.

Okay, I did get into the whole meditation and practice of presence...again, this totally depends on where a person is at spiritually, emotionally, mentally. I do not think yogic meditation will bring you closer to Jesus Christ. I do believe meditation can increase one's self awareness, give a person a sense of peace within themselves, and creates a state of inner harmony so that they can focus and think more clearly on a given task (which is why I incorporated yoga class into my final project for Teaching Theater). These are not bad things, and they can be extremely healing for a person who needs it.But Christ offers true peace- it is a relationship with Christ who can center us and lead us through the sacraments and through prayer to an encounter with Him. This is the truest and best meditation. The rosary is what I have gone back to and what I pray now- and it is wonderful!!! I am at that place now where I want Christ more than a personal feeling of well being, and I do not think the two are synonymous. Is that bad- NO!...but that is what I believe through what I have seen and experienced.
3. One thing I thought interesting that was mentioned in J.C. the Bearer of the Water... was that certain positions of yoga can evoke certain emotions or states of being (that's not quite how they put it) that can be confused with an authentic spiritual experience. I guess you could conclude that one should be wary of this and perhaps of yoga in general? But how often does this happen?

Actually, that is what I initially got so excited about when I started my blog and was going through teacher training- there have been very highly acclaimed therapy books written on this topic, check out: The Core of Our Being In this way, yoga can bring up and release buried emotions and memories- so that we can be free of them. I think this can actually be very therapeutic. Yoga is for the human, it can be therapeutic and healing in this way, again on a practical and human level.

I keep wanting more than just what I personally feel or think is right, I know there is more out there than just me and my own abilities, I know I can be more than just a good person, I know it is possible to have a personal relationship with Christ, that that is Everything, that That IS the goal.

I think it takes more than yoga to get us to that divine place where Christ communicates with us personally- it takes a sincere desire and Effort towards Christ. I am finding that prayer and this strange concept called penance seems to be the way to find Jesus-

the Ultimate Good and Joy that surpasses all joys and desires.

Paradox

2010-01-25T15:43:00.008-05:00

Power Yoga: human power, discovering your own strength, powering through difficulties and personal blocks, Digging deep to tap into your unique, pure potential!

Christianity: the more surrender; the more I give up my personal power- the closer I come to know God- God as He is, Himself. However long it takes, the more I learn how to surrender to God, the more I discover true power and beauty, that innate Something

I have always longed for that something that nothing else quite gets at...or just momentarily gets at and then fades or changes over time. You know when you're on a high, you don't want to come down...if you're like me, you can't stand it when you've got your heart set on something and someone tells you "that's not possible", "you can't do that!"...my constant stubborn response to this is "Yes I Can!!!" I even taught that in my yoga classes:
"Yes You Can!"
"There is no such thing as Can't!!!"
"Can't is a Four-Letter-Word!"
"Don't think- DO!"

There is something to that...and whether or not I can somehow make this self-empowerment philosophy and yoga practice work with Christianity...it Does NOT even matter to me anymore...not because I've lost interest in the subject or even in yoga- I haven't. That is not the point...the point is I'm missing the Real Point, or maybe I just had to go through all of this to get at the real point! The pathway of Christianity is the exact opposite of Power Yoga: we need fear of God...to surrender to His power which is Real. God's Power is not something I can achieve by my own human potential and capabilities...God's power can only be Known, by complete and total hopelessness- total and utter surrender, being sincerely willing to allow God to annihilate you completely if that be His will, so that He can fill you up completely with True Power, Beauty, and Total Love and that Will last And Grow...Forever!
It's the polar opposite of Power Yoga!

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."- Matthew 10:28

That sounds dreadful....

but Christ Himself Said it!!

So I have to LISTEN and allow myself to get it, to be changed and converted by His words...otherwise I'm not getting to know Him as He really is...because I don't want to- I don't want to hear that!
Complete TRUST in God, letting go of my own power is my yoga practice today-
I PRAY like I practiced yoga and I can sense this little seed of faith percolating...

Love

2010-01-09T20:29:00.008-05:00

Where is my heart? What do I really want, let's be honest...it is not God's will.
If I wanted God's will...truly, deeply, like the great saints, none of this would matter...irrelevant.

God's will is Not my will.

To be a Christian means to be in a relationship with God...not just at a distance, but to allow yourself to be seen by Him.

That's hard...how does one do that?

Well, there are many Christians who have a hard time accepting Mary as Someone to pray to. Yet, if God brought His Son to us through Mary, then she can bring us to Him.

My heart is changing...and what I want, more than anything, is to live inside of God's will...a life long challenge, but not so confusing when we look to Him for guidance and strength~ He is with us!!!

Teaching

2009-10-26T23:39:00.003-04:00

It seems that it keeps coming back to this...teaching. How can I teach? How can I teach and serve God genuinely and whole-heartedly? I am taking a Directing class for my last semester of my masters program in Theatre Education. I have come to take a great liking to directing and working with actors...creating something from a playwright's work. It is a LOT of fun! And a LOT of work!

There is this phenomenal book we are reading: Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone
I cannot put it down!

"'...The sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practises the teaching that uses no words...When his task is accomplished and his work done the people all say, 'It happened to us naturally'...I prefer stillness and the people are rectified of themselves; I am not meddlesome and the people prosper of themselves. I am free from desire and the people of themselves become simple like the uncarved block...One who excels in employing others humbles himself before them. This is the known virtue of non-contention; this is known as making use of the efforts of others...To know yet to think that one does not know best...The sage does not hoard. Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more; having given all he has to others, he is richer still. The way of heaven benefits and does not harm; the way of the sage is bountiful and does not contend.'" -excerpt from Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre
quote from the Tao te Ching

CUA Power Yoga Class

2009-09-24T15:59:00.007-04:00

Do you know, I have been teaching yoga at the Catholic University of America Fitness Center for over 4 years now...the classes are sometimes larger, about 20 students, but most often, a comfortable group of regulars shows up every week of about 8-15 students.
Not This Semester!!!
Just when I think I am DONE...just when I think it's Over, I failed...
It's NOT!!!This year, I am teaching twice weekly rather than once @ Catholic University,
and there about 3x the amount of students!
The Power Yoga Class at Catholic University Blew UP this year- and look at what I'm going through! (see last post)
God truly does use the weak and makes them Strong, so that I realize just how much
True Power comes from Him, not from me!

Yoga & Prayer

2009-09-12T12:43:00.012-04:00

I feel completely broken down....like completely.
Maybe that is a good thing?

The personal striving, the striving after some ideal or some goal which may not in fact be me or God's will for me is simply not working on the grand scale I had hoped for.
Perhaps that desire is just getting in the way...getting in the way of what it is I truly want & desire, and that is to let loose the love of God in my own life and heart and soul...to let it loose! To free all of the grace of God up in my life!

I have been finding so much solace, consolation, and guidance in prayer. Prayer has taken the priority in my life over and above yoga practice. Slowly but surely, I am realizing that yoga is for us as human beings- perfecting us as human beings, at least as yoga is taught here in the West. It is healthy and good, and can really help people on a therapeutic level. But I did not realize how much my focus was indeed more on myself in yoga, and not as much on God and His will. I felt as though the focus on myself was a striving towards God, and so it was confusing.
Since focusing my energy now on praying the rosary, daily mass, in other words, spending a substantial amount of time in prayer each day, instead of yoga practice, what I really wanted and want deep down, is not to be perfect according to human standards, but to be inside of God's favor...and I feel broken, but at the same time, free!

So, perhaps yoga was a way for me to focus myself back on the quest for God, and on my desire to be healthy, whole. Yoga did that, I felt integrated and empowered in a way I had never felt before yoga.
For me, yoga practice turned into a personal journey to God and the truth of God for me as a Catholic, rather than a continual self-empowerment upward climb, i.e., Journey Into Power.

At this stage in my spiritual journey, I realize by experience that prayer is where the Real Power is!

August 14th - My Birthday & Acro Yoga

2009-08-22T22:31:00.001-04:00

MA Final Project

2009-07-18T22:31:00.008-04:00

>I just completed my final project for the MA in Theatre Education this past week!
It was difficult because I have never actually taught in a classroom setting before and I have never actually taught drama, although I have been taking Drama and Education classes for the past 2 years! I was extremely unconfident about it!!
But...the kids were so great- I had to teach them for 7 hours a day, 5 days in a row!! Impossible for even a seasoned teacher to keep their attention for that amount of time! The first day I held their attention, I held it together and had everything perfectly planned. Second day, they saw through the cracks!! My energy level was low and they saw me flounder...this is my first time to teach this! That was the awesomeness of it- they saw me and I saw them...and when my advisor came to observe me on the last day of the workshop, every one of these kids stepped up to the plate and cooperated to their utmost! I was so GRATEFUL! They knew I was new at this and that I was getting a grade, so, in their own special way, they reached out to help ME! It was amazing, and I am grateful I got this opportunity to meet them!

Wisdom from "Anonymous"

2009-05-30T13:26:00.004-04:00

About a year ago, I created a post confessing that I was honestly very confused:

"Is yoga good for Christians? Now I'm asking..."

I went back recently and re-read the comments. An Anonymous person replied with the most beautiful, comforting, and wisdom-filled words, and I would like to share it again:

Hi Melisa- "Yogash Chittam Vrtti Nirodhah" - "Union [Yoga] is the cessation of the modifications of the mind." -YogaSutra I:2.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." -Phillipians 4:7

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." -John 14:27

There is no disharmony between Yoga and Christ; both are different terms for the One Truth: Reality. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -John 8:33

Yogis who have realized the truth of their own nature are known as Jnanis - "Knowers" - they are also known as Jivan-Muktis - those who are "Liberated while living."

"For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." -Luke 17:21

What, though, about Salvation? The word Salvation comes from the Latin sal, which originated from the Sanskrit, Sarvah - Wholeness, Completeness.

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." -Matthew 5:48

Yes, Perfect. From the Latin Perfectus - "Completed."

"Tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam" - "The seer [yogi or yogini] becomes established in his or her own nature." - Yoga Sutra I.3

What does this mean? "This false feeling that we are different from others, that things are constituted of isolated particularities, leaves us; and we get established in our essential nature, which is the community of existence in all things, and not an isolated individuality. This establishment of one's own self in one's own true nature, in universal character, is the aim of Yoga." -Swami Krishnananda

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." -Mathhew 22:39

Not "as if thy neighbor is thyself" ..... "AS thy self."

Could it just possibly be that the truth of Christ and the truth of Yoga point to the same, One Truth - that Reality is actually Advaita - literally "Not Two"? Yes.Though I certainly wouldn't ask you to believe me. I ask you to keep practicing yoga; keep an open and sincere heart, and know.

And enjoy the freedom that Christ showed: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." -John 14:6 So how do we do this? By trying to fit into the ever vacillating outlooks of Catholic or Christian culture? Maybe not. Maybe it's a lot more simple than that."Love one another, as I have loved you." -John 15:12

Practicing yoga, you may never harmonize with the opinions of Catholic Church members, or other Christian cultures or egos.However, practicing yoga, you can know Christ, and live as that liberated knowing; as the pure love of Christ. And as you do, you'll find you are in good company:Web Site in Memory of Catholic Hindu Monk, Bede Griffiths Catholic Monk Who Introduced the Benefits of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern Paths to the West.

Peace Be With You; Namaste.

Back to the Basics

2009-05-24T17:06:00.010-04:00

I would just like to thank everyone who offers their viewpoints on this blog in the form of comments...you are very welcome to post them! This blog was meant to be an open sharing and dialogue of ideas, beliefs, and experiences on the subject of Christians who practice yoga. We all have feelings, so please be respectful of that! Thank you!

I remember when I was an undergraduate at Franciscan University, almost everyone went to daily mass. I was immersed in a Catholic culture that was absolutely alive with faith and love for Jesus Christ. I lived in a dorm room right next to the chapel, and went in there almost every night along with several other girls from the dorm. The call to love Jesus was not hard to hear, His presence was easily felt. I did not know exactly how to reciprocate this love for Christ...I was involved in theatre, and felt I needed a way to express my faith life in a very direct and alive way, other than being a nun.

I took my first yoga class five years later, after five years of living the un-inhibited teenage years I never had, and the experience was unbelievable. The class was very challenging, but by the end of the 90 minutes, I was completely open and receptive in a way I had not been since being at Franciscan University. I had a sense of clarity that I so desperately needed to get back on the right track with my life. The desire to go out to the club, to get attention, completely went away. I felt very peacefully centered..and I had been Longing for this grounding that seemed to nowhere to be found, not even in the local parish.

I believe there needs to be more "allowed" ways, outlets, for those who love Christ to express this love. If yoga can help me to get back on the right track, no matter how lost or wounded I am, it can help others to. If it can help me and others get back on the right track, that is one step closer to the Ultimate Peace and Joy, found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

True North

2009-05-09T22:54:00.010-04:00

There is a phrase that Baron Baptiste uses while teaching yoga- "Follow Your True North", that is, find and stay true to who you really are at the deepest level.

Since I first started yoga, I've noticed a subtle "pressure" by the yoga teachers I've had to change, to come into the "yogic light", if you will. My true north is not the same as my yoga teacher's, no matter how great a teacher they may be!

What yoga has done for me is made me more aware of who I am, and who I am meant to be.
If I lose my connection to my faith by giving way to ambition to succeed, I lose my inspiration, and I am not following my true north-being true to myself at the deepest level....
If you're Not living in your true north, you can't be happy.
My True North is to Live my deepest beliefs and desires, to make them a reality...and to express this through teaching...more of an art than a science...

Went to Rome for Holy Week...

2009-04-22T21:06:00.005-04:00

There's No Place Like Rome!

Except perhaps...DC and New York. Rome is very much a city: metro, train, buses, cabs, traffic.

But then there are the ancient ruins dotted here and there- everywhere! and walking around sacred ground where saints and martyrs gave their lives for the faith...

And then there are the natives, Italian people, who have such a rich culture and way of living and being...I Love Italian people.

And of course...The Roman Catholic Church. This is where it ALL started...this is where the heart of the Church is located, the seat of power as it were. It's interesting to me that the Church is SO influenced by Italian culture and tradition! Yet, we call the Catholic Church universal. Catholic means "Universal". I began to realize that maybe that is the ideal, but reality is, Italian culture may be considered "The Way" for Catholics to be...hmmm. something to think about anyway

Centering Prayer

2009-04-01T16:07:00.003-04:00

I just returned from a "Centering Prayer" retreat with Father Thomas Keating this past weekend in NY. Can I tell you how amazing it is to have 130 people sitting together in the same space, in total silence?We meditated together 3 times a day for 1 hour each time. The silence was almost tangible...This is where it's at!!! - it is yoga in the sense that all of these people, different ages, backgrounds, belief systems, we were all one, I felt it- oneness, unity, when everything and everyone is working together towards the same thing- it's like shivasana at the end of a really great yoga class. This silence shared by the group was like...you don't really care how wrong or right these people are, you just want to understand and be there with and for that person. It's like that with the centering prayer- you become one.
How many times have I heard the great yoga instructors say the phrase "Be light"..."Be light" means stop focusing on what's wrong and lets begin focusing on what's right...
"Be the Change You Want to See..."

If You Do What You've Always Done...

2009-03-15T22:47:00.003-04:00

So...I am changing things up a bit- decided to train in Budokon:
Budokon® is a blend of martial arts, yoga and meditation. The practice was created by Kancho Cameron Shayne in 2000 as a result of his 20 years of study in the yogic, martial and living arts. The Budokon® yogic movements focus on the yin aspects of stillness and mind/body connectivity, and dances between agility, control, power, balance and flow.

I completed phase 1 of 4 of the accelerated teacher training for the red belt. Here is a little of a Budokon class I took this past Saturday taught by Sensai MiMi:

Following God... Uninhibitedly

2009-02-15T11:14:00.006-05:00

We all want to feel right, to feel like we are the best, that we are fulfilling our mission or purpose in our lives. We all want to know in the deepest parts of our being that we are loved by God and that we are responding fully to God's love by the way we live our lives and our beliefs.
This is probably a fairly accurate description of the reason why we pray, read, search or take the time to explore various topics on this blog...

I am starting to realize the cause of anger between people of different beliefs and value systems is the self preservation of their commitment to their specific path to God. To open up to a truth from a different religion, to truly realize that there may some truth there, would be to jeopardize my belief that I have the full truth, that I am on the Best path for me, that I am sailing toward God uninhibited...

Those of us who follow Christ can take a look at His life and see if He, the Son of God, sailed uninhibited toward His Father in Heaven. Yes, He did, but not according to what the world saw or understood. In the eyes of everyone on earth, Christ was followed by many, but was rejected by many. He lived a "dangerous" life in that He accused the leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees, of hypocrisy...and Christ was a Jew! He was literally revealing the reality of these Pharisees in front of everyone. How bold and dangerous that must have been at that time! And we know what ultimately happened- His own people rejected Him and had Christ scourged, mocked and crucified alongside criminals. Now, if Christ Whom we follow was uninhibited in His journey toward the Father in His life...then we have to understand that sometimes the Best way to follow God means going against the current fashion- including those inside religious circles. I say this because, if you've read my past posts, you will see that I have struggled alot with feeling like an outsider among my friends in the Church as a Catholic who teaches yoga...

Just because you commit yourself to following Christ and living a Christian life does not always mean you will have a free flowing, easy, secure journey there. Sometimes, you might need to suffer to find your place in Christ's plan, even if that means going against the flow of what your Christian friends tell you.

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians Ch.6: 1-13, He warns the church in Corinth against over-confidence:

"I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert...These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us...Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall. No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it."

So what I'm saying, to be so focused on the truths of one's faith as to blot out the truth and beauty found in other faith traditions is not reality. It's not. Creation, the world we live in, the solar system, the stars, were made from an explosion, an expansion. The creation of mankind and the planets was not a neat, orderly process of "perfection" as we humans define it, but a chaotic event that brought about a new world and new life.

If we could only transcend those boundaries that keep us divided, and that cause so much hurt and anger, we could be at ease enough to see the a more complete picture and perhaps desire a new commitment to the fullness of truth to which every single one of us is called.

I have found that my yoga practice gets me connected to that longing for God- that is universal to every human being on earth…that longing to be loved and to love the One, True, Living, Omnipotent God.

Growth Entails Healing

2009-01-27T18:54:00.012-05:00

"Growth entails healing. At this time in humanity most people have been hurt fairly seriously in the growth process and unless they do their healing and work through this negativity, they will never become totally who they are." - Sister Evalene from the movie "One"

Yoga is a way to look at yourself more deeply. I think that for most people, hard things will eventually show up, and we can face it through yoga practice, or soothe ourselves and make the pain go away. Yoga is not a heal all miracle worker that heals all ills. Yoga is not a religion. My yoga practice can actually be an obstacle to healing if I use it to hide from my problems...from the negativity that is just waiting to show up an hour or two after my practice in the form of angry thoughts or resentment. Yoga can be similar to eating for emotional comfort or over-exercising to run away from unpleasant feelings or realities that simply must be faced if we are to heal.

We can abuse yoga practice by doing this, just as we can abuse our bodies by abusing them in other ways.

We have to face the Whole picture, both sides of the coin! We can look at just the shiny side of the coin and ignore the flip side, which may not be so shiny, but both sides are the same coin. We need to see the whole picture and do the work on what needs to be worked on (or through) if we are to be fully who we are...This will most likely be the greatest challenge of a yogi's life, and the greatest gift...!

As a theatre grad student, I have been writing lots of papers including papers on various artists over the years. I like the following quote from Orson Welles when he said:

"For thirty years people have been asking me how I reconcile X with Y! The truthful answer is that I don't. Everything about me is a contradiction and so is everything about everybody else. We are made out of oppositions; we live between two poles. There is a philistine and an aesthete in all of us, and a murderer and a saint. You don't reconcile the poles. You just recognize them."

Both sides of coin...

The Work

2008-12-28T15:48:00.010-05:00

Is it true that we can unlock hidden or buried potential by doing yoga?

The body is an important part of our entire being.

Memories, emotions, unresolved situations all live in our physical bodies.

If we can open up our physical bodies, strengthen and stretch our muscles, increase flexibility and range of motion in our joints by yoga practice, can these physical benefits communicate to our mind, heart and soul? Can we work through what is unresolved or stuck in our spiritual lives by doing yoga?

This is my question.

Baron Baptiste wrote on his book "Journey Into Power":

"The only person who can open the door to the inner truths and lead you to the light is yourself."

We have to make the choice to do the work, to stay present inside the challenge, to face whatever it is that needs to be faced. The decision comes from deep inside. This decision and commitment to face what needs to be faced and to grow and go forwards in our spiritual lives is ultimately up to us: no priest, no rabbi, no sage, not even God Himself, no one can do that work for us! This is what yoga practice has taught me. God gave us free will, we can choose for better or for not so better.

Once we have made this decision to do the hard work to face those hard things that need to be faced, whatever that may be, we can face the choices in our lives with the same commitment, the same passion, the same dedication that we exercise on our mats.

So there is meaningful truth in what Baron Baptiste says- the work, the effort comes from us.

You will get out of your yoga practice what you put into it.

What you bring to your mat- your intention- is of vital importance to the result, what you will get out of it.

The result comes from you and your commitment to the work of the practice.

This important lesson is many times over looked in some religious circles.

God respects our freedom. We are free to stay stuck and we are free to "open the door to the inner truths" which will lead us to The Truth, The Way, The Life.

It is easier to obey when you are free from what emotionally holds you back.

Fascinating Film

2008-12-20T21:05:00.008-05:00

I highly recommend this documentary film which consists of a series of interviews with the current world religious leaders. The film was made by the creators of the 9/11 documentary.

This film was a special on CBS one year ago and was just released on dvd this month. It can be purchased on Amazon.com by clicking on the title of the post...

Is Yoga an Attachment?

2008-11-23T18:23:00.010-05:00

A straight shot to God: I don’t believe it is ever that easy, or simple-

unless God wills it so.
No one aspires to be mediocre…and it seems that if one dabbles here and there in different spiritual or religious practices, you can start to start to become a little mediocre and have a kind of “all-over-the-place” quality.
Mediocrity is the exact opposite of where any spiritual journey is meant to take a person!
If yoga or centering prayer is a distraction to the highest of ideals and a dampening of the desire to reach the heights of sanctity and love, then my attachment to yoga should be “cut off” as Jesus told his disciples in the Gospel: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Better to enter the Kingdom of God with one hand…”
Yoga is not so much something I do anymore as who I am. Yoga is a part of me now, and it gets like that…once you practice and teach for awhile, yoga becomes a part of who you are.
So it’s not so much an attachment, but yoga is much more profound than that. The sincere prayer of my heart is that God will sanctify me as I am and bless my yoga practice and my yoga students and bring us yogi’s closer and to the Truth of who we are in His eyes and help us to know and love Him as He really is!
Pope John Paul II said at the 2002 World Youth Day:
"Dear young people, do not be content with anything less than the highest ideals! Do not let yourselves be dispirited by those who are disillusioned with life and have grown deaf to the deepest and most authentic desires of their heart. You are right to be disappointed with hollow entertainment and passing fads, and with aiming at too little in life. If you have an ardent desire for the Lord you will steer clear of the mediocrity and conformism so widespread in our society."--"You Are the Salt of the Earth"

Something is missing

2008-11-20T15:16:00.009-05:00

Look at the symbol of the Eucharist. It is a perfectly round piece of bread, whole and complete. A mandala is in the shape of a circle, a circle which symbolizes completion, wholeness, unity, oneness.

The following is a common theme in religious communities and in yoga communities:

that there are certain individuals that you are naturally drawn to...you resonate with them, before even saying a word. You just see them and there is some spark of attraction there, an intution that tells you "I want to be their friend".

This is such a cliche but I can't help but say it: We complete one another.

No one is perfectly complete on their own...except maybe a few great ones we call saints

But most of us need other people, community- in a more intimate way than a casual acquaintance kind of way. We need friendship, affection, support, to be known, in order to be more complete and whole as a person. Community is important!

It's interesting...what about those in each community that you and I are Not naturally drawn to...those individuals who, for whatever reason, seem to be on the outside looking in? Those individuals who seem to just not getting it, like the rest of us? Or just hanging back..observing...

In other words, what do we do to those inside our community who we are not naturally drawn to, or who are not naturally drawn ot us?

One possible answer, that I have done myself, would be a personal interior judgment that they are not one of us, that they just don't get it and I will not let their damp energy hamper mine. There are always those people who for whatever reason, rub us the wrong way, get on our nerves, or who simply are not on the "inside" of our particular group dynamics and seem to be robbing us of our enthusiasm! why are they not INTO this??!!!

There is an exercise that St. Therese of Lisieux would do inside her Mt. Carmel community: She would focus on the person that she did not particularly care for, the one that rubbed her the wrong way. She would spend time with and expend her energy on connecting with the one she was not particularly attracted to, as if this was the singular most important thing God wanted from her in that moment.

What would happen if we were to exercise the practice of St. Therese and look at this dynamic as an opportunity to patch up the whole of the community.

We are connected. And if one member suffers, the body as a whole suffers.

Yes, we are attracted to who we are attracted to...but those who we are not, should not be ignored or pushed aside, even in our own minds! This will only increase the distance they are already feeling within the community!

Just as we need the people in our community: their affection, support and esteem, to make us more whole, so too our community as a whole needs these members who are not fully engaged, to feel the same support, understanding, affection that we feel. The community will not be whole until the gaps are filled, and our understanding will not be complete until we see the whole picture...everyone included!

Contemplation & Dialogue

2008-11-09T17:04:00.010-05:00

The following is part of a talk I wrote down from Father Laurence Freeman at the 2008 Contemplative Outreach Conference. Laurence Freeman is a Benedictine monk of the Congregation of Monte Oliveto and Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation:

“To understand the nature of contemplation, first of all as being simple, and that’s universal, the simple is one. And only what is universal can make us one. It has to be universal. It may take many forms but it has to be a common ground. It has to be a common element, you find it everywhere, in every situation….it’s the meaning of the word “Catholic” actually. The Catholic is the universal. So, is contemplation universal? Well, it seems to be…

So how do you answer the question as I’m sure many of you who teach contemplative prayer often hear: ‘Are there some types of people who are better suited for this than others?’ I can’t answer that question; it doesn’t seem to me that there is an answer. There’s no one type of person, when you look at this huge diversity of people who seem to share this universal taste, or this universal capacity, at all ages, at all stages of the human journey, called contemplation. So I don’t know how you answer that question, except perhaps by saying it’s perhaps a matter of timing in your life, whether you are ready for it. Our children are ready for it…childhood seems to be a good time (to teach meditation), later it’s much more unpredictable. It’s also a matter of presentation, who teaches it, whether it’s Paul or Apollos, some people prefer Paul some people prefer Apollos. They told different stories, and had different personalities, some people liked one person and they didn’t like the other. That’s a human element of all communication. And, you cover a lot of ground that way as one vineyard. We work in the same vineyard, but different styles of work perhaps. So timing and presentation are important factors in experiencing the universality of contemplation. But the rest of the evidence seems to show pretty conclusively that it is universal.

It’s also present in all traditions. As I said earlier, at the heart of every major religious tradition you find some similar experience of contemplation: The simple enjoyment of the truth, deeper than words, deeper than the realm of forms and concepts and images, in what we call the heart… The heart is a symbol in all traditions of the universal center of reality; it’s the center of the individual person.

So, where do we not find this contemplative wisdom at the heart of all religious traditions?

It’s the basis, therefore, of our inter-religious dialogue and that’s an absolute necessity for our world. As the world becomes more globalized, the differences between our cultures and traditions are More important, not less. The only way to deal with the differences, except through dialogue, would be to suppress them. Just take an earth mover and take them out- it’s what the Chinese are trying to do in Tibet. Actually unsuccessfully. They’ve done great harm but they haven’t destroyed it. It’s what the Communist tried to do in Eastern Europe, in Russia, didn’t work. Fifty years of imposed persecution, didn’t work. So I don’t think we will be able to replace global religious wisdom and the diversity of its expression by a kind of McDonald’s of spirituality. Not going to work. It would be a very superficial kind of uniformity. We have to live with differences, explore them, and really be explored by them and challenged by them.

And the days of competing are over. We don’t have the privilege anymore, the luxury of sitting around smugly and saying: ‘We have the truth more than you.’ And that leads us to be either condescending, or to be violent. Condescension is really a form of violence; it robs the other of their equality with you.

So today we come before that. We have to learn what dialogue is and that is what the Holy Spirit has been doing in the Church. The Holy Spirit, probably when the Bishops were having a snooze during the Second Vatican Council, slipped in a little verse: ‘The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in other religions.’ Wow. So there IS truth and holiness in other religions! And if there is real truth there and real holiness, are we just going to say ‘Well you keep your truth, and we’ll keep our truth.’ Is that a truthful response to truth? Or do we say: ‘I am fascinated by your truth, and I would like to promote it. And by sharing my experience of the truth with yours maybe we can make the world a more truth-filled place.’ And that truth, as Jesus said, will set us free. So we have to recognize and promote truth out of this contemplative consciousness wherever and however we find it. That’s the Catholic approach.”

Dangers in the Spiritual Journey

2008-10-25T21:25:00.006-04:00

I have been listening to cd’s by Father Thomas Keating, one of which is entitled “The Healing of the Human Condition”. Below is a portion, more or less word for word, from a question posed to Father Thomas Keating regarding people’s concerns about centering prayer being dangerous…

Question: Meditation & centering prayer is dangerous:
People want to meditate but they hear all these rumors and are afraid to undertake the journey…

Answer by Father Keating:
“Life itself is hazardous. every body is going to die. How much security do you have to have to consent to live on this hazardous planet? That’s the way it is. Walk down the street, a window can fall down and kill you. The spiritual life has hazards too.

The greatest hazard is not to take a risk. To stay where you are is the greatest of all hazards. Because if so, you’re finished. This life is a question of growth, and spiritual growth.

So in order to have security…

There are 2 ways of negotiating a rough road in the spiritual journey. Jesus presents it not as a magic carpet to bliss, as I understand it, but as an invitation to Cavalry which by any standard is a rather hazardous place.

2 ways of proceeding on a road that is full of pot holes:
1) pull over to the side of the road and wait for the county to fix it
2) try to weave your way around the obstacles, and I venture to say that this is the method that is more likely to get to the end of the road than the first

Relative difficulty and relative danger. Certainly the false self will be invited to be dismantled (in centering prayer) So if one is attached to that (the false self) there is a great deal of danger.

If you don’t dismantle the false self, what is the danger? The danger is in being under the influence of it’s secret demands and energies for the rest of your life. Which is dangerous not only for you but is dangerous for everyone else in humanity…”

One

2008-10-20T15:43:00.005-04:00

“Christian Contemplative Prayer is the opening of mind and heart- our whole being- to God, the Ultimate Mystery, beyond thoughts, words and emotions, whom we know by faith is within us, closer than breathing, thinking, feeling and choosing; even closer than consciousness itself. The root of all prayer is interior silence.” –
Father Thomas Keating, taken from “Open Mind, Open Heart”

Fr. Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O. (born 1923) is a Trappist monk (Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance) and priest. He was born in New York City, and attended Deerfield Academy, Yale University, and Fordham University, graduating in December 1943. He is a founder of the Centering Prayer movement and of Contemplative Outreach, Ltd…

He is one of three architects of Centering Prayer, a contemporary method of contemplative prayer, that emerged from St. Joseph's Abbey in 1975. Frs. William Menninger and Basil Pennington, also Cistercian monks, were the other architects. In 1984, along with Gustave Reininger and Edward Bednar, he co-founded Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., an international, ecumenical spiritual network that teaches the practice of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina, a method of prayer drawn from the Christian contemplative tradition. Contemplative Outreach provides a support system for those on the contemplative path through a wide variety of resources, workshops, and retreats. Fr. Keating also helped found the Snowmass Interreligious Conference in 1982 and is a past president of the Temple of Understanding and of the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue among other interreligious activities.

The following are the books he has published:

Crisis of Faith (1979) ISBN 0-932506-05-4
Finding Grace at the Center (1979) ISBN 0-932506-00-3
Heart of the World (1981) ISBN 0-8245-0014-8
And the Word Was Made Flesh (1982) ISBN 0-8245-0505-0
Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel (1986) ISBN 0-8264-0696-3
The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience (1987) ISBN 0-8264-0697-1
Heart of the World: Spiritual Catechism (1988) ISBN 0-8245-0903-X
Mystery of Christ (1988) ISBN 0-916349-41-1
Awakenings (1990) ISBN 0-8245-1044-5
Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality: A Pathway to Growth and Healing, by Philip St Romain, illus. Thomas Keating (1991) ISBN 0-8245-1062-3
Reawakenings (1991) ISBN 0-8245-1149-2
Invitation to Love: The Way of Christian Contemplation (1992) ISBN 0-8264-0698-X
Intimacy with God (1994) ISBN 0-8245-1588-9
Loving Search for God: Contemplative Prayer and "The Cloud of Unknowing,", with William A. Meninger (1994) ISBN 0-8264-0682-3
Crisis of Faith, Crisis of Love (1995) ISBN 0-8264-0805-2
Active Meditations for Contemplative Prayer (1997) ISBN 0-8264-1061-8
The Kingdom of God is Like... (1997) ISBN 0-8245-1659-1
Centering Prayer in Daily Life and Ministry, co-edited with Gustave Reininger (1998) ISBN 0-8264-1041-3
The Diversity of Centering Prayer (1998) ISBN 0-8264-1115-0
The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation (Wit Lectures) (1999) ISBN 0-8091-3882-4
Journey to the Center: A Lenten Passage (1999) ISBN 0-8245-1895-0
The Better Part: Stages of Contemplative Living (2000) ISBN 0-8264-1229-7
Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit (2000) ISBN 1-930051-21-2
St. Therese of Lisieux: A Transformation in Christ (2000) ISBN 1-930051-20-4
Divine Indwelling: Centering Prayer and Its Development, with George F. Cairns, Thomas R. Ward, Sarah A. Butler, Fitzpatrick-Hopler (2001) ISBN 1-930051-79-4
Sundays at the Magic Monastery: Homilies from the Trappists of St. Benedict's Monastery with William Meninger, Joseph Boyle, and Theophane Boyd (2002) ISBN 1-59056-033-7
Transformation of Suffering: Reflections on September 11 and the Wedding Feast at Cana in Galilee (2002) ISBN 1-59056-036-1
The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O. : Sacred Scripture, and Other Spiritual Writings (2003) ISBN 0-8264-1515-6
Foundations for Centering Prayer and the Christian Contemplative Life: Open Mind, Open Heart, Invitation to Love, Mystery of Christ (2003) ISBN 0-8264-1397-8
Manifesting God (2005) ISBN 1-59056-085-X
Active Prayer: On Retreat with Father Thomas Keating (2005) ISBN 0-8264-1783-3
Centering Prayer: On Retreat with Father Thomas Keating (2005) ISBN 0-8264-1780-9
Lectio Divina: On Retreat with Father Thomas Keating (2005) ISBN 0-8264-1782-5
Welcoming Prayer: On Retreat with Father Thomas Keating (2005) ISBN 0-8264-1781-7

Father Thomas Keating

2008-09-30T22:08:00.017-04:00

I just returned from "The 2008 Contemplative Outreach Conference" in Piitsburgh, PA.

I didnt really know much about the Contemplative Outreach Movement or "centering prayer", but now... I. Am. A. Fan.

Centering prayer is essentailly enduring the challenge of sitting in silence for 20 minutes, setting an intention of being receptive to the Lord. Most of the time my thoughts are racing. You can choose a 1 or 2 syllable "sacred word" to bring you back to your intention- not using the word like a mantra, but gently bringing your mental attention back to the sacred word whenever thoughts start to distract you. You are simply being with the Lord.

20 minutes of making myself present and available to the Lord seems much more personal to me, and provides an opportunity to listen to what God has to say...

In the words of Father Keating: "Silence is God's first language."

God spoke to Elijah in a whisper. We have to quiet our minds and listen to effectively communicate and get to know God as He really is...and to know ourselves as we really are.

Acro-yoga

2008-09-22T22:39:00.007-04:00

A friend of mine is an acro-yogi, which means, she practices what is called "acro-yoga" a combination of acrobatics and yoga postures. This friend of mine, we'll call her "A", has not been practicing yoga for that long, perhaps a little over 2 years. She does not have a gymnastics or acrobatics background, yet she is amazing! She is very serious, very focused when she practices and consistently, every day.

"A" told me that acroyoga has helped her in her regular yoga practice. For example, her hand stand is much easier to maintain after she began practicing acroyoga. She has learned proper alignment. In acroyoga, "A" does headstand while the "base" person is holding her up by her shoulders alone, on his/her feet! This takes a tremendous amount of trust on her part, especially considering what little experience she has...but by trusting, she has learned proper alignment, and her yoga practice has exploded onto an entirely new level!

This is a video I shot of "A" at the 2008 Global Mala this past weekend:

The Definition of Catholic

2008-09-18T15:13:00.006-04:00

In my class, I always bring up the fact that in Warrior 1, there are opposite dynamics going on: while rooting down in your feet, you are sinking down in your front thigh, pressing through the outer edge of your back foot, straightening your back leg. While you are rooting down in your feet and sinking down your hips, finding strength in your legs, you find lightness in your upper body: lifitng your heart straight up on an inhale- reaching- taking a slight backbend- lifting up and back.

Opposite forces- its actually what makes this pose really effective.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cath´o`lic Pronunciation: kăth´ô`ĭk

Universal or general; as, the catholic faith.

Men of other countries [came] to bear their part in so great and catholic a war.

- Southey.

Not narrow-minded, partial, or bigoted; liberal; as, catholic tastes.

Of or pertaining to, or affecting the Roman Catholics; as, the Catholic emancipation act.

Catholic epistles
the epistles of the apostles which are addressed to all the faithful, and not to a particular church; being those of James, Peter, Jude, and John.

A person who accepts the creeds which are received in common by all parts of the orthodox Christian church.

An adherent of the Roman Catholic church; a Roman Catholic.

Old Catholic
the name assumed in 1870 by members of the Roman Catholic church, who denied the ecumenical character of the Vatican Council, and rejected its decrees, esp. that concerning the infallibility of the pope, as contrary to the ancient Catholic faith.

WordNet Dictionary

Noun	1.	Catholic - a member of a Catholic church
Adj.	1.	Catholic - of or relating to or supporting Catholicism; "the Catholic Church"
	2.	catholic - free from provincial prejudices or attachments; "catholic in one's tastes"

Related Words:

all-comprehending, all-comprehensive, all-covering, all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-filling, all-including, all-inclusive, all-pervading, allover, broad, broad-gauged, broad-minded, catholicon, comprehensive, cosmic, cosmopolitan, country-wide, cure-all, eclectic, ecumenic, ecumenical, ecumenistic, elixir, extensive, galactic, general, generic, global, heaven-wide, inclusive, indeterminate, international, large-scale, liberal, national, nondenominational, noninsular, nonsectarian, nostrum, planetary, spacious of mind, total, unbigoted, unfanatical, unhidebound, universal, unparochial, unprovincial, wide, wide-minded, widespread, world-wide, worldwide

The word Catholic means "universal". Why then do we allow ourselves to grow so narrow minded? So small in scope, in depth? Boundaries are necessary...but we Christians are not God...we do not know everything.

The greatest of all attitudes to aspire to is humility.

We are capable of the greatest things! But only, in the words of St. Francis of Assisi, if we seek to understand, more than being understood, seek to love more than receiving love.
It is in giving that we receive, pardoning that we are pardoned, and dying that we are born to eternal life...

Opposites.

The life if a Christian, by necessity, requires an open mind and heart- humility- there is so much we don't know, nor understand, especially if we are simple and walk by faith.

Yoga Teacher Mission Statement

2008-09-06T21:34:00.003-04:00

Melisa’s mission statement:

My mission as a yoga teacher is to challenge and awaken my students to fully engage themselves in their yoga practice: mind, body and spirit, in an inviting way. By challenging students to walk their unique personal edge in my class, I hope they will challenge themselves in their personal lives as well, to tap into their innate, God-given potential that is simply waiting to be awakened! Yoga is a potential effective tool to do this, to make powerful and empowering life changes.

My personal goal and dream is to integrate my yoga practice and teaching with my faith in my religion: Catholicism. It is a very real challenge both spiritually and emotionally. I feel that if a person can tap into their potential on the mat and in their personal lives, they can do so in their spiritual and “religious” beliefs as well. If I can tap into my natural God-given gifts in yoga practice, I can see God’s hand in my life more clearly and obviously and use these gifts for His greater glory, strengthening my connection with God as He reveals Himself in the Church. To me, there is no greater fulfillment than the knowledge that I am serving my God, Jesus Christ, by using my talents to the Utmost for Him. This is my hope…it is an ongoing learning process.

I began a weekly Power Yoga class for the employees at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which is still in existence today. I currently teach yoga at Catholic University of America.

With the Help of the Saints

2008-07-10T21:03:00.012-04:00

The great saints seem to know what the answers are: they know what the meaning of life and human longing are driving toward. St. Therese of Lisieux- the great Doctor of the Church that so many people relate to- was not striving after success, notoriety, fame, or self-fulfillment.

St. Therese knew the answer to one's deepest longings is to surrender completely to the will of God- to give everything over to the will of God and to allow Him to work through her. This is no easy task. I think what makes it possible to surrender completely to the will of God is to realize how close God is to us, to our dreams, how much God knows what we want in the deepest part of our being. The more we truly realize this, the more we will want God and His will more than anything or anyone else.

This is a powerful personal prayer from St. Therese's autobiography "Story of a Soul":
"...But is my heart really full of this pure love? Are my limitless desires a dream, a piece of foolishness? If they are, tell me, for You know I want the truth. If my desires are rash, take them away, for they are a most terrible martyrdom. Yet I confess that even if I never enter these high realms to which my soul aspires, I shall have known more sweetness in my martyrdom and in my folly than I shall ever know in the midst of eternal joy. That is, unless by a miracle You wiped from my memory the hopes I had while on earth. Jesus, my Jesus, if this longing for love is so wonderful, what will it be like actually to possess and enjoy it forever? How can a soul as imperfect as mine hope for love in all its fullness? Why do You keep these boundless longings for great souls, those eagles which soar to the heights? I, alas, am only a poor little unfledged bird. I am not an eagle. All I have are the eyes and the heart of one , for in spite of my littleness I dare gaze at the Sun of love and long to fly towards it. I want to fly and imitate the eagles, but all I can do is flap my tiny wings...What shall I do? Die of grief at being so helpless? Oh no! I shan't even let it trouble me. With cheerful confidence I shall stay gazing at the Sun until I die. Nothing will frighten me, neither wind nor rain. If thick clouds hide the Sun and if it seems that nothing exists beyond the night of this life-well, then, that will be a moment of perfect joy, a moment to feel complete trust and stay very still, secure in the knowledge that my adorable Sun still shines behind the clouds."

Whenever there is darkness, and I don't feel God's presence or consolation anymore, it is these words and the example of the great Saint Therese of Lisieux that give me direction.

I cling to faith and the faith of my great brothers and sisters in the Church who have gone before me. It is so much more beautiful to hope than not to, and I am beginning to see that hope in darkness is one way similar to St. Therese that I can keep expressing my love to Jesus Christ!

The Zones

2008-07-07T22:50:00.011-04:00

There is such a thing as the "yoga zone". Those who practice yoga regularly know what I'm talking about- the zone you get in, when everything comes together- you're focused, yet aware of all the subtleties and nuances of feeling going on in your body, your able to do things and go places you never thought possible! And this mental focus stays with you even off the mat, even after your practice...

There is such a thing as the "Catholic zone". Catholics have a zone too- especially very orthodox Catholics. I have experienced both zones. The Catholic zone is focused very much on Jesus Christ and on communion with ones brothers and sisters in Christ, the members of Christ's Body, the Church. The Church is believed to be the Bride of Christ, its members are in union with Jesus Christ. It is very intimate, very personal, and breath-takingly beautiful! In my opinion, if ones life and temperment are suited to the Catholic zone, the Catholic zone is a bit more rich than the yoga zone I have experienced. The Catholic zone is desirable yet somehow, more unattainable for many people. That is a very big reason why many Catholics don't live their faith!

For me, I consider myself a Catholic Yogi. The Catholic zone and the yoga zone go side by side together and compliment one another in way that is healthy, practical. I cannot adopt one extreme or the other...for me, they both go hand in hand- together. I love the Catholic zone, I WANT to be inside the Catholic zone, but yoga practice is a part of my daily life- my yoga practice is a part of me- I committed myself to this yoga journey almost as soon as I took my first class. I felt I had found the answer- what it was that I had been needing in my life to fill that emptiness.

Yoga heals.

I taught yoga at "House of Ruth", a shelter for abused women, for several months. It was Truly a rewarding experience and I actually liked going. I taught the women who lived there once a week. Some weeks the group was the same, then someone would leave and then a whole new group was there on other weeks. House of Ruth management made the yoga class mandatory for the women. This location was in downtown Washington, DC and these were some of the toughest women I have ever seen! On some classes, the group simply would not listen...I am a pretty strong teacher, but I could not get them to participate! so I simply had them rest in shivasana while I played Krishna Das and read to them. I also rubbed lavendar oil on the back of their necks- yes, they responded positively to this!
Then, there were some weeks when I knew, I KNEW I had reached this group of women. They were actively engaged, I could see they were beginning to get into the "yoga zone", they sweat and worked and in shivasana, were completely receptive. I felt connected with them- with what they were going through- and I cannot tell you how rewarding this experience was FOR ME! It was amazing.

Why is yoga not considered a gift from God if it is capable of So Much Good?

I know yoga is a good thing for all peoples.

How can we Christians who practice yoga communicate to orthodox Catholics the benefits of this practice?

"God's all for universal, He wants you in His circle..."

2008-06-22T15:45:00.002-04:00

Just What Exactly Am I Doing...?

2008-06-14T22:43:00.013-04:00

I recently had an informal email interview with "Ananda", which is a Finnish yoga magazine. The magazine is publishing an article about Christianity and yoga, to be published in a future issue, The main article will be about Jean-Marie Déchanet's ideas and his book "Christian Yoga".

I was asked to answer several questions:

"What kind of an impact (if any) have Father Déchanet's ideas had on the way you see yourself as a Christian yogi or the way how you see the relationship between yoga and faith?"

Father Dechanet’s book is the most perfect explanation of my own thoughts and experience as a Christian who practices yoga. I have not read anything more insightful or more beautifully written on the topic than Father Dechanet’s “Christian Yoga”.The book is like spiritual direction for the Christian who practices yoga and the Christian who is discerning practicing yoga. The preface itself is filled with wonderful wisdom and encouraging insight. I would like to quote a passage from the preface of the book, which deals with some of the more deep questions and deliberations of a Christian who practices yoga, especially me:

“Yoga, I found, was first of all ‘a particular way of fashioning oneself’,the way of the man who ‘by means of certain disciplines, both physiological (postures and breath control) and psychical (focusing on thought), was joined; that is to say, was in a condition of coherence in accordance with his vital functions, and in a state of balance such that life could be controlled and made effective. This is therefore the opposite of fragmented living, of naïve incoherence, impotence and unawareness.’ Its symbol is ‘the wheel, where the rim is perfectly jointed to the nave by means of the spokes.’ But Yoga was also joining with the Absolute. And here I had to be careful. It was essential that my exercises and especially my concentration should turn me not towards the Self, the Absolute, the Wholly-One, the vague ‘Ungraspable’ of Hindu mystics, but towards the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the living God, three in one, the principle of all things, my Creator and Father, him in whom I had natural and supernatural life. I felt it absolutely necessary that my experiment should place itself under the protection and sanction of grace. Not heaven-storming; but, instead, working to remove certain blockages within that were hindering supernatural action. Not to turn in on myself; but on the contrary to launch myself towards the Other, to lose myself in Him, to fix my thinking and especially my heart in God, in the God of love, and in Christ; and to maintain the sort of silence that would be a form of mute speech or dialogue with the Eternal.” – Father J. -M.DeChanet. “Christian Yoga” (pgs. 3 & 4)

"Your blog about Christianity and yoga, and you are known as a Catholic who teaches and practices yoga. What kind of feedback have you received from the public, e.g. people who read your blog? Has any of the feedback been negative because someone would think yoga and faith cannot be mixed?"

Since creating the blog: lightonchristianyoga.blogspot.com in 2005, I have been able to express myself and my own questions, interests and struggles regarding the topic of Christians Practicing Yoga and my personal experience with yoga. I created the blog during the time I was going through teacher training to become an instructor. Many of my friends and family chimed in, offering their insights and views on the topics,statements and questions that I brought up. There are some comments on the blog, however, that do express anger and deep resentment at the fact that Christians are trying to change yoga into something other than what it "truly" is. This has actually enlightened me as I try to be open to what they have to say. One of these persons is a monk living in India. I think many Hindu’s are upset about the title “Christian Yoga”, because they view yoga as a Hindu practice and should be practiced only according to Hindu beliefs. Some comments on my blog express anger that Christians are seeping into territory that is not rightfully theirs and manipulating yoga to their own ends. Swami Premananda, founder of the American Yoga Conservatory in New Jersey, diasagrees with these opinions. In a June 1994 article in “Hinduism Today” entitled “Yoga-Sweet Fruit From Dharma'sTree”, he expresses his belief that yoga is for all peoples of all religions:

"Your view that yoga is Hindu and only Hindu is viewed by this self as unfortunate indeed. No one would ever dispute the fact that yoga evolved from Hindu roots. However, that Union which is represented by the word yoga is not and cannot be held limited by parochial definitions. As apples produced by the tree, and gives life to the person who eats it. The tree cannot be food for man, but it can produce food for the man. The apple's destiny and the tree's are distinct and separate. The apple can be transported around the world, and it will be food for whoever eats it.Yoga, like the apple, is a completely detached product which evolved from Hinduism and which has the ability to nourish any and all who partake of it. Yoga bridges all separations." http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1994/6/1994-6-05.shtml

I wholeheartedly agree with Swami Premananda, and in my own experience as someone who loves Jesus Christ and practices yoga, that yoga can bridge all seperations. I believe the conflicts that arise, on my blog inparticular, are a result of misunderstanding and narrow mindedness. We have to be open, we cannot turn in on ourselves and give into anger and judgement. We need to learn the precious art of communincation with those who believe differently than we do. If people can be open to learning how to communicate, nothing is impossible!

The last question was a kicker...and I do not have a clear answer...I am still exploring:

"...What we would like to hear still more about is the concrete or physical level: As you teach yoga classes, how do spirituality and Christian faith show there? What is done especially at your classes that makes them "beneficial for Christians"? Is there something special that you do differently? (Do you, for example, combine practice with prayer as Dechanet instructed in his book?)"

As far as combining the actual physical practice with prayer, I do not do that. I am still on a path of learning how to better combine my belief in Christ with yoga practice. For the first several years I taught yoga, I taught in Catholic environments with the intention of bringing yoga, just yoga asana and pranayama practice without any Christian influence, into this very concentrated Catholic community here in DC. I taught yoga weekly and sometimes bi-weekly at The Catholic University of America Fitness Center and at The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It took me several months of meetings, offering a demo class to the employees, and waiting for approval from the board of directors to begin teaching yoga at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (I did not get the opportunity to teach any bishops yoga, rather a handful of the employees at USCCB whocontinue to practice yoga weekly). Interestingly, this small yoga class at The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has lasted longer than most other groups at this organization, going on two years now without a pause!

I currently teach at a popular yoga studio located in Adams Morgan in Washington DC and continue to teach yoga at the Catholic University ofAmerica Fitness Center during the semester. It is quite different teaching in a yoga studio as opposed to a conference room in a religious organization. I find the students in the yoga studio are very serious about yoga. I have the impression that this IS their religion and/or their only source of spiritual nourishment in their lives.

Concretely, what I do not do is chant “Om” at the beginning or end of class. I have nothing against this, but I do not include it in my classes. Rather, I have the students start in child’s pose, then gradually move to downward dog, then forward bend, then tadasana, or mountain pose (to get their heads down and to get recollected before we begin). After this sequence, I have the class set their eyes on their fingertips and to set an intention for their practice.The duration of the class consists of yoga asanas and Ujjayi breathing, very challenging and depending on the level of the practitioner, takes all of ones physical and mental capabilities to stay focused and present. By the end of the class (which is heated to about 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit or 30-32 degrees Celsius), the students are exhausted, and consequently totally receptive and open if they have really entered into the practice. At the end of the practice or during shavasana, I will read a spiritual reading which usually is a quote from a saint or an inspirational reading that is taken from a yoga text such as “Meditations from the Mat” by Rolf Gates or from “Journey Into Power” by Baron Baptiste. The style of yoga I teach is called "Power Yoga" based on Baron Baptiste's style. My approach to Christians practicing yoga is quite different in that I believe yoga practice by itself, strictly asanas and pranayama, can enable a person to be more attentive in prayer and increases a natural interest in the will of God for one’s life. Yoga practice all by itself turns an individual’s attention from the outside, to the inside. This can be an obstacle if a person is steered in the wrong spiritual direction. However, if Christians direct their yoga practice and their hearts towards the One, Living and true God who is Jesus Christ, yoga can be of great help to focus all of one’s heart, mind, and soul on God. This is the first and greatest commandment and we Christians need all the help we can get. Yoga is a grace when a Christians’ heart is set in the right place: on Jesus Himself.

Drama

2008-06-10T14:28:00.016-04:00

I've narrowed my focus...
cutting out all that throws my soul into a state of chaos and where I am right now, both location-wise and spiritually, I "cut off" several very strong influences in my life in order to re-evaluate what I am doing and if the direction I am heading is right or wrong. How do I discern this??As a Catholic, I know I need the tradition and guidance of the Church to guide and lead me...this is what I believe...what I can't help but believe no matter how much my pride rebels.

What do I do when the leaders in the Church judge me based on a standard that has nothing to do with yoga? Am I not a true Catholic because I do not act/think/behave like they do? Or disdain others that do not act/think/behave like me?

Naturally? My personal tendecy is to let my anger get the best of me and throw out religious influences all together. I'm extreme like that and it is so tempting!

I know from personal experience however, that this only hurts- it doesn't help anyone including me.

It is not a good thing to be lost, but I want to think and discern for myself and be respected at the same time. I am treading on unknown territory as far as Church teaching is concerned...there is so much to be learned from the East, but to preserve pure Catholic thought, Catholics don't listen to anything foreign or unknown. They have to protect themselves from influences that could harm their faith.

I am not this kind of person, or this kind of Catholic.

I feel like I'm fighting with my own "family"...it seems so ridiculous sometimes!

So, I'm focusing on my teaching, on my job, my schoolwork: healthy distractions as the clarity that I hope for is nowhere immediately to be found, not even here in "Little Rome".

Learning the Hard Way

2008-05-22T22:11:00.005-04:00

I have always learned the hard way. The style of yoga I teach and practice: Power Yoga is a very popular and, if you will, Americanized, form of yoga. It is physically and mentally challenging- 90 minutes in usually 90 degree heat! This is what I like! I really am not interested in yoga if it doesn't challenge my physically. This is what makes me feel so spent and stress free when I'm done! I have looked into learning other styles and methods of yoga, but honestly- I am happy with the style I practice. What I am interested in is learning more about the other aspects of yoga.

When it comes down to it, I know so very little about yoga, and I am realizing how much of a responsibility it is as a teacher of yoga to respect yoga and to constantly learn more about it's history and philosophy. This confusion I am going through is not yoga's fault, but is springing from me and how I learn- I want to learn my way, which seems to always be the hard way.

Holy Week 2008 in Jerusalem

2008-05-19T08:57:00.004-04:00

This past Holy Week, I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Jerusalem, by myself. I was inspired by my friend who is a backpacker and travels all over the world by herself and she went to Jerusalem a couple of years ago. If I could go anywhere, there is no place I would rather see than the place where God Himself walked and it just so happened that everything fell into place to visit during the Easter Tridiuum this year.

One of the highlights of the visit was walking the Via Delorosa on Good Friday. I had no tour guide, I just followed the crowds, group after group, from all over the world, walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. I had to walk it several times- the Via Delorosa is not exactly very conducive to meditation, especially during this busy time of year. There are shops and people selling things, trying to get your attention, all along the Via Delorosa.

If you've ever seen the movie "The Passion of the Christ", one of the most powerful and terrible parts of Christ's passion was the scourging. There is a church called the "Church of Flagellation" that marks the spot where Jesus was scourged. One of the best parts about travelling alone is that you can go where you want, when you want and stay as long as you want. I stayed in this church awhile as several groups went in and out. I went up past all the groups and knelt down at the alter in front where a couple of others were kneeling. I thought about these questions about yoga and wondered if yoga was taking me away from my faith. I tried to be open about the possibility that God wanted me to stop practicing yoga. I have put ALOT of energy and effort into practicing and training in yoga, that to stop teaching yoga would be a complete turn around in my life. As I was praying, I could tell a group of tourists were behind me. They started to sing in what sounded like kirtan: the music I am used to listening to in yoga class. I realized that the group around me was from India and they were singing to Christ in this "kirtan" sounding language that was So Beautiful! I followed this group out of the Church and all the way through the Via Delorosa to Mt. Cavalry. They sang this song the entire time:

The Vast Question

2008-05-14T20:54:00.008-04:00

"We are dealing here with the vast question as to how we can and cannot know God, how we are related to God and how we can lose Him. The arrogance that would make God an object and impose our laboratory conditions upon Him is incapable of finding Him. For it already implies that we deny God as God by placing ourselves above Him, by discarding the whole dimension of love, of interior listening; by no longer acknowledging as real anything but what we can experimentally test and grasp. To think like that is to make oneself God. And to do that is to abase not only God, but the world and oneself, too..." Pope Benedict XVI, from Jesus of Nazareth

Putting yoga practice in it's proper place...yoga practice needs to be in it's proper place. Yoga should not take precedence in the life and mind of a follower of Christ, or for anyone in my opinion. I have been teaching in different environments for several years. I see that many people who seriously practice yoga have actually found a hiding place or escape from very real issues in their lives in their yoga practice. I really don't think yoga was meant to be a scapegoat from facing the realities in our lives and I have seen many serious yogi's doing just that- including me. I think that is what has happened in my life....because of my anger and frustration at being misunderstood and feeling shut out by who I believed to be my friends in the Church, I plunged myself all the more deeply into my personal yoga practice and into my teaching. I have to say, I find a great deal of solace in my practice and when I teach. It is my outlet. I am growing to love it more and more. My challenge, is to now find my way back to feeling safe inside of the Church. What I mean by that is, feeling like I am not singled out and judged for what I do (or do not do) or how I participate when I go to mass. I do not want to feel like I have to look a certain way or pray a certain way or be a certian way in order to be accepted by my fellow lovers of Jesus Christ- and seriously- this is how some churches make me feel! I want to love God with my entire heart and soul in the congregation of the mass. I feel sometimes I may be too much or inappropriate or whatever. In this community I live in and worship with- I am so confused and Angry at them! I want to feel connected with Christ alongside the members of these Catholics! Why is this such a dilema for me? It should not be!
The location that I live in...the dynamics here are palpable.
God is who He is, not matter where I am. It's up to me to get to know the truth about Him. Yoga has been around for 5,000 years (something like that), yet it feels like the very thing that I love and believe and am all about is the very thing that is seperating me from the people I need the most to stay faithful to Christ and the community of believers that I worship with.

When all is said and done...

I am not sure that I would desire to know Jesus so much if I weren't dedicated to and nourished by my yoga practice.

An Answered Prayer

2008-05-12T22:18:00.012-04:00

I recently received an email from a novice in the Jesuit order who encouraged me to post more on the blog. He could relate to what I have been dealing with. His email was an answered prayer!
With his permission, here are some excerpts from his email, with me interjecting my own thoughts intermittingly [in brackets]:

"...I can somewhat relate to your current experience of crisis. I was away from the Church for all of my twenties, and only came back after a real and profoundly spiritual experience while I was in the Peace Corps in my late twenties. During that time away, I went to other churches, or just didn't go to churches at all; I studied Buddhism a bit, but never seriously adopted a practice.

Interestingly, I find that a practice like yoga only makes sense now that I've come back to the Church, and my experience of being Catholic now is nothing like it was before I left the Church in college. I left for many of the reasons you cite as sources of your anger. It's like Gandhi said, 'I do not like your Christians..they are so unlike your Christ.'[ I SO AGREE with Ghandi !!!]
It's only through my renewed understanding of Christ in me that I can appreciate yoga practice. I'm now a novice in the Jesuit order, and I've been not only supported but encouraged to pursue yoga practice.

A crisis of faith certainly is dangerous, but not necessarily in a bad way. As unsettling as it is, it can drive us to an encounter with the Divine that's deeper and more intimate than we've experienced in the immature faith of our past (I don't mean that as a personal swipe, just a recognition that our spiritual lives, like our physical lives, mature as we seriously engage
in a spiritual exercise.) [AMEN!] A spiritual crisis can lift your veil of innocence, and in that sense it can be, in a sense, dangerous.

But isn't that the goal of yoga, to focus the psyche so that your consciousness can encounter the ultimate self deep within, to lift the veil that obscures the greater reality? I mean, yoga is about the body and spirit together, it's *Incarnational*, like the Word made flesh.

Just judging from what I read on your blog and website, it makes sense that you may be at a time where your spiritual life isn't what it once was, that you're experiencing a time of turmoil. [I have been in turmoil for quite some time actually, I feel like I am being forced to grow up in the spiritual life and like a stubborn child- I don't want to! I want blessings to come to me, for God to do it all and I will just enjoy the ride, take it easy- spirituality seems so easy for some Christians, why should I struggle?]
Sometimes, we make an assumption that a spiritual life is always going to blissful, and a deeper spiritual life even more so, but reality tells us something different. As we say in Ignatian (Jesuit) spirituality, the Resurrection doesn't happen without the Passion...

Do you have any experience with Ignatian spirituality? I find... it's quite compatible with yoga, or for that matter, with pretty much any spiritual practice...

Here's my summary: yoga and a crisis of faith can be dangerous, but not in a bad way. I know it's disconcerting, but you will get through it if you continue to engage it. *Keep on practicing yoga; it's a good thing*. Consider finding a spiritual director to work out the spiritual challenges you may face, and I humbly (or not) recommend the Jesuit Spirituality...

Peace to you, and Namaste" - J

Receiving this email is proof to me that if you sincerely seek God, even though you feel completely lost, He is there- He will not let you go!

Sometimes...You Need a Diversion

2008-05-09T22:59:00.006-04:00

Yes, so I created a very simple clothing line...
and rather than spending my time at the yoga studio...I spend my spare time making little videos:

Discussion Time, Let's Get Real...

2008-05-07T21:45:00.004-04:00

I have been not been posting much in the past months.
Honestly?
I am VERY confused.

I was not too distressed when I began the blog in 2005. At the time, I was simply practicing yoga and going through teacher training.

What began as curiosity has truly ended up in a very real spiritual darkness.

You can practice yoga and not see the changes as clearly as when you begin to teach- consistently- 3 to 4 times a week over a period of a couple of years. When I began teaching yoga seriously is when I started to feel a very deep disconnect and anger at the Church I have never felt before! I am not like most Catholics! I am actually not like any Catholic I know- I relate more to my Buddhist friend. We agree on so many things!
I feel that even though I want to, I don’t fit in when I go to mass! I cannot express how distressing this feeling is! I live in an area that people call “little Rome”, surrounded by Catholics who are very intense about being a real, authentic Catholic. I feel like my eyes have been opened, and I see such a judgmental attitude coming from so many Catholics, like they have not a care in the world for anyone who does not think or believe like they do…they shut people out who are not like them, to preserve their own sanctity and supposed, connection with Christ.
This makes me Angry!!
I am angry!
When I go to mass now, I feel like I am trying to get off the hook or something, like there is something not “right” with me, because I am a Yoga Teacher and have consciously chosen this path.
Yet, I still go to mass. I still Want very much to be a part of the Church, because I believe Jesus Christ is the One and Only true God. And, the Roman Catholic Church- is Beautiful...it is Human, and it is so beautiful. The Church inspires me to want to be better and to love better.
Prayer is not always somthing that you feel authentically, but it can be a guide...like mantras can be a guide and can actually create a feeling within you. I tell myself over and over that I am Catholic, but really? Am I? Can I be a yoga teacher and an authentic Catholic, a member of Christ's Body?
If I’m being really honest with myself, I might have to finally admit that really?
I am having a crisis of faith…and it is really humiliating.

Is yoga dangerous for Christians?

Now I’m asking…

Can Different Religions Coexist?

2008-04-14T13:45:00.009-04:00

The following are quotes taken from the book recently published entitled "In God's Name" by Jules Naudet and Gedeon Naudet.

Christians practicing yoga keeps beckoning the question- Can Christians practice yoga and at the same time be faithful to Christ and the Holy Spirit? Is this possible?I think we have to look at this from a new perspective, loving God in a new way...a more authentic way. Yoga helps us to take a look at oursleves outside of the context of our religion and religious views and face who we are as human beings. Yoga gives us a way to check ourselves, to make sure we are not hiding in religion, to make sure we are not using religion as a security blanket or a way to escape the challenges life poses to us. Yoga, properly understood, can help us to be more healthy, more whole human beings, better apt to approach God and prayer more authentically.

"I believe that the Christian faith is true. I believe that what is real in Jesus Christ is the truth about God. But that doesn't make me feel I must now force everybody to accept that. It means I'm grateful for what I've been given, that I would love to share it, but that I need to know that other people have come to their faith and their conviction by a route that deserves my respect. So we talk to one another. We listen to one another. We have our convictions. We have our firm commitments to truth. But that doesn't mean violence." - Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

"There is a common link in all religion. That common link is humanity's desire to touch the divine, to understand that there is a supreme creator or designer or architect of the world, of our physical environment, of our society, that there is something else. Humanity has always sought that. " - Dr. Frank Page, President of Southern Baptist Convention

"In every human heart, despite all the problems that exist, is a thirst for God." - Pope Benedict XVI

"Our sages say: As faces differ, so do opinions differ. Every person has a different face. Do I hate him because his face is different than mine? If he doesn't have eyes like mine I am supposed to hate him?...It is like this with different opinions; if his opinion is different than mine and his belief is different than mine, why should I hate him? We can stay friends, each with his own laws, each with his own belief. Everything depends on the religious leaders- on what kind of attitude they promote in their communities towards other religions." - Rabbi Yona Metzger, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel

"All religions are the same. All religions worship one God. We consider that Moses is one of the major prophets of God. We believe in the Torah, the Bible, and the Koran. They are all books revealed by God." - Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Prominent Shiite Muslim Leader

I have seen that there are differences in opinion about the practice pf yoga for Christians...that it can and sometimes does take people away from the Christian community. This has more to do with misunderstanding and ignorance than it does the myth that yoga is dangerous. We have to keep searching for the truth, not throw something away because it causes a "problem".

I am no expert, but I am not afraid to keep exploring...

Pope John Paul II Quote

2008-02-11T12:24:00.000-05:00

"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth--in a word to know himself--so that by knowing and loving God, we may also come to the fullness of truth about ourselves."

The Christian as Yogi

2008-02-06T10:01:00.000-05:00

"...Benedictine monk, Father J.M. Dechanet found in yoga a valuable approach to Christian prayer and practice...Father Dechanet, 54, now prior of the Monastery of Saint-Benoit at Kansenia in the new Congo republicFather Dechanet chose one of the most basic forms of yoga: hatha-yoga, the discipline of the body and breathing. The hatha-yogis of India use 84 different asanas, or postures...Breathing & Faith.

'At first a Westerner may feel ridiculous,' he admits, standing on his head and blocking his nostrils alternately while he breathes. 'But in a short time he will feel the physical benefits of the practice ('a general unwinding, a euphoria') as well as the spiritual ones. After ten minutes in the Pole position, followed by another ten in the Full Backwards Bend or Reintegration position, when breathing has become so slow and deep that it may seem as if the breath reaches the base of the intestines . . . there is no difficulty in attaching yourself wholly to the subject of prayer. I say 'wholly,' for you feel truly 're-collected,' gathered together.' With the body perfectly relaxed and still and the mind quiet, 'from the depths of the soul there rises up towards God a silent concert, as it were, of praise and adoration.'

Though the Christian yogi does not appear to be different from other men, 'a trained eye may be able to recognize him by his gait, bearing, gestures or reserve.' There is a seal on everything he does because he shuns habit and auto matic behavior—he is present with his whole being in whatever he is doing. The Christian yogi knows that he has gradually made his body into a faithful servant. 'You order it (and it obeys) to help you to practise fully even virtues as great as faith, hope and Christian charity.'" -

Taken from "The Christian as Yogi" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,871651-1,00.html

Yoga for Prayer

2007-10-25T10:06:00.000-04:00

My younger brother visited me from out of town for a few days. We took several yoga classes together and then talked about what is good about yoga, what is it's purpose? This is what we came up with. Please comment, let me know your thoughts...

We are trying to free ourselves of tension, emotional pain and oppression. There is a lot of negativity in the world. Amidst all of the negativity, we can free ourselves of it by unifying our spirit and our temple. What we are trying to accomplish here is a greater opening of mind and spirit to receive what we have always hungered for! After your body is exhausted and mind is clear, all you have to do is ask God.

What have you been asking God for?

Whatever that is, we have worked together to free whatever was blocking you physically and, hopefully, mentally you’re asking God with a true and open heart!

"Vocations Placement" October Newsletter

2007-10-22T13:44:00.011-04:00

Following And
Embracing Our
True Vocation

What is written below is not meant to persuade a person in any way in regard to his vocation, it is meant simply for objective reflection for the individual to see what bubbles up within his own heart. I write it because I feel that all life is sacred, that each of us needs to carefully guard and nurture the life of Christ within.When we are in our true vocation we feel freer to be our "real" selves. That is what "true" love, true vocation does for us. It brings out our greatness in Christ. Jesus says, "Greater are you going to do now that I go to the Father." One has a sense of liberation. Your "true self" is in your heart. Everything in regard to vocation comes from the heart and dwells there also with Jesus. It is not two different focuses. You do not have to try to find your true self because the love you experience in your true vocation consequently brings your true self out like a fountainhead coming from within your own heart. You don't have to figure it out in your head. (Remember the rays of Love coming out of Jesus in the image of the Sacred Heart come out of His chest and not his head.)... ask your self the question "What is it that you really want?" St. Bernard said, "Desire is the down payment for that desire to be recieved." Desires are a map. I am talking about those desires that bring healing, happiness, wholeness i.e. the Fruit of the Spirit, joy, and gentleness. God is the one who put those Fruit bearing desires in your heart. The desire to live...As Merton quipped, Jesus only knows the part of you that is honest and real. Why not get "electric chair honest" now and see where it leads in faith. Why are we so afraid to be that honest? Because we know we will lose control of the outcome. The good news is that we learn to trust the truth and let Jesus truly control the outcome for perhaps the first time in our lives. Instead of immitating Christ we are now identifying with Christ. As St. Paul said, "It is no longer I that live but Christ living within me." That is what the truth and living from the heart does.My definition of the Cross is: "Being vulnerable to the action of Love in our lives and wherever it may lead." That is where the real letting go takes place, where we learn to accept the Truth and live it in faith. It amazes me how many of the spiritual practices that people do ritualistically allow them to numb out from reality and maintain a false sense of control. But we thought we were spiritual people until it came to admitting what the real inner Jesus was saying, thinking, and wanting. "The key to having union with God is to realize that you already do" (another Merton quote). Whatever you are feeling Jesus is feeling. Get it? One abbot said, "The height of the spiritual life will lead you into the heart of reality." Accept your reality and deal with it fully and with much supportive council. There is something greater than sacrifice and that is surrender, surrender to the Truth about us. "Into you hands I commend my spirit" was the last thing Jesus said.United in the moment, your calling and your self is one in the same. The goal of the monk is to simply "be" as one monasterie's vocation literature says. Why not just "be" yourself. Say and live how you really feel with tact and gentleness. Jesus will recognize you on Judgment Day and what a comfort to know that when you die it will actually be "you" in the grave and not some shell of a man no one really knew the truth about. Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" I would ask, "Who do you say that Jesus is? The Jesus living inside you?" Only you can know those things that bring the Fruit of the Spirit in your life, Those things that truly allow inner Jesus to expand inside of you like a butterfly stretching fully after a long time of being trapped inside a cocoon. Your vocation lies at the fork of two rivers, your humanity and your divinity. Only you, being brutally honest, can sense the subtle movements in your soul that strike the balance known as your vocation. Everyone is the spouse of God and God as your spouse will whisper little secrets about His will for you that no one can ever fully understand or appreciate and quite honestly it is no one else's business in the end...

The Way of Mercy and Love

2007-09-28T08:45:00.000-04:00

Beautiful quotes by Pope John Paul II taken from "The Wisdom of John Paul II":

"ABRAHAM, our common ancestor, teachs all of us, Christian, Jews, and Muslims, to follow the way of mercy and love."

"To the Buddhist Community, which reflects numerous Asian traditions as well as American:

I wish respectfully to acknowledge your way of life, based on compassion and loving kindness and upon a yearning for peace, prosperity and harmony for all beings. May all of us give witness to compassion and loving kindness in promoting the true good of humanity.
To the Islamic Community: I share your belief that mankind owes its existence to the One, Compassionate God who created heaven and earth. In a world in which God is denied or disobeyed, in a world that experiences so much suffering and is so much in need of God's mercy, let us then strive together to be courageous bearers of hope.
To the Hindu Community: I hold in esteem your concern for inner peace and for the peace of the world, based not purely on mechanistic or materialistic political considerations, but on self-purification, unselfishness, love and sympathy for all. May the minds of all people be imbued with such love and understanding.
To the Jewish Community: I repeat the Second Vatican Council's conviction that the Church 'cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His mercy established the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that good olive tree onto which has been grafted the wild olive branches of the Gentiles' (see Rom 11:17-24). With you I oppose every form of anti Semitism. May we work for the day when all peoples and nations may enjoy security, harmony and peace." -
Speech to Interreligious leaders at Los Angeles, Sept. 16, 1987

"I AM SURE that faith in the one God can be a powerful leaven of harmony and collaboration among Christians, Jews and Muslims in the struggle against prejudices and suspicions that ought to be overcome. In the same spirit of respect and friendship, I do not hesitate to address the inhabitants of this country who are nonbelievers, or who are troubled by doubt regarding the faith. We often have in common a loyal dedication to the same humanitarian causes, the concern for justice, fellowship, peace, respect for human dignity and help to the most disadvantaged. I extend my best wishes to you and your families." -

Lourdes, August 15, 1983

"Christians, Priests Ignorant of Yoga"

2007-09-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

This article was taken from ASSIST News Service (ANS) http://www.assistnews.net/

Monday, September 17, 2007 ‘Christians Priests Ignorant Of Yoga’, says Father John Ferreira, an Indian Catholic Priest By James VargheseSpecial to ASSIST News Service AGRA,
RAJASTHAN, INDIA (ANS) -- According to the news carried on the Indo Asian News Service website (http://www.eians.com/), Roman Catholic priest, Father John Ferreira, principal of St. Peter's College in Agra, one of India's oldest educational institutions, says Christian priests in Britain are completely ignorant about yoga. “They know nothing about yoga. They should first study and experience the benefits of India's ancient science before commenting,” Ferreira, 57, told IANS in an interview.
He was referring to the uproar in Britain after some British clergy called for a ban on yoga classes for children, terming it “unchristian activity”.
Not sex, but yoga education, is the need of the hour, Ferreira said, speaking after a half-hour yoga class at an assembly attended by over 1,500 students, teachers and office assistants. The yoga session is held every school day.
“Morning hours are pure hours,” says the father as the students do “pranayam” and “kapal bhati” (breath control and other exercises in yoga). For a moment it looks like Baba Ram Dev's class, but with a difference. The mentor is clad in a priestly gown and speaks in soft, chaste English.
“When I started these yoga exercises a month ago, there were natural reservations and opposition from students as well as parents. But I persisted. Now they all congratulate me because some have stopped suffering from colds and allergies while others are feeling more energetic,” says Ferreira, who dislikes students with stooping shoulders, obese or sickly postures.
“I want them to walk straight, with chest out, shoulders raised and head held high. At their age they should be a bundle of energy. Unfortunately, parents have no time for their kids and there is nobody around for guidance,” he says.
Denying charges that students have been regularly fainting during the assembly workout, Ferreira said: “Yes, some students had tried to fake fainting, but I called them over along with their parents. Now they are positively responding to yoga exercises.”
Ferreira is against the introduction of sex education in schools. And he wants yoga education to be made compulsory.
“They will learn about sex when the time comes. It is nature's design. But at the school we must see that their body and mind are in fine shape and they are spiritually strong to face the world. We must go for holistic lifestyles in tune with the rhythms of nature,” he said.
According to him, humans can be compared with the six strings of the guitar. The six strings are body, mind, spirit, family, work and social life.
“If one string snaps, all others would be affected. Nature has given us so much. Look around. Sickness can be controlled through fasting, eating fruits and vegetables. Fruits can detoxify the body,” he said.
Unconcerned about what his fraternity thinks about him, Ferreira is on a mission.
“I have personally benefited a lot from yoga. Till 1981 I was a sick man regularly visiting doctors and hospitals. Now, after rigorous training and studies in yoga, I am as fit as a teenager ready to take on anyone,” he says.His fervent appeal is to make yoga compulsory in schools. “Forget sex education. First develop the mind and body, increase powers of mind control and concentration!”
No wonder over 3,000 students of his college coming from elitist backgrounds have begun listening to him. Even the doubting Thomas’s among the teachers are getting involved - slowly but surely.

Possibility vs. Impossibility

2007-07-19T13:50:00.000-04:00

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning.” -

Mahatma Ghandi

So many of our limitations, or boundaries, are self imposed. We say to ourselves, "That's impossible", or "I can't do that!" masking either fear or lack of real desire to make the thing a reality. That is the message our mind sends us and that is the message we begin to believe. We put limits on ourselves as to how far we can go, how much we can do, the possibility of our wildest dreams becoming reality. Yoga helps us get out of our heads and into our bodies. The experience of yoga for many new students is often one of surprise: we do more than we think we can, we feel better than we thought we would. Yoga wakes us up to the innate potential laid up inside each one of us and gives us a new vision of ourselves- a more clear accurate vision, freed up from negativity and doubt. The first step to progress is the willingness to try, to step forward in faith and that is often the hardest part...

The following is a beautiful quote from author Julia Cameron, in "The Artist's Way":

“The jig is, in short, up: God knows that the sky’s the limit. Anyone honest will tell you that possibility is far more frightening than impossibility, that freedom is far more terrifying than any prison. If we do, in fact, have to deal with a force beyond ourselves that involves itself in our lives, then we may have to move into action on those previously impossible dreams.”

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

2007-07-18T12:59:00.004-04:00

“Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Mark 9:23

I never really understood why yoga is such a controversial subject among Christians. I would say that many Christians do not understand why yoga is something to be concerned about. Many religious people get in a zone. Everyone has their frame of reference, and anything that threatens that frame of reference is considered supposedly "dangerous". It is really a difficult thing to see things, to see yourself, to see others in a different light than what you are used to. For some people who are so invested in their religion, it is dangerous to open your mind to a new way of seeing yourself, seeing others and seeing God. Practicing yoga puts you in a different frame of mind: a more calm state of mind, a more spacious state of mind. I don't believe that being narrow minded or fearful will draw anyone closer to Jesus, no matter who they are. The object of this game of life is to keep your eye on the prize, to keep striving toward the goal- He who is The Way, The Truth and The Life. The only thing to fear is fear itself.

A Lesson from Mother Teresa

2007-05-04T10:30:00.003-04:00

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." Mother Teresa of Calcutta

As popular as this quote is, I need to be constantly reminded. It's one thing to focus on your own life and strive to do everything well, it is another thing to do these things with love. I have heard that Mother Teresa did not experience feelings of love during the last years of her life, but went through a long period of dryness. She did not simply keep going, but kept going with an intensity that made a mark in history. Practically everyone in this life knows Mother Teresa not because she strived to accomplish great things, but that whatever she did, she did with and for love.

What does this have to do with yoga? I am learning that teaching yoga can be a very powerful thing that has the potential to heal people on a deep level. If I am not teaching with love, and merely going through the motions- then it is simply exercise and may perhaps make people feel good and relieve stress. These are good, but if I teach with love, then I become more present and attentive to who is in front of me and I am willing to go the extra mile in what I do. I can connect with them and they can connect with me and then we learn together.

Article Taken From "Hinduism Today"

2007-02-24T13:28:00.000-05:00

Yoga Renamed Is Still Hindu
I challenge attempts to snatch yoga from its roots
By subhas r. tiwari

In the past few months I have received several calls from journalists around the country seeking my views on the question of whether the newly minted "Christian Yoga " is really yoga.

My response is, "The simple, immutable fact is that yoga originated from the Vedic or Hindu culture. Its techniques were not adopted by Hinduism, but originated from it." These facts need to be unequivocally stated in light of some of the things being written to the contrary by yoga teachers. The effort to separate yoga from Hinduism must be challenged because it runs counter to the fundamental principles upon which yoga itself is premised, the yamas (restraints) and niyamas (observances). These ethical tenets and religious practices are the first two limbs of the eight-limbed ashtanga yoga system which also includes asana (postures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (sense withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (contemplation/Self Realization). Efforts to separate yoga from its spiritual center reveal ignorance of the goal of yoga.

I believe such efforts point to a concerted, long-term plan to deny yoga its origin. This effort to extricate yoga from its Hindu mold and cast it under another name is far from innocent. It is reminiscent of the pattern evident throughout the long history and dynamics of colonizing powers. Firstly, the physical geography of a people was colonized, then their mental arena. Now we are witnessing the next phase, the encroachment on the spiritual territory of Hinduism which began in the last few decades. Some of the agents behind "Christian Yoga " also draw from the same treasure chest which supports the conversion movements of Hindus and other sacred cultures.

...In 2003, the Vatican issued a more conciliatory directive permitting Catholics to engage in the "New Age " in general and yoga specifically, but still warning against its spiritual and meditation practices. "I want to say simply that the New Age presents itself as a false utopia in answer to the profound thirst for happiness in the human heart. New Age is a misleading answer to the oldest hopes of man, " said Cardinal Paul Poupard. This document gives its blessings for Catholics to practice yoga, but not as a spiritual discipline!

Today, however, we are witnessing an initiative toward yoga from ordinary Christians whose positive physical, mental and spiritual heath and well being experienced as a result of "engaging" yoga cannot be denied or ignored. This 5,000-year-old system is perhaps the best known, most accessible and cost effective health and beauty program around. Yoga is also much more, as it was intended by the Vedic seers as an instrument which can lead one to apprehend the Absolute, Ultimate Reality, called the Brahman Reality, or God. If this attempt to co-opt yoga into their own tradition continues, in several decades of incessantly spinning the untruth as truth through re-labelings such as "Christian yoga, " who will know that yoga is--or was--part of Hindu culture?

The giant tree of yoga whose limbs reach high up into the different atmospheres, and whose branches stretch across the wide river offering its protection to so many, cannot deny that its roots are located in a specific place Hinduism. Seeking shelter under its vast umbrella does not entitle you to change the tree; instead, learn from its unselfish display of love and generosity.

Subhas R. Tiwari is a professor at the Hindu University of America. He is a graduate of the famed Bihar Yoga Bharati University with a master's degree in yoga philosophy.

C.S. Lewis and Yoga

2007-01-27T20:53:00.000-05:00

C.S. Lewis wrote a book entitled

“The Screwtape Letters”.

Screwtape is a devil, and in this book, he writes letters to his apprentice, Wormwood, on how to ruin a soul. Below is a relevant excerpt:

“At the very least, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls. It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.” - Screwtape to Wormwood

The physical practice of yoga, the breathing discipline and focus that goes along with it, create a state of serenity and ease in the soul, which allows more openness in prayer and to God. It is vitally important to remember as a Christian/Catholic Yogi, that we must then fix our attention beyond ourselves to see our God and our neighbors. As I continue to teach and practice yoga, if we do not take our attention from that inward gaze back outward, yoga serves no useful purpose as a follower and lover of Christ.

Unity of the Body with the Soul

2007-01-01T20:38:00.007-05:00

“All this goes to illustrate a phenomenon that plays, and must play, a considerable part in our lives: the repercussion of gesture and bodily attitude on the soul, and conversely the echoing by the body of the spirit’s attitude…I am restless or upset; ideas clash confusedly in my mind; or I am simply absent-minded, my thoughts wander, my imagination strays, my understanding steals away. I am thus in no condition to work or pray. But if I succeed in stabilizing my body, if I compel it to fight against instability and remain for some time in a balanced posture, I impose a degree of immobility on my soul at the same time. I tie it down by withdrawing its attention from everything that engrosses it, and by forcing it to pay attention to an action that would appear to have nothing to do with it, but which in fact does have considerable bearing…

Perhaps not all the postures described are able to call up or create an inner gesture or disposition of the soul. All nevertheless link the body to the soul and, beyond the resulting improvement in the psychosomatic condition, there is also this joining and interpenetration as a result in which my soul, relieved of all worries, cut off from the outer world, and having in addition thrust aside all rational activity, remains for a considerable time nothing more than a ‘form’ of my body, whom its sole function is to sustain and sublimate…

Try to count the number of occasions in a day, or in an hour, when the body enjoys the presence of the soul, when the soul has given itself entirely to its life companion, when the activities of both are exactly in harmony. These moments are rare; they may even be non-existent…

The exercises of Yoga are meant to remedy this ill, to re-educate body and soul, to show them again how to agree and live truly in each other.” – Father J.-M. DeChanet, Christian Yoga

Poverty

2006-10-29T18:56:00.000-05:00

“Simply by being human, therefore, I am poor because I am dependent on God for the very existence of my being. All that I have is a gift, freely given to me by a God of gracious goodness. When I am able to acknowledge my poverty, I can stand before God without any demands because I stand before God unarmed, naked in the truth of who I really am…
Sin, in Bonaventure’s view, is the refusal to be poor, that is, to be who we are created to be before God and in God. Francis viewed sin as self-appropriation. First, we grab for ourselves what belongs to God and to our neighbor (who is created as image of God), and then after taking what rightfully belongs to others, we exalt ourselves over and against God and neighbor. Bonaventure described sin as turning from God and toward others. This idea of turning from God is profound. It is as if God holds us straight, facing in the right direction. However, because God gives us the freedom to choose to love Him (because God wants us to freely love Him rather than to force us to love Him), we have a tendency to turn away and lose our direction. When we turn from God we become blinded in our intellect, entangled in endless questions, wandering about in the world looking for what we have lost. We become caught up within ourselves and with ourselves. When we go to prayer preoccupied and entangled in our self-concerns, we have a difficult time gazing on the God who comes to us in love because we are not free to encounter God. There is no space within us to embrace God, nor can we see God in the fragile flesh of the crucified Christ because we are ensnared in our own wounds or self-centeredness. Only poverty can release us from self-concern and allow the God of crucified love to enter in.” – Sister Ilia Delio, Franciscan Prayer

I love this definition of poverty, to “stand before God, unarmed, naked in the truth of who I really am”. That, I believe if the secret to happiness in this life. To be who God created me to be, I have to acknowledge my dependence upon Him, my need for Him. For me, prayer is simply not enough to connect with God in a real, intimate way. Getting free of the entanglement with self-concerns for me takes something more tangible. Yoga physically moves the stuff out of the way. Breathing and moving allows me to clear my head and almost forces me in a tangible way to come into the present moment. Yoga unifies body, mind and spirit in a way nothing else does.

It is absolutely necessary to be free of all of our preoccupations and self-centeredness if we really want to stand naked before God in the truth of who we really are, so that we can embrace His will and He can embrace us.

Ahimsa

2006-10-27T09:21:00.022-04:00

Taken from Christians Practicing Yoga :

Should it be surprising that truth converges? The experience of many in intercultural encounters is that when something of value is discovered in another philosophy or worldview or religion, it sends you back with fresh eyes and renewed appreciation for what is analogous to that in your own faith tradition which before you took for granted. Perhaps this brief exposition of the Yamas and Niyamas and their resonance with Christian moral teachings will occasion for you that kind of reappraisal.

Ahimsa:

This yama is the cornerstone of the foundation.(A) is a negation; himsa means desirous to kill so ahimsa means lacking any desire to kill. Ahimsa is often translated as nonviolence but that is rather a truncated definition.
Ahimsa applies not only to action but also to thought and speech.
It requires us to accept that all thought, speech, and action has consequences.
Do we harbor violence towards ourselves and others? Do our thoughts wish ill on others?
Even being unkind, unfeeling, or indifferent to others is a form of violence.
Ahimsa expects us to take responsibility for our aggressive tendencies and to work on developing compassion, patience, and love towards others.
From a Christian perspective - This yama resonates strongly with the commandment in the law that Jesus placed on a level with the greatest commandment, the love of God with all one’s heart, mind, and strength: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Throughout the course of His teaching, Jesus repeatedly emphasized the need to forgive, to turn the other cheek and to refrain from anger. He exhorted people to love their enemies and to do good to everyone who hated them. During his arrest, He even reproved a follower who cut off the ear of a servant of Caiphas saying that those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword. Finally, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares that peacemakers are the children of God.

The Teacher Within

2006-10-26T13:09:00.000-04:00

"...When we invalidate the deeper inner experience of who we are , how we relate to the WORLD and not to our (inner) Selves, and when we are advised against seeking the answers through contemplation, because our particular religious 'rules' impose limitations to such a natural and healthy process of discovery and learning…. well, you draw your own conclusions. I believe that it was Christ who asked his disciples to follow HIM. It does not mean physically, otherwise when he was crucified, there would be no one to follow. It was a call to follow his teachings and discover the real Christ within each of His children.
Yoga is offered by the Yogic Seers as the instrument of discovery of the Self, regardless of which God you choose to believe in, or follow. The instrument of Yoga in the end transcends all faiths. Those who reject Yoga out of ignorance may be forgiven; those who reject it because they feel threatened by it, or wish to co-opt it, need to examine and contemplate the question from a deep place of Satyam (truth force) and Asteya ( honesty)."

This was written by the same Hindu professor of Yoga Spirituality and Philosophy that I have mentioned in my previous posts.

I have always been taught to look for guidance, outside of myself, my entire life. It is true that we all need guidance. Ultimately, you are your own best teacher. That sounds so superficial- like an excuse to do what you want to do... do whatever feels good! The deeper I get into meditation and self study- the answers are not always the ones I want to hear.

I think there is a tendency in many Christians to use religion as an escape, a place to turn a blind eye towards real issues underlying the surface. I am speaking from my own experience, but am I the only one who believes Christians need to spend more time looking inside of themselves for answers? The physical aspect of Yoga makes me look and feel good and also opens me up physically and emotionally.. The more I practice Yoga, the more I notice more "stuff" coming up and for me, it is not just physical "stuff". This is "stuff" that was buried inside me that, for me, only Yoga could bring to the surface.

Article from "National Catholic Reporter"

2006-10-25T08:35:00.000-04:00

This article was written by Renee LaReau and taken from the National Catholic Reporter:

It is 6:15 p.m. in midtown Manhattan, and the New York City rush hour is in full swing. Commuters flood the Columbus Circle subway entrance in the shadow of the behemoth Time Warner Center, and tourists amble about Central Park's southwest corner. One block away, at St. Paul the Apostle's parish center, preparations for an unusual Tuesday-evening parish meeting are taking place.

New Yorkers of all shapes and sizes, clad in T-shirts, spandex and sweatpants, drift into a darkened second-floor room and take their places on thick charcoal-colored blankets. Some lie on their backs, eyes closed. Some sit cross-legged on small foam blocks, chatting quietly with one another. Others stretch their hamstrings intently. Backpacks and bags stuffed with the day's castoff professional attire line the hallway outside, while quiet flute music emanates from a CD player in the front of the room. To the casual observer, it is not quite clear whether what is about to take place is a workout or a retreat.

But one who sticks around for more than a few minutes learns that it's both. Part retreat, part workout, it's the hottest parish meeting this side of Lincoln Center. Welcome to week six of Meditation and Yoga for Christians, taught by Paulist Fr. Thomas Ryan.

Ryan, 58, tall and trim, takes his place in the front of the room on a slightly elevated platform, his demeanor confident and pensive. He leads the class in singing a five-minute Taize chant, and offers a brief homily, placing the practice of yoga in the context of the Lenten season. He shares e-mails from absent participants, including one who has recently been diagnosed with stage four tongue and throat cancer.

"We begin tonight with an awareness that this class has a communal dimension like this Lenten season we are in," Ryan says. "Think of the others who need you to be here. We offer this prayer of ours for them tonight. When one of us is missing, this class literally isn't the same without you--and that's true for us as church as well."

Ryan, a certified Kripalu yoga instructor, warms up the group with a series of stretches, offering brief commentaries on each position.

"This pose is a restorative pose," he says, as participants lie on their backs with hips elevated and legs in the air. "It sends blood to the heart, giving the heart a rest."

"Now this pose is good for the end of the day," Ryan says, as he bends over and grasps his toes in a seated position, back arching upward. "You are conserving energy, preparing your body to go to bed for a peaceful night's sleep."

After a brief period of instruction, Ryan leads the class in yoga prayers, a series of postures and stretches set to music. Following his lead, a sea of 25 sets of limbs wave through the air, rotating, flexing and scissoring in rhythm to a musical rendition of evening prayer Psalm 141.

Looking across the room during this one-hour-and-45-minute class, one can almost see the stress of a workday melt away in a New York minute. A sense of peace and collective wellness is palpable, a sense that is confirmed talking with some of Ryan's yoga devotees.

Though their ages range from early 20s to mid-80s, and their careers range from stay-at-home mom to Web designer, they are uniformly staunch in their commitment to the integration of yoga into Christian spiritual practice.

Maria Lonczak, 43, drives 50 miles from northern Westchester County to attend Ryan's class.

"The way he ties yoga to Christian spirituality is extraordinary to me," she said. "Other yoga teachers have taught me the breathing and the different positions, but I have never been a part of a class that includes time for meditation."

Kate Van Tassel, 27, a program associate at an environmental justice agency, values the uniqueness of a communal experience of bodily prayer. "You don't find this anywhere else. In the city, it's rare that you get to pray in silence with other people.

"Plus," she said with a laugh, "it's great for my back."

For Ryan, whose 1991 sabbatical in India inspired him to seek professional yoga training, carving out 20 minutes of communal meditation time is simply a matter of staying true to the original purpose of yoga, a 3,000-year-old discipline.

"Yoga first emerged as a physical practice designed to enhance one's ability to sit in meditative poses longer by strengthening the hips and back," said Ryan, director of the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. "When yoga was brought to the Western world somebody made a marketing decision early on to detach it from its context of spirituality, lest market share be limited. Thus yoga has been marketed as the latest fitness fad workout-type exercise."

A fitness fad so popular in the Big Apple, in fact, most yoga classes are overcrowded, which discourages many potential participants. For filmmaker George Rivera, Ryan's parish-based class is a welcome respite from the city's jam-packed yoga studios.

"There was an article written a Couple of years ago about the fact that yoga has become a contact sport in New York," said Rivera, 50. "It had become so popular that classes were getting very competitive and aggressive, and there was an assumption on the part of instructors that you were a high-level practitioner. If you weren't, they didn't have a lot of patience for you."

As an instructor, Ryan exemplifies attentiveness to the varying degrees of strength, flexibility and balance in adult bodies. He demonstrates adaptations to each yoga pose as his assistant, Bernadette Latin, who teaches the class when Ryan travels, offers individual instruction during the course of the evening.

Ryan, who also skis, swims, rollerblades and lifts weights, has offered Meditation and Yoga for Christians at St. Paul since 2000. He teaches four or five 10-week sessions from September to May, with an average attendance of 30 people. Participants pay $100, and the classes earn nearly $8,000 annually for the parish's charitable works.

"It's a great example of the theoretically tight relationship between prayer and almsgiving actually playing out in practice," Ryan said.

When Ryan first pitched the idea for the program to the parish, he was met with a healthy dose of skepticism.

"I told people I wanted to offer a 10-week series and they said, 'Oh no, you'll never get that kind of commitment from New Yorkers--they're too busy. You'll have to do it on a drop-in basis.'"

Ryan tried the drop-in class, but the lack of continuity bothered him. He decided to take a chance and advertised a 10-week class. "I said, 'Forget this. I don't care what they say about New Yorkers.' And when I asked people for the commitment, the class size doubled."

Kim McNamara, a 38-year-old nurse, attends the class weekly with her husband, an attorney. "Sometimes it's hard to get here," she said. "But we always walk home saying to each other that it was well worth it. With most exercise you don't get this spiritual component."

Ryan's students speak of the class not only as a fitness experience, but also as one of communal prayer.

"It's different from working out with people you have no connection to whatsoever," said Rivera. "These are people you see on other occasions around the parish."

Though some of Ryan's yoga students are taking the class for a second or third time, most of them are new to the experience of praying with the body. According to Ryan, the practice is something that blends seamlessly with a Christian theology that prizes the body in doctrines of Christ's resurrection and ascension into heaven.

"Our Christian theology is very clear in asserting that this body may be biodegradable but it is not disposable," Ryan said. "God wants the whole you, and your body is not going to be sent away like a banana peel or a recyclable bottle."

Ryan recently authored his ninth book, Reclaiming the Body in Christian Spirituality (Paulist Press), which all of his students receive upon signing up for the class, In addition, he created the newly released DVD, "Yoga Prayer: An Embodied Christian Spiritual Practice" (Sounds True), in response to former students' requests for a take-home video. Throughout the 90-minute DVD, he integrates yoga postures with some of the same traditional Christian prayers he uses in his Manhattan class.

"There are classic Christian prayers people may have been praying their whole lives, but from the shoulders up--never through their whole person. To enter the prayer this way is a fresh and sometimes quite powerful experience for people," Ryan said.

Just ask the busy New Yorkers in Ryan's class. Evidently, denizens of the city that never sleeps do take some time to practice yoga, pray and meditate with one another. They're nourished by it. They love it. And they'll be back next week.

Example

2006-10-23T10:57:00.000-04:00

"There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I've always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic." -
Mother Teresa

Sister Nirmala succeeded Mother Teresa as leader of the Missionaries of Charity in March 1997. Sister Nirmala was Hindu until the age of 24 when, inspired by Mother Teresa's service to the poor, she converted to Catholicism. She took as her religious name a Hindi word that suggests a purity of mind and spirit.

Even though as Christians, we follow Christ, as Catholics, we obey the Church, but the single most powerful witness to the love we bear to Christ is through expressing that love in action- in reality. Mother Teresa was a living witness to the love of Christ. Whatever is real, you really don’t need to talk much about it- her life was a witness to the reality of Christ. We can look to the saints as examples of how to please Christ through our very person and not just our words.

Human Longing

2006-10-22T14:07:00.000-04:00

“Each of us has a soul, but we forget to value it. We don’t remember that we are creatures made in the image of God. We don’t understand the great secrets hidden inside of us.” – Saint Theresa of Avila

There is so much longing. Each soul has an innate thirst to love and to be loved. Every religion is geared toward this quest- to love and to be loved. However, Love demands everything, not just a little, not half of our hearts- all of our hearts.

I believe this the answer to every human longing and desire- how we can love and be loved truly, freely and completely. It is no easy task. It is rather an art to be learned and requires discipline of mind, spirit and heart.

There are many paths to true love, by paths I mean religion. Deep down I believe that what matters more than what a person’s religion is, is how earnestly they are seeking God- how truthfully they are seeking the Truth. I believe God will always lead an individual to Him if one seeks Him with all their heart. What matters most is the person and their intentions, their heart – not their religious practice. What matters is not focusing on what religion a person is, but how diligently, passionately are they searching and walking the path God has set them on- the work God created them to do- how hard are you looking for God – really?

Anais Nin Quotes

2006-10-21T21:59:00.000-04:00

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

He does not need opium. He has the gift of reverie.

Living never wore one out so much as the effort not to live.

No matter where I am in life- happy, sad, frustrated, confused, at a loss- practicing yoga for over a half hour a day always, always gives me a new perspective. As I sit in Utkatasana or stay in and breathe through Revolved Side Angle pose, I see things differently. By holding these postures and breathing through them, not only is my body getting cleansed, but also my mind. As I hold these postures and breathe through them, something breaks inside me. The desire to hold on to negative thoughts and/or pain leaves and I see there are better things to strive towards. There is a bigger picture and the perspective a yoga practice gives reveals this to you specifically in all of your uniqueness. It's not about where I am, it's about who I am-how I see things. My perspective on any situation can make all the difference.

Mevlana Rumi Quotes - 13th century sufi poet and mystic

2006-10-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

“If your knowledge of fire has been turned to certainty by words alone, then seek to be cooked by the fire itself. Don’t abide in borrowed certainty. There is no real certainty until you burn; if you wish for this, sit down in the fire.”

“Looking up gives light, although at first it makes you dizzy.”

“No prayer is complete without presence.”

“The lion who breaks the enemy’s ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself.”

“This discipline and rough treatment are a furnace to extract the silver from the dross. This testing purifies the gold by boiling the scum away.”

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

Father DeChanet on the Inestimable Service of Yoga

2006-10-18T09:08:00.000-04:00

“But it should be pointed out to those among us whose eyes are turned to the East, as well as made clear to the specialist themselves (who too frequently are prisoners of theory and strangers to practice), that the very first service the Westerner must ask of Yoga is to teach him to become, to re-become, a man-a fully human being, human in the complete sense, in the light of Faith and of Revelation.

Neither angel nor beast, man is a being who but seldom accepts to be what he is, and who does not always understand that he must aim at growth and expansion both in his nature and in the life of grace...

Man must accept himself for what he is. At certain periods of history it was the done thing in some circles to pare away various manifestations of the instincts and of the noblest forms of energy in man, under the pretext of their harming spiritual life. Things were cut back to a minimum, and ‘animal’ life and genuinely intellectual aspirations were in fact suppressed. It was neither thought nor believed that the solution to the conflict already spoken of by St. Paul could be found in synthesis and, to put it briefly, in the expansion of and development of man’s activities in a hierarchy of order- the order of nature itself, upraised by the order of grace or of charity…

…are there not too many intellectuals about who, without (even) knowing it, have put a muzzle on their hearts, and whose ‘spiritual life’ misses those deep intuitions that are of the world of the spirit?

All these people- the ‘brains’, the spiritualists, as well as those who are embarrassed or engrossed by the body- may be taught by Yoga…that they cannot become truly themselves unless they accept their nature as men and aim at establishing balance between the parts of man in us; this nature of ours which is at one and the same time an animal body (corpus-anima), thinking soul (animus-mens) and spirit (spiritus-cor). It is a harmony among these 'three' that is sought in each of us by the grace of redemption. Christ came in the first place so that this ‘creature of God’ within us, concealed under a human complex, bruised and torn by original sin, should flower and open out in its full beauty and wealth of talent. Any ascetic discipline that works towards this works, in fact, hand in hand with grace, and that is why I have roundly stated that a Yoga that calms the senses, pacifies the soul, and frees certain intuitive or affective powers in us can be of inestimable service to the West. It can make people into true Christians, dynamic and open, by helping them to be men.” – Father J.M. DeChanet, O.S.B.

Churches, Synagogues Mingle Yoga With Beliefs

2006-10-16T11:54:00.009-04:00

Excerpts from an Article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
By Phuong LyWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, January 1, 2006; C01

Inside the makeshift yoga studio, a large cross hung on the wall.
As the parishioners at New Community Church in Northwest Washington stretched their arms above their heads into the mountain pose, the instructor reminded them, "Faith moves mountains." When they joined hands to chant, they did not say, "Om," the yoga mantra. It was "Sha-LOM." The latest incarnation of yoga, a discipline that began 5,000 years ago as a set of spiritual exercises with origins in Hinduism, is for devout Christians and Jews. In a small but growing practice, churches and synagogues are offering yoga as a tool for connecting with God. "It's just a wonderful way to say, 'Hey, we don't just pray from our shoulders up,' " said the Rev. Jim Dickerson, pastor of New Community in the District's Shaw neighborhood, which has monthly yoga sessions that attract about a dozen people. "The whole body is in this. Glorify God from your body."...

So-called "Christian yoga" is drawing yoga veterans who say they feel more comfortable in a Christian setting, as well as many people who say they would not otherwise have attempted the activity. Practitioners usually perform the same series of physical postures and breathing techniques as in traditional yoga, a routine designed to calm the body and mind. But they also might incorporate prayers and hymns and rename the poses."...

Dickerson, who said he doesn't want to offend Hindus or put off Christians by using the term "yoga," prefers to call the spiritual exercises at his church a "prayer of embodiment." It is done by "Christians who have a spirituality who happen to practice yoga as a part of it," he explained."...

As Christians, we need to be careful of the religious practices that we participate in," said Kathleen Porter, who is starting Praise Moves classes in Frederick this month, the first in the Washington region. With Praise Moves, "we're giving [Christian] people an alternative. It doesn't have connection to other religions or other gods," she said.

Despite such criticism, the enthusiasm for spreading yoga to people of all faiths appears to be growing.

Praveen Tewari, a member of the board of trustees at Durga Temple in Fairfax Station, said he believes the yoga principles of fitness of mind and body are universal and should be shared.

Durga and at least one other Hindu temple in the region -- BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in Beltsville -- offer free yoga classes, which organizers say are non-religious. Several non-Hindus attend the weekly class at Durga.

"Why not share the joy? Why miss out on it?" asked Tewari, who added that he has a Christmas tree in his home. "My firm belief is that ultimate reality is the same. Every religion teaches basically good things."

The Inner Working of Grace

2006-10-15T08:33:00.001-04:00

“All this goes to bear out- on the level of grace and redemption- what has already been said about the unity of the human complex on the natural plane. What God united at the creation, has been re-united by redemption. Christian life is based on an incarnation: that of the Son of God. Contact, union, mutual penetration of the bodily and spiritual, of the body and soul, of matter and spirit- Christian life finds its substratum and supernatural dynamism in the person of the Word of God made flesh.
The body may remain mortal, may be a trap and stumbling block to the soul and spirit; but none of this can take away one iota from the providential role of the body in the dispensation of grace. Every Christian is in a position of benefiting from the flesh and using this ‘body of death’, in the words of St. Paul, to live according to the spirit.

Once the foregoing points have been thoroughly grasped, it will be seen that no desecration of holy things is involved when the mystery of the redemption of the world is linked to purely physical exercises, postures, attitudes and breath-control; or, to put it another way, when one seeks to ascend in the order of divine grace and of life according to the Spirit by turning a natural phenomenon to account- the repercussions of certain bodily states on the soul and the influence of various rhythms of living on the depths of the inner life. An example can illustrate this.
To receive the Body and Blood of Christ each morning helps to maintain and quicken in me the hearth for divine life, and my whole spiritual life will be a function of this grace, of the gift God makes me of Himself at the time of Holy Communion. In fact I shall only profit by this ‘communication’ from on high if I bring myself into harmony with God, and if, the whole day long, total communion with the divine will accords in me with the sacrament of communion. If certain ways of holding the body, certain attitudes and physical exercises by their nature promote this attitude in my soul and make it easier to receive graces, then this is a clear instance of the kind of link already discussed. Here, at a personal level, is a practical example of how the body is redeemed… In doing this, my intention is not to compel the supernatural, any more than it is to put all manner of acrobatics in the place of dispositions of the heart; nor is it to obtain by mechanical and artificial means what can only be the fruit of a sincere piety and a generosity of soul that appeals to Divine Love. On the contrary it is simply to create around me and in me an atmosphere of calm, peace, and silence and especially to establish harmony between body, soul and spirit so that nothing in me shall hinder the working of grace…” – Father J.M. DeChanet

John 2 (New International Version)

2006-10-01T08:31:00.000-04:00

“After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said,
‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!’
His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’
Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’
Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’
The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’
But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”

What kind of passion drives a man to make such a scandal in a place such as the temple? Has anyone ever done such a thing before or since? Imagine, a man turning over tables, striking out at people with a whip. Imagine the shock of even his own disciples! Jesus was ANGRY! Consumed with anger and frustration! His own people turned to Him in outrage and asked Him to perform a miracle to prove His authority to do something like this. What did God Himself say?
“Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”
Of course, His own people misunderstood Him, understanding what He said as something entirely different.
“But the temple he had spoken of was his body.”
His body.
God speaks to us on a much more subtle, quiet, yet ever more miraculous way. Not in outward shows, but to our very person, in our very person. If ever those people understood His message, it must have been a humbling experience, finally seeing that He had an altogether different message than what they had expected.

Excerpts from "Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith" by Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

2006-09-28T11:14:00.004-04:00

"Many Christians today have a keen desire to learn how to experience a deeper and authentic prayer life despite the not inconsiderable difficulties which modern culture places in the way of the need for silence, recollection and meditation. The interest which in recent years has been awakened also among some Christians by forms of meditation associated with some eastern religions and their particular methods of prayer is a significant sign of this need for spiritual recollection and a deep contact with the divine mystery. Nevertheless, faced with this phenomenon, many feel the need for sure criteria of a doctrinal and pastoral character which might allow them to instruct others in prayer, in its numerous manifestations, while remaining faithful to the truth revealed in Jesus, by means of the genuine Tradition of the Church…

The ever more frequent contact with other religions and with their different styles and methods of prayer has, in recent decades, led many of the faithful to ask themselves what value non-Christian forms of meditation might have for Christians. Above all, the question concerns eastern methods. Some people today turn to these methods for therapeutic reasons. The spiritual restlessness arising from a life subjected to the driving pace of a technologically advanced society also brings a certain number of Christians to seek in these methods of prayer a path to interior peace and psychic balance…

The majority of the "great religions" which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions, neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured. It is within the context of all of this that these bits and pieces should be taken up and expressed anew…

Without doubt, a Christian needs certain periods of retreat into solitude to be recollected and, in God's presence, rediscover his path. Nevertheless, given his character as a creature, and as a creature who knows that only in grace is he secure, his method of getting closer to God is not based on any "technique" in the strict sense of the word. That would contradict the spirit of childhood called for by the Gospel. Genuine Christian mysticism has nothing to do with technique: it is always a gift of God, and the one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy...

Human experience shows that the "position and demeanor of the body" also have their influence on the recollection and dispositions of the spirit. This is a fact to which some eastern and western Christian spiritual writers have directed their attention.

Some physical exercises automatically produce a feeling of quiet and relaxation, pleasing sensations, perhaps even phenomena of light and of warmth, which resemble spiritual well-being. To take such feelings for the authentic consolations of the Holy Spirit would be a totally erroneous way of conceiving the spiritual life. Giving them a symbolic significance typical of the mystical experience, when the moral condition of the person concerned does not correspond to such an experience, would represent a kind of mental schizophrenia which could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations.

That does not mean that genuine practices of meditation which come from the Christian East and from the great non-Christian religions, which prove attractive to the man of today who is divided and disoriented, cannot constitute a suitable means of helping the person who prays to come before God with an interior peace, even in the midst of external pressures…

The love of God, the sole object of Christian contemplation, is a reality which cannot be "mastered" by any method or technique. On the contrary, we must always have our sights fixed on Jesus Christ, in whom God's love went to the cross for us and there assumed even the condition of estrangement from the Father (cf. Mk 13:34). We therefore should allow God to decide the way he wishes to have us participate in his love. But we can never, in any way, seek to place ourselves on the same level as the object of our contemplation...

The more a creature is permitted to draw near to God, the greater his reverence before the thrice-holy God. One then understands those words of St. Augustine: "You can call me friend; I recognize myself a servant." Or the words which are even more familiar to us, spoken by her who was rewarded with the highest degree of intimacy with God: "He has looked upon his servant in her lowliness" (Lk 1:48)."

Trusting Oneself

2006-09-27T21:51:00.009-04:00

“What is it that makes it so hard sometimes to determine whither we will walk? I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.” – Henry DavidThoreau

“In the early stages of my spiritual trek, I doggedly adhered to practice guidelines devised by individuals with far more experience than I had. I applied the findings of others to my own life with burning zeal…
Each one of us embarks on his or her yoga practice as a beginner, surrounded by more experienced practitioners. If we are earnest about our practice, if we have burning zeal, we will listen respectfully to those who have gone before us. Some of the advice we get will be life changing, some will be downright odd. We must learn to trust our own judgment on spiritual matters. But when we are just starting out, we must also be willing to trust the judgment of others, and to learn from them. Over time, our own wisdom awakens. When to practice, how to practice, what to practice- eventually the answers to all these questions will come to us from within. Each moment we live from the inside out strengthens our ability to do so in the future. Just as, at first, we must learn to yield to the wisdom of others, eventually we must learn to yield to the wisdom from within. As we do so, we see that it directs us aright.” – Rolf Gates, Reflections from the Mat

The Core of our Being

2006-09-20T08:28:00.000-04:00

"The encounter between the soul and God transcends what language can contain. In many ways such intimacy is unspeakable. It is beyond words. In that silent center, where the Holy Spirit prays in our hearts, we transcend our bodily frailty as well as our functional limits. Neither seems to matter at such moments. Stilled, like a child on its mother's lap, we are with God and God is with us. He and I are wordlessly present to one another, yet a world of communication transpires between us. Because language cramps this reality we fall silent. Words signifying human mastery dissolve as we listen to God's song. Tones we ordinarily miss due to life's rush are heard in silence. During such gratuitous moments, we are in tune with a silent treasure, God's presence in the core of our being.”- Susan Muto "Pathways of Spiritual Living"

There are several good books that talk about how emotions live in our bodies. One such book is entitled “Heal Your Body” by Louise Hays. It is a therapeutic technique for a therapist to ask a patient, “When you talk about this incident, where do you feel it in your body?” Being in touch with our bodies can reveal a hundred deep, hidden and otherwise inaccessible secrets about us. Emotions are indeed stored inside the body- they live there. This causes us to walk, sit, stand- hunched over and layers of tension build in our shoulders, back and hips. Yoga practice is a time set apart to tune in to your own body and the secrets laid up within. By doing heart-opening movements, some people feel emotions welling up. Hip opening postures release a storehouse of buried emotions and sometimes memories as well. It is true, as one’s body opens up, the emotions free up. What was stifled before, the practice of Yoga helps to release it- whatever it is- that is holding us back, blocking our vision and preventing us from coming into more full union with Christ.

Yoga and Religion

2006-09-16T12:01:00.004-04:00

This is taken from an article written by Anna Poplawska, http://www.annapoplawska.net/ featured in “YogaChicago”

“Though we often speak of the spiritual aspect of yoga, we aren’t always sure how to go about giving it substance. Despite our best intentions, many of us find that our yoga practice devolves into the merely physical. Some people who follow mainstream religious paths may distrust yoga, fearing that it will lead them away from what they consider their true spiritual path. I set out to discover how people who practice both yoga and mainstream religion reconcile these two seeming opposites; perhaps their experiences might help religious people recognize that yoga is not a threat. I interviewed two Catholics and a Jew.

Sister Paulette Schroeder has been a nun for 43 years and belongs to the Sisters of St. Francis; her convent is in Tiffin, Ohio. She’d been doing yoga on and off for many years, but seven years ago she started doing it regularly. She felt that she’d been on a treadmill, working all the time and ignoring the messages from her body. She explains that since then, she’s come to see her body as her best friend and a gift from God. Yoga is her way of loving it and of saying, I’m sorry for not having listened sooner. Although she had already started teaching yoga, Sister Paulette decided to take the yoga teacher training home-study course from the Temple of Kriya Yoga three years ago.

In addition to carrying out various charitable works, her convent holds retreats for the public at St. Francis Spirituality Center, where she now teaches yoga three times a week. The facility holds numerous retreats, such as a Walking Yoga Retreat coming up in May, which will incorporate chanting, meditation and breathing. She also teaches yoga at other locations in the surrounding neighborhood. She doesn’t usually include spiritual teachings in her classes unless she feels that she has a receptive audience. She believes that yoga practice itself is holistic. Whatever happens on the physical plane also happens on the mental and spiritual planes. The poses themselves lead to transformation. For example, when standing in a perfectly balanced tree pose, symbol of hospitality, we become more like that tree. We grow in stature and strength and gain endurance against the elements.

She explains, ‘I love the philosophy of yoga. The bottom line is attunement to the divine. I know there’s still fear and skepticism on the part of some people, because it comes from the East. But this is not how I’ve experienced it.’…

Julie Rosenheim Moos is Jewish but, like Josette, had a secular upbringing. In her junior year of college, she went to Nepal, where she stayed with a family for a semester. Though her original reason for going was her love of the outdoors, particularly mountain climbing, it turned into a spiritual journey. She had grown up thinking of religion as just a dry set of stories that may or may not be true and had little to do with daily life, but in Nepal, she was living with people whose religion was completely integrated into their lives. From the care they offered to each other to the clothes they wore and the foods they ate, everything they did expressed their deep religious conviction.

Her yoga practice began many years later, after her kids were born. While it gave her a sense of connection to her experience in Nepal, she didn’t feel able to integrate it into her larger life. She explains that in America everything is separate: You have your work here, your school there and your friends someplace else. That was as far as she was able to take her spiritual journey until a friend suggested that she take classes at a Hasidic Jewish center, which she did. The teaching was very traditional, but there were a lot of students like her with secular backgrounds. She discovered a mystical aspect of Judaism that she never knew existed. It helped her see how she could connect through Judaism to Godliness. Since then, she has become involved with a more mainstream Conservative Jewish synagogue.

Julie took her yoga teacher training at the Temple of Kriya Yoga three years ago and currently teaches in the northern suburbs. She explains the relationship between yoga and religion as she’s come to understand it: ‘Yoga is important in that it heightens awareness so intensely that you become aware of your edge, or limits; then you start looking for what’s beyond those limits. This is where religion comes in—--when you start to ask where do you go from here? Or, how can this be directed?’

As a yoga teacher, Julie seeks to push people to explore those limits, and from that experience she hopes they may come to feel euphoric and spiritual. Such exploration may make them more receptive to their own religious path, whatever that may be. They might then choose to seek further guidance, for example, from a priest or a rabbi. In her classes, she seeks to incorporate yoga’s more universal spiritual teachings, like centering or surrender, which might be applied to any religion or anybody’s life.

Julie views her time in Nepal as merely the beginning of a larger journey. She very much admired the family she stayed with and felt a deep sense of spiritual tranquility living among them. Yet she also recognized that their religion was not hers. What it gave her was a lasting sense of what she was looking for, which eventually helped her recognize the possibility in her own religion, Judaism. She now believes that every religion has an esoteric, mystical aspect that is often overlooked. As a yoga teacher, she’s convinced that yoga’s growing popularity reflects the authentic spiritual longings of many Americans who are searching for that something deeper.”

A Specific Journey

2006-09-13T13:38:00.001-04:00

In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone. -
Saint John of the Cross

How important it is to look inside of ourselves, to really look deeply at ourselves, to see ourselves in the true light of reality- to know truly who we are. For many of us, this is our life’s work- to reach deep inside of ourselves to tap into who we really are in spite of what other people tell us, in spite of our outer reality- who are you really? It is work to find this out, but it is a treasure and a journey that I believe will take us to our ultimate goal which is true love and union with the Beloved- with our God, Jesus Christ.

Yoga is a nurturing of one’s own spirit. Yoga can romance the true you, to realize it is okay to be who you really are and to be this to the full. This is who God created us to be- to think and feel and act from the deep truth hidden from the outside world- to present to the world what perhaps they do not already know, what they could not possibly know because you are not yet aware. Who am I? It is a question with a clear answer. The path of a Christian Yogi is not necessarily an easy journey: it takes discipline, dedication, a willingness to do the work on your self and this can be frightening. Just like the walk of a follower of Christ, it takes commitment to the rocky path, the straight and narrow, to reach the goal to GENUINELY live, move and have our being in the God who is Love.

Dark Night of the Soul - St. John of the Cross

2006-09-12T09:04:00.002-04:00

One dark night,
fired with love's urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace! -
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.

In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
- ah, the sheer grace! -
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.

On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
- him I knew so well -
there in a place where no one appeared.

O guiding night!

O night more lovely than the dawn!

O night that has united

the Lover with his beloved,

transforming the beloved in her Lover.

How Yoga Helps Christians Be Better Christians

2006-08-20T13:10:00.000-04:00

“It is one thing, though quite admittedly an agreeable one, to enjoy good health; it is quite another to have the ambition of enjoying good health so as to pray better, to live more fully up to a Christian ideal. We are therefore less interested here in the physical aspect of Yoga exercises than in the repercussions they have on psychical and moral life.

Yoga presupposes…a whole series of restraints and positive virtues: non-violence, truthfulness, abstinence, poverty, purity, chastity, moderation, contentedness and so on. Now it is a fact that the exercises and in particular the postures create in the psyche a certain propensity towards these virtues and restraints. At all events they make them considerably easier to carry out. Most of the great yogi’s are chaste, pure, truthful, gentle, patient and detached, and all this in a thoroughly natural manner; but this does not mean that they have attained this condition passively, without effort or discipline.

You should therefore not be surprised if, equipped as you already are by virtue of your Christian life with instruction, abstinence and positive virtues, you notice that the exercises and postures set out above bring you closer to the core of this fundamental ascetic discipline and lessen the burden of keeping to it, making it easier, more spontaneous, and above all more natural.” – Father J.M DeChanet, Christian Yoga

Santosha

2006-08-15T12:43:00.000-04:00

Taken from: Christians Practicing Yoga.com

Santosha = “Contentment”

Santosha asks us to practice contentment with ourselves and our lives at the present moment. It is a tranquil state of mind that does not crave for more, that is not fearful or worried.
It is an acceptance with balance and joy of all that enters one’s life.

From a Christian perspective, Jesus strikes a very similar note in Matthew 6:25-34:
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more than clothing? Seek first the kingdom of God…”
Throughout his ministry, Jesus stressed repeatedly that if we prioritize God, everything else will fall into place.

Coming Closer to God

2006-08-14T09:03:00.000-04:00

Sister Ilia Delio wrote a book entitled "Franciscan Prayer". It is page after page of the most beautiful insights into how to pray and how to find God within ourselves and in our lives. This is an excerpt from her book:

“As a Minister General of a large Order, Bonaventure provided, among other things, spiritual direction for those seeking God. In a letter to Poor Clare nuns, he offered directives as to how we might enter into prayer by way of ‘descent’. The steps are summarized as follows:

· Return to yourself;
· Enter into your heart;
· Ponder what you were, are, should have been, called to be;
· What you are by nature;
· What you are through sin;
· What you should have been through effort;
· What you can still be through grace;
· Meditate in your heart;
· Let your spirit brood. (Are you resentful, angry, jealous?)
· Plow this field, work on yourself;
· Strive for freedom within, the freedom that leads to relationship with God, realizing that God will never force us to love him;
· Lack of self-knowledge and failure to appreciate one’s own worth make for faulty judgment in all other matters;
· If you are not able to understand (and accept) your own self, you will not be able to understand (or accept) what is beyond you.

Bonaventure’s advice is practical and balanced. We cannot love the God we cannot see unless we love the God we see within ourselves and in others. The more we are able to find God within ourselves, the more we can find God outside ourselves. The deeper our relation with God, the greater the realization of our identity in God, that is, the closer we come to God. The more we are ourselves the more we can love others, for no other reason or purpose but simply to love them because God is love.” – Sister Ilia Delio, O.S.F.

Excerpt from "Christian Yoga" by Father DeChanet

2006-08-05T22:46:00.000-04:00

“During the last few years I spent long hours pondering over these ideas of William of Saint-Thierry. To live entirely for God, to move towards him, with my “three” (anima, animus, and spiritus) properly in balance, with my body playing its part, and my soul with all its lofty considerations withdrawing when required, so that the voice of the Almighty might be heard in my heart-this had become a kind of obsession with me. The question was how to attain this condition…

I took up sports. I was forty-two before I learned to swim. I did gymnastics with young people. I took part in a course where I quickly benefited from a system that aimed at making a man ‘a new being, well balanced in body as well in mind and full of energy’. I found the training very hard, but I took the whole system as an ascetic discipline; for I wanted to have, not merely strong muscles, but strength of soul, a virile temperament and above all an openness of spirit, reaching up and out towards higher things…

During this period I happened to see an article in a magazine, extolling the beneficial effects of certain Yoga postures. I sensed at once that this gymnastics of repose, more suited to my age as well as to my way of life than the exercises I had been doing, would carry me further at the spiritual level…What I then read about Yoga and about some of its aims simply encouraged me to embark on, and then go through with, an experiment about the appropriateness of which I became convinced at the very first attempt. Yoga, I found, was first of all ‘a particular way of fashioning oneself’, the way of the man who ‘by means of certain disciplines, both physiological [postures and breath control] and psychical [focusing on thought], was joined; that is to say, was in a condition of coherence in accordance with his vital functions, and in a state of balance such that life could be controlled and made effective. This is therefore the opposite of fragmented living, of naïve incoherence, impotence and unawareness. Its symbol is ‘the wheel, where the rim is perfectly jointed to the nave by means of the spokes’”. – Father J.-M. DeChanet, “Christian Yoga”

Expression Through Yoga

2006-04-28T09:31:00.009-04:00

"I was tracking something very slippery, very elusive, and had to use every sense I had to stay on the trail - other people were distracting. Later, I discovered what I was hunting was my own spirit." - Ana Forrest

I have been reading about this Yoga instructor, Ana Forrest. Her story is fascinating and her example and expression through yoga and teaching is inspirational. You can view a demo of her practice and learn more about her on her website.

Bringing Beliefs Into Reality

2006-04-05T10:44:00.000-04:00

Luke 11: 5-10

“And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. ‘And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.’”

We can pray, we can dream, we can plan…but how can we bring our ideas, dreams, and plans into reality? How can our inner beliefs, our spirits shine through into reality? I think it takes not only prayer and discussion- it also takes work and courage, tirelessly searching and looking for the open door. You can only talk about a dream for so long, you can only long for something before it drives you into a non-reality dream state- it takes action and action takes courage.

Christ encourages us to seek, to knock, to search- to have the courage to search for the thing that you long for. If you keep knocking, and knocking with persistence- gusto- you will find the open door you seek. The more persistant, vigorous searching, the quicker you will find the answer. That is what I believe.

(pic of my yoga teacher training class. I am on the far right in the back.)

Douay-Rheims Matthew 7:1-5

2006-02-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

Judge not, that you may not be judged, For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. Any why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye? Or how sayest thou to thy brother: Let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold a beam is in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Is it possible that sometimes we forget that God is bigger than our own minds can fathom? As human beings, we categorize events, people, feelings in our minds in order to make sense of them. God wants to open our eyes if you will, to look inside. I truly believe that looking within is what Jesus wants us to do. If we honestly look at ourselves, take responsibility for our own actions, we can never judge another human being, we can never point the finger at another person. We all do the things that we accuse another of doing. A hypocrite is anyone who points the finger at another person.

A truly humble person is hard to find. Honestly looking within can help us discover true humility when we see our own struggles. Often time, we are no better than the person that we blame. Yoga can be like a thorough examination of conscience, if one honestly looks within.

Douay-Rheims Bible Mark 7: 14-23

2006-02-09T08:54:00.000-05:00

“And calling again the multitude unto him, he said to them: ‘Hear ye me all, and understand. There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man.

If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.’ And when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him the parable. And he saith to them: ‘So are you also without knowledge? Understand you not that every thing from without, entering into a man cannot defile him: Because it entereth not into his heart, but goeth into the belly, and goeth out into the privy, purging all meats?’ But he said that the things which come out from a man, they defile a man.

‘For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile a man.’”

Sometimes, to really look inside of ourselves is a very hard thing to do. Sometimes, it is easier to hide behind acts of penance and even religion. The message of the gospel is to rend your hearts not your garments, so that Christ can take the first place in our lives. To understand what it means to love God with your whole heart, with your whole soul and with all your mind, it is important to face the issues that we need to face, to look at the reality of ourselves squarely- in the face. Yoga is a way for Catholics and Christians to look inside, really look. We should not be afraid to do this.

Excerpts from "What Catholics Believe" by Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

2006-02-02T13:54:00.011-05:00

“What we do as the Catholic Church:
The Church is called to be a "sacrament" of Jesus. That is, just as Jesus was a sacrament of the Father—making visible the love of God—so Jesus' followers are called to be a "sacrament" of Jesus. The Church has the fearful burden of knowing that it must show Jesus to the world, nothing less.
What we are called to do as followers of Jesus:Vatican II reminded us that there is only one holiness in the Church—God's. "They are really made holy...All the faithful of Christ, of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #40)…What does God ask us to do? Simply to be wholeheartedly centered on responding to his initiative of love—loving, praising, pleasing him—and showing this love by the way we treat others. Our task, like that of Jesus, is to help bring God's salvation, healing, peace and wholeness to the human family, setting all men and women, especially the neediest, free of sin, oppression and injustice of every kind and removing the barriers to their development as God's children. Our responsibility is itself a gift. We are to be as consciously dependent on God as a little child on its mother and father. We are to be as trustful of God as the lilies of the field. We are to be single-minded. There is one value above all—a mature and spiritually childlike relationship to God in Jesus.
Knowledge is essential, but faith is not just in the head. Faith is openness to God—whatever he asks. It is surrender to God in both heart and mind, a way of life. It includes hope, the absolute certainty that God is and will be with us. The response of faith is love—not just any love, but the love of our neighbor that is as generous as our love for ourselves.Therefore, we are called to continuous conversation...To be a follower of Jesus and a child of the Father is to be aware of this relationship—and to communicate with this loving God. Prayer is consciously being in God's presence—silently or verbally, alone or with others, or in the liturgy. It is a conscious moment or hour with "Abba," with Jesus, with the gentle, ever-present Spirit.” - Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Following Christ is not easy. It’s not. In today’s culture with all of the demands, pressures and competition, to really pray with the heart requires a heart filled with love for Christ, not just a head filled with knowledge of right and wrong. As a Catholic who practices Yoga, I find that following Christ is a more whole and all-encompassing lifestyle- a way of being. The principles of Yoga are so helpful to a follower of Christ in that it gives a practical guideline to living a genuinely virtuous life- Yoga increases personal awareness of how you are or are not being an authentic lover of Jesus Christ. How can I love Jesus Christ with my life? With my heart? Not through an artificial, forced “Christian” attitude, but through the naturalness that springs out of the center of our beings- our heart’s center. That is where Christ wants to reside. One can harldy help but bring Christ to the world when He really resides right there in your heart. Less effort is needed -more a letting go of fear. It is a powerful thing to truly realize, to see for yourself your ownGod-given gifts and to be grounded in the truth within yourself. Then, bringing that truth outside of yourself is more natural, authentic and naturally more appealing to others. I believe that evangelization happens when a person is truly grounded in his call to Love Christ above all things, but more than that, really does. When a person is not only willing, but is also able to really listen to His voice, that is a witness who can't help himself- the most powerful portrayal of all of Christ's presence among us.

"Glorify God in Your Body"

2006-01-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

“Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God has raised the Lord and will raise us by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20

“Do you not know your bodies are members of Christ…Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you… Therefore glorify God in your body.”

These words taken from the New Testament of the bible speak to the relevance and importance of your body. In my own experience, I have seen so many “spiritual” people who are completely out of touch with their bodies and their humanity in order to get closer to the Divine. This is not the way. Yoga is a tool, a powerful tool, to realize and get in touch with the very sacredness of your body. It is within you that Christ speaks to the depths of the heart, to your heart in particular. Getting in touch with your body gets you closer to the Divine, to Christ, in a personal, intimate way.

Going deeper

2006-01-11T14:39:00.000-05:00

“Without Christianity I don't think the oriental religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, can answer the needs of the modern world. But without the enrichment of the mystical tradition of Asia I doubt whether the Western Churches can really discover the fullness of Christ which we are seeking." – Father Bede Griffiths

Progressing Towards Union w/ God

2006-01-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

Father Bede Griffith writes of his experience of choral prayer and Eucharist at the Abbey of Prinknash:

“Time and space were obliterated, and we were gathered into that eternal present, in which all things stand in their essential unity before God. This was the center around which not only our own life but the life of the whole world moved. All the movements of the stars and atoms, the course of biological evolution and of human history, all derived their meaning from this. For Christ is the Head not only of all humankind but of the whole physical universe; all things, in Saint Paul’s words, are to be gathered to a head in Him. When He assumed a human nature, He assumed the whole universe in a certain sense into Himself. For by the incarnation the whole universe is brought into organic relation with Christ and raised to a new mode of existence in Him…The creation was revealed for what it is, a symbol of the eternal reality manifested in time, a process of ‘becoming’ always moving toward its realization in the order of absolute being, where each creature will participate according to its capacity in the divine glory.”

Finding the Voice of God

2006-01-01T12:44:00.000-05:00

“We do not have to look about us very far or for very long to realize the disastrous effects produced on the inner life of man by this age of noise. Spun about in the whirl of business, enslaved to countless technical inventions, man is severed from God and from the world of the spirit. Non in commotione Deus: God does not dwell in turbulence. To find Him, there must be calm within; certain senses must be hushed. Tossed around as we are, if God wishes to speak to us, His voice, small and still, will be lost in the hubbub of our daily lives; the rackets and noise drowning our minds will prevent His penetration into that seclusion we call ‘heart’- the living witness of that life in us which is most sacred and most true: the life we call ‘inner’ or ‘spiritual’.

…Hundreds of millions of human beings cannot manage to rise beyond the mere struggle for existence; they live out their lives, little concerned with mind or even soul…A whole world is noisy within them, a world more difficult to avoid than the external racket, from which one can find shelter. For there exist even nowadays oases of silence: a church, a monastery, or failing these, a forest, a quiet room…Yet being alone and withdrawn may not enable every man to shake off what is weighing him down or holding him back. He may not be able to sweep out all his own rubbish, or to control his feelings and emotions… ‘God, the rest is silence’ wrote a French thinker. Yet how difficult this very withdrawing from the racket of the mind is, so that only the murmuring of the voice of the living God is heard, soft and light as an exhalation…” Father J.M. DeChanet

Gentleness rather than Force

2005-12-14T08:19:00.000-05:00

“The ancients used to make anima (principle of activity in man which controls the life of the body, regulates bodily functions) the consort of animus (principle of activity in man that is the conscious part in us, the part that thinks, reasons, decides on courses of action and gives our human existence its personal, responsible character)…Firstly, the animal man in us must serve the other man, must obey him and must submit his appetites, desires and motions to the constant watchful control of the thinking man. Secondly, and this is perhaps more important, the thinking man in us must treat the animal man with enlightened solicitude, and by his attention, thoughtfulness and love, win its quasi-natural and spontaneous submission

Anima is woman; one must know how to win her over. She must be brought, but not constrained, to obey and serve.
In asceticism, as elsewhere, more is achieved by gentleness than by force. A will that is persevering, but perseveringly gentle, obtains more from the body and from its animating principle than do force and compulsion. No woman is won by anger and blows.

…Our whole aim is to bring calm and peace to the whole being; to make a good and faithful servant of the body; to free the soul from anxieties and problems that are, alas, all too common; and finally to arouse the spirit…” - Father DeChanet

St. John of the Cross

2005-12-12T13:49:00.001-05:00

The soul that is attached to anything however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for, until the cord be broken
the bird cannot fly.

Father J.-M. DeChanet- Christian Yoga

2005-12-08T09:48:00.000-05:00

“…in the human complex (there are) three principles of activity, anima, animus and spiritus. Anima controls the life of the body. It regulates the bodily functions…It is ready to act with a wisdom and skill that is beyond us or at any rate cannot be grasped by the mind. Animus is the conscious part in us, the part that thinks, reasons, decides on courses of action, and gives our human existence its personal and responsible character. Spiritus…is a certain power of living, of tending towards…it is in essence love, tendency, desire, a silent clasping of the true, the good, the beautiful of God.

We thus have one soul, but three ‘somethings’. On the balanced interplay of these three in us depend the harmony of our being, the unfolding of our personality, and the uplifting of our inner life…

…Asceticism is an effort to restore to its proper place and function each of the ‘three’, and above all to re-establish between them something of the primordial relationship intended by God...

Asceticism is a practice that needs bringing out into the light. It is a serious misunderstanding of Christian life to base it on some cult of suffering-a disguised masochism-and of pain, or to preach the destruction or annihilation of the body…Asceticism or true mortification means extinguishing neither the appetites of the flesh nor the desires of the mind; it means restoring balance between the different affectus shown in man, and which are part of him…the ‘three’ must be brought together in harmony to accord with God’s plan, with the destiny of man, and with the individual’s calling…

To set in order is not to destroy; it is to discipline, to govern…one must persuade rather than compel, one must silence, not destroy. True mortification implies solicitous attention to the human body, a real, living love of animus for anima; …a love that unites, but does not dominate; a will that is constant, firm and strict, but less conquering; a taking up into control, but not an enslavement…Asceticism is basically an effort directed towards setting nature right again, and re-establishing order and balance… Asceticism resides, to begin with, in the heart.

Self knowledge, just as much as respect for God's plan, is one of the indispensable bases for Christian asceticism...What in the end distinguishes the Christian yogi from other followers of Christ is the spirit that he infuses into his practice of positive virtues and of restraints [the disposition to accept rather than undergo- which is surely a form of charity, of love, of giving oneself both to God and to His works]. His concern is to make himself whole...Redemption is so ordered as to embrace the whole, not merely a part, of man..."

My Two Cents...

2005-12-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

I would like to offer my humble two cents in answer to the article in the post below this one, on Dec. 1...

Mr. Gleghorn concludes that -
“Clearly, Christianity and yoga are mutually exclusive viewpoints…”

He mentions in his article that Yoga actually means “Union: the union of the finite with the infinite.” Yes, Hindus refer to God with the name “Brahman”. Christians refer to God as Jesus Christ or God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, the Holy Trinity. We have different names for God. Do we not all have the same ingrained desire to be united to God? To be made whole? Whatever helps us to get to that “union” with God can only be from God.

I don’t know Mr. Gleghorn. I wonder if he himself has ever practiced yoga. He states in the article below:
“Yoga conceives man's problem primarily in terms of ignorance; man simply doesn't realize that he is ‘God.’ The solution is enlightenment, an experience of union with ‘God.’ This solution [which is the goal of yoga] can only be reached through much personal striving and effort. Christianity, however, sees man's primary problem as sin, a failure to conform to both the character and standards of a morally perfect God…Unlike yoga, Christianity views salvation as a free gift. It can only be received; it can never be earned.”

Does not the Catholic Church teach that, in the state of grace, we are called to be Christ in the world? That when a Catholic receives Christ in the Eucharist, we are now carrying Him within us and are called to shine His light and to share our devotion to Him in the world? There is a song that was sung to Pope John Paul II on one of his visits to the US for World Youth Day. It goes like this: “We are one body, one body in Christ- and we do not stand alone. We are one body, one body in Christ and He came that we might have life.” Saint Theresa of Avila wrote “God has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people. Amen.”

Union with God is the ultimate goal of every human being on earth. God looks into the heart of a person. If a soul is sincerely looking for Him, God will reveal Himself in His own time, in His own way.

Father DeChanet writes: “It is the art of uniting, of gathering together in man the elements that are too often scattered and sundered; the art of bringing the life of the spirit to open out in him…For us Yoga shall be the technique that allows man-when this is fitting-to establish himself in silence; not merely away from noise, but effectively in the silence of the senses, desires and human passions, in the silence of the mind, banishing preoccupying thoughts and worries, accepting above all to remain silent so that the Holy Spirit of God may now and then make its voice heard, and the spirit of the man may be listening.”

Differences...

2005-12-01T07:48:00.000-05:00

This is taken from an article written by Michael Gleghorn on www.probe.org

What is Yoga?

What is yoga? For many in the West, yoga is simply a system of physical exercise, a means of strengthening the body, improving flexibility, and even healing or preventing a variety of bodily ailments. But if we inquire into the history and philosophy of yoga we discover that “much more than a system of physical exercise for health, Yoga is . . . [an] ancient path to spiritual growth." It is a path enshrined in much of the sacred literature of India. Thus, if we truly want a better understanding of yoga, we must dig beneath the surface and examine the historical roots of the subject.

Before we begin digging, however, we must first understand what the term "yoga" actually means. "According to tradition, 'yoga' means 'union,' the union...of the finite 'jiva' (transitory self) with the infinite'...Brahman' (eternal Self)." "Brahman" is a term often used for the Hindu concept of "God," or Ultimate Reality. It is an impersonal, divine substance that "pervades, envelops, and underlies everything."

…yoga is an ancient spiritual discipline deeply rooted in the religion of Hinduism. This being so, we may honestly wonder whether it's really wise for a Christian to be involved in yoga practice. Next, we'll continue our discussion by examining some of the important doctrinal differences between yoga and Christianity.

Yoga and Christianity: What are the Differences?

Many people today (including some Christians) are taking up yoga practice. We'll later consider whether yoga philosophy can truly be separated from yoga practice, but we must first establish that there are crucial doctrinal differences between yoga and Christianity. Let's briefly look at just a few of these.

First, yoga and Christianity have very different concepts of God. As previously stated, the goal of yoga is to experience union with "God." But what do yogis mean when they speak of "God," or Brahman? Exactly what are we being encouraged to "unite" with? Most yogis conceive of "God" as an impersonal, spiritual substance, coextensive with all of reality. This doctrine is called pantheism, the view that everything is "God." It differs markedly from the theism of biblical Christianity. In the Bible, God reveals Himself as the personal Creator of the universe. God is the Creator; the universe, His creation. The Bible maintains a careful distinction between the two.

A second difference between yoga and Christianity concerns their views of man. Since yoga philosophy teaches that everything is "God," it necessarily follows that man, too, is "God." Christianity, however, makes a clear distinction between God and man. God is the Creator; man is one of His creatures. Of course man is certainly unique, for unlike the animals he was created in the image of God. Nevertheless, Christianity clearly differs from yoga in its unqualified insistence that God and man are distinct.

Finally, let's briefly consider how yoga and Christianity differently conceive man's fundamental problem, as well as its solution. Yoga conceives man's problem primarily in terms of ignorance; man simply doesn't realize that he is "God." The solution is enlightenment, an experience of union with "God." This solution (which is the goal of yoga) can only be reached through much personal striving and effort. Christianity, however, sees man's primary problem as sin, a failure to conform to both the character and standards of a morally perfect God. Man is thus alienated from God and in need of reconciliation. The solution is Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Through Jesus' death on the cross, God reconciled the world to Himself. He now calls men to freely receive all the benefits of His salvation through faith in Christ alone. Unlike yoga, Christianity views salvation as a free gift. It can only be received; it can never be earned.

Clearly, Christianity and yoga are mutually exclusive viewpoints…

The Appropriateness of Yoga

2005-11-30T08:41:00.008-05:00

“What I then read about Yoga and about some of its aims simply encouraged me to embark on, and then go through with, an experiment of the appropriateness of which I became convinced at the very first attempt. Yoga, I found, was first of all ‘a particular way of fashioning oneself’, the way of the man who ‘by means of certain disciplines, both physiological (postures and breath control) and psychical (focusing on thought), was joined; that is to say, was in a condition of coherence in accordance with his vital functions, and in a state of balance such that life could be controlled and made effective. This is therefore the opposite of fragmented living, of naïve incoherence, impotence and unawareness.’ Its symbol is ‘the wheel, where the rim is perfectly jointed to the nave by means of the spokes.’ But Yoga was also joining with the Absolute. And here I had to be careful. It was essential that my exercises and especially my concentration should turn me not towards the Self, the It, the Absolute, the Wholly-One, the vague ‘Ungraspable’ of Hindu mystics, but towards the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the living God, three in one, the principle of all things, my Creator and Father, him in whom I had natural and supernatural life. I felt it absolutely necessary that my experiment should place itself under the protection and sanction of grace. Not heaven-storming; but, instead, working to remove certain blockages within that were hindering supernatural action. Not to turn in on myself; but on the contrary to launch myself towards the Other, to lose myself in Him, to fix my thinking and especially my heart in God, in the God of love, and in Christ; and to maintain the sort of silence that would be a form of mute speech or dialogue with the Eternal.” – Father J. -M. DeChanet

Yoga Incompatible with Catholicism and Christianity??

2005-11-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

"Yoga is incompatible with Catholicism because the best known practice of Hindu spirituality is Yoga. ‘Inner’ Hinduism professes pantheism, which denies that there is only one infinite Being who created the world out of nothing. This pantheistic Hinduism says to the multitude of uncultured believers who follow the ways of the gods that they will receive the reward of the gods. They will have brief tastes of heaven between successive rebirths on earth. But they will never be delivered from the ‘wheel of existence’ with its illusory lives and deaths until they realize that only ‘God’ exists and all else is illusion (Maya). To achieve this liberation the principal way is by means of concentration and self control (yoga).
Indian spirituality is perhaps best known by the practice of yoga, derived from the root yuj to unite or yoke, which in context means union with the Absolute. Numerous stages are distinguished in the upward progress toward the supreme end of identification: by means of knowledge with the deity; the practice of moral virtues and observance of ethical rules; bodily postures; control of internal and external senses; concentration of memory and meditation–finally terminating in total absorption (samadhi), ‘when the seer stands in his own nature.’” – Father John Hardon, S.J.

“How differently things stand with a Christian who clings to the content of his Credo. Before him he has the Eternal, the living God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This God presents himself to him as an object worthy of attainment, true, but also as an ocean, a bottomless chasm in which the Christian must lose himself, must melt, at the end of a road whose stages are marked for him not by a guru, however wise and experienced he might be, but by the sovereign master, Christ, Word of God, God Himself, the Way, the Truth and the Life. He knows he must make his way under the sign of redemption, in the order of charity, not alone but with the Other, with and in His grace…Hence the very first act of a Christian believing in love is to open himself to receive him who comes down to him. With the Christian, every technique is subordinated to the initiative coming from God. The silent monologue of the Hindu ascetic on his mat contrasts with the no less silent dialogue (for it is not made up by words) of every Christian from the humblest to the most mystical, each anxious to respond to the approaches and attentions of his God.
Any Yoga that is to be Christian must respect and serve this fundamental trait in Christianity.” – Father J.M. DeChanet, O.S.B.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

2005-11-18T15:47:00.000-05:00

“Each single being is perfect in the measure in which it reaches up to its own origin. In tending towards its own perfection, everything tends toward God, for the perfections of all things are images of the Divine Being. The highest perfection of human life consists in the mind of man being open to God. Since the soul is created directly by God, it will not be completely happy unless it sees God directly. Every rational being knows God implicitly in every act of knowledge. For, just as nothing has the nature of desirability except through its likeness to the first goodness, so nothing is knowable except through its likeness to the first truth...Purity makes the eye fit for clear vision; so also the vision of God is promised to the pure of heart.” – Saint Thomas Aquinas