Quote from the WT, i.e. Yoga. Opinions?

by unique1 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  teenyuck

  I love *doing* yoga. I cannot say I practice because I suck. However, I always feel better afterward.

  The instructor is a little on the strange side. She is into chanting and such. I try to just sit quietly and not giggle at the "OOHHMMSS!!! EWE!!"

  She has the class say some really loopy stuff. However, it is very helpful for someone with back problems. My back is better and I feel better doing it.

  I am never surprised by all the things we could not do or be apart of.

  On a side note, the folks at the KH we went to routinely rented the VFW hall for wedding receptions. No one saw the irony of renting a hall from the Giant Beast.
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  unique1

  Wow!!! Look what I have started. This has turned into quite the debate. I personally am with Billygoat (who's picture certainly doesn't look like a billygoat) and the others that Yoga only has a spiritual connotation if you want it to. I really enjoy my class. It has helped my posture greatly. Whoever said they shook while holding the poses, join the club, but hey that is why it is a workout.

  Megadude, yoga does involve situps, so I guess all exercise should be banned.

  Thanks for all the opinions guys!
• 

  gcc2k

  I am still disagreeing, and not that I am not automatically taking the JW position but am viewing this openly.

  I think it was Skeptic who made a comparision to a married man talking to a single woman. Could it lead to something? Perhaps, but just talking, the danger level is low. Now, let's put the two in an environment that is more dangerous, say taking a Shiatsu massage class together. Is something more likely to happen now that there is physical contact between and probably a lot less clothing? Yes.

  I am beginning to view Yoga at the same danger level of visiting a Shaolin temple or attending a Jewish seder. All very unlikely to sway my beliefs, but clearly religious environments and settings. The comparisions to wedding rings or calendars don't apply here because those things don't have an pagan meaning in today's culture. But in the setting of a yoga class, it's possible and likely that the instructor is there to do more than help you stretch, to help you on your "journey".

  Just because I want to do yoga (and I really do) doesn't mean that I can sit here and rationalize away that this is a form of false worship. You may argue that there is no such thing as false worship, and that is your option, but from the JW (and in my opinion) Christian perspective, yoga is not an acceptable practice.
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  teenyuck

  I am beginning to view Yoga at the same danger level of visiting a Shaolin temple or attending a Jewish seder. All very unlikely to sway my beliefs, but clearly religious environments and settings.

  All the yoga *studios* I have been to are in store fronts and gymnasiums. There is nothing on the walls except offers to spend more money.

  Equating stretching and breathing to visiting a temple is kinda.....unique. I have never had the yoga instructor offer anything but tips on how to do a Down Dog.

  This will not influcence me to join another *cult*.

  This is like thinking that demons can come through computers or stuff you pick up at a garage sale.
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  gcc2k

  Have you ever taken a kickboxing class? You can do the cheesy aerobic type, taught by fitness instructors who only focus on getting a good sweat and moving to the beat. Or, you can take it from a real martial artist, who will focus on your form, correct your punches and kicks, etc.

  In the yoga classes I've been taking, the instructor dims the lights almost to darkness, we focus for a few minutes on breathing and clearing the mind, and then from there into the yoga routines.

  Again, I'm not posting to make up anyone's mind, that is for you to decide. But I see a conflict of beliefs.
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  Cicatrix

  Yoga is a religious experience?

  Well, I guess watching Rodney Yee do all those poses is somewhat of a divine experience:)
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  teenyuck

  I guess I go to the cheapo-psuedo yoga people...they only care about the breathing, stretching and getting you into the proper position. Their views on spirituality (which this seems to be) have never entered into it. Quite a few of them studied in Asia and are at the highest level on training.

  It's hard to preach and get someone over to the *dark* side in one hour with another class waiting to come in and sweat.
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  rocketman

  gcc, I appreciate the points you are making. And actually, you are evidently deciding for yourself that yoga may lean toward a practice of a religion in which you do not believe. My main point is, shouldn't that be left up to the person's conscience to decide, seeing that this issue is less than clear-cut? I know you are just posting info and you are not trying to sway others, just presenting the facts as you see them. So I do not take issue at all with what you are saying. I just think it's a matter that should left up to the dictates of one's own conscience.

  With regard to wedding rings, you aptly mentioned that they don't have a pagan meaning "in today's culture" [Italics mine]. I appreciate you making that point. And that to be true for things like saying "God bless you" and toasting with glasses. Whether it's still true for yoga or not is obviously open to some debate, and again that brings me to leaning in the direction of it simply being a matter of personal choice.
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  Skeptic

  I think it was Skeptic who made a comparision to a married man talking to a single woman. Could it lead to something? Perhaps, but just talking, the danger level is low. Now, let's put the two in an environment that is more dangerous, say taking a Shiatsu massage class together. Is something more likely to happen now that there is physical contact between and probably a lot less clothing? Yes.

  gcc2k, that is an excellent illustration. Just as there are interactions between men and women that are completely safe and those that pose a greater risk, there are different levels of yoga instruction.

  If a person's viewpoint and class are geared towards exercise and relaxation only, there is no religious influence. If more is mixed into the class, such as a religious element, then there is greater religious influence.

  It is similar to marshal arts. Some are just exercise, some are just fighting techniques and others tie in with Eastern philosphies like being in harmony with the Universe. The level of religious influence depends on the class and the instructor.

  But in the setting of a yoga class, it's possible and likely that the instructor is there to do more than help you stretch, to help you on your "journey".

  This does not match the experiences that my friends have. Perhaps your experiences are different?

  Please note that anything can be tied into a religious influence: a co-worker of mine was a statistician, and his view of God, etc. was directly impacted by the laws of probability. He used the laws of statistics to show why there is no conflict with both theism and evolution being true. He would have made a good cult leader; he was spooky to discuss religion with.

  So be cautious about what can entrap you into false worship, because anything can. Life is to be lived and enjoyed; it is too precious and short to kill the quality of it worrying about what is and isn't false worship. Surely a loving God would understand that.

  Richard
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  MegaDude

  Gcc2k,

  What *specifically* about your yoga class a possible road to embracing "pagan" beliefs?