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What is Church teaching on yoga and reiki?

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JimR-OCDS

JimR-OCDS

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Akita Suggagaki

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boughtwithaprice said:
You may not realize it, but the demons can see what you do, and use your unguarded relaxed state against you.
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So you think we should never relax? I don't get that point of view. What about when we sleep? We are totally unguarded then.
boughtwithaprice said:
Satan and his demons are perfectly capable of manipulating your feelings and even thoughts, as scripture says he seeks whom he may devour.
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If that is true then we should follow the advice of St John of the Cross:
"And finally all the worst deceptions which are caused by the devil, and the evils that he brings to the soul, enter by way of knowledge and reflections of the memory, Thus if the memory enter into darkness with respect to them all, and be annihilated in its oblivion to them, it shuts the door altogether upon this evil which proceeds from the devil, and frees itself from all these things, which is a great blessing. For the devil has no power over the soul unless it be through the operations of its faculties, principally by means of knowledge, whereupon depend almost all the other operations of the other faculties. Wherefore, if the memory be annihilated with respect to them, the devil can do naught; for he finds no foothold, and without a foothold he is powerless.
boughtwithaprice said:
yoga mimics physical postures used in the worship of Hindu “gods” aka demons.
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If that is a concern there are very many postures and gestures we share with Hinduism.
1752433614075.png
 
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Michie

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You know I started this op. Christianity has everything we need. The starry eyed romanticism of Eastern religions and practices was not what this thread was intended for.

From the op:

Discerning carefully​


Some would argue that because yoga began as a religious practice, it is impossible to ever fully “divorce” yoga from the spirituality of its origins. Yet others would point out that the church has a long history of adopting what is good from various pagan cultures — for example, St. Thomas Aquinas made extensive use of the ancient pagan Greek philosophers in his writings — and that a similar argument might be made for the legitimacy of non-religious yoga.

I think right now, unless or until the Church comes out with a clearer teaching on yoga, whether or not Catholics should engage in yoga is something that should be personally discerned, perhaps with the help of a confessor or spiritual director. And of course, if a Catholic does choose to engage in yoga, they should be sure that whatever classes they attend are firmly non-spiritual and for health benefits only.

Following Christian teaching​

Reiki is a different story. In 2009 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a document titled “Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy.” This document begins by noting that physical healing can come about through natural or supernatural means, i.e., through medical science or through God’s direct intervention in response to prayer. While we can ask God for direct supernatural healing, we ultimately must accept that such healing can only come about at God’s discretion and cannot be seen as an automatic guarantee. But we are always free to use the natural means at our disposal to try to effect physical healing.

While reiki is not a religious practice per se, it is based on the idea of channeling purely spiritual energies. And so (unlike yoga) has no plausible basis in the natural medical sciences. The document concludes by stating that: “Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy.”

By extension, it stands to reason that Catholics should not practice or receive reiki, because it would be inappropriate, if not spiritually dangerous, for a Catholic to seek out purely supernatural healing apart from Christian prayer or the sacraments.
 
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boughtwithaprice

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Akita Suggagaki said:
So you think we should never relax? I don't get that point of view. What about when we sleep? We are totally unguarded then.

If that is true then we should follow the advice of St John of the Cross:
"And finally all the worst deceptions which are caused by the devil, and the evils that he brings to the soul, enter by way of knowledge and reflections of the memory, Thus if the memory enter into darkness with respect to them all, and be annihilated in its oblivion to them, it shuts the door altogether upon this evil which proceeds from the devil, and frees itself from all these things, which is a great blessing. For the devil has no power over the soul unless it be through the operations of its faculties, principally by means of knowledge, whereupon depend almost all the other operations of the other faculties. Wherefore, if the memory be annihilated with respect to them, the devil can do naught; for he finds no foothold, and without a foothold he is powerless.

If that is a concern there are very many postures and gestures we share with Hinduism.
View attachment 367401
Click to expand...
The devil is an immitator. So what if we share postures with Hinduism? Should we study Hinduism to imitate more of their postures and worship of their false gods?

We are to relax and rest in the peace of Christ

It serves no purpose for a Christian to learn Hinduism in order to bring its practices to Christianity. It is a distraction and takes our eyes off of Christ our redeemer. We have so little time in the world, it makes no sense to study or imitate the worship of false gods, unless we are called to understand them and bring the love of Christ to them.
I don’t need my Christian friends teaching me about Hinduism. Your quote from John of the Cross is interesting because it reveals the danger of yoga. If we do not practice idolatry, then the devil has no power over us, but if we imitate the motions of idolatry and try to claim it is not wrong, then the devil can use the memories of our actions against us
Claiming to do yoga without idolatry is the same as claiming to watch porn without lust. It serves no godly purpose
 
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