What every Catholic needs to know about yoga...

DDP was ok, but he didn't hold a candle to Macho Man or Ric Flair! WOOOOO!!!

Fish and Bread said:

I was wondering if anyone would bring this up. DDP was one of my favorite wrestlers back in the day. I've been enjoying being able to go back and rewatch some of his old matches and promos on the WWE Network.

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ArmenianJohn said:

On Yoga - it is definitely tied to spirituality in the Hindu religion but at the same time it incorporates physical exercises (mostly stretches really) that can be done without engaging in the spiritual aspect of Yoga. Many stretches that athletes generally do are similar to Yoga moves.

I never quite understood what the fear is of Yoga for a Christian because I believe if you have a true faith it will not be shaken by participating in the physical aspect of Yoga. I know my faith was never disturbed in the slightest by doing Yoga.

That said, I didn't last long in Yoga because I found it to be tedious and boring - but that's neither here nor there when it comes to the religion issue of it.

The lesson I took from Yoga was that it's important to incorporate more stretching into an exercise routine. I currently do some Tibetan stretches which may or may not have some spiritual aspect tied to them. To me they are just good stretching exercises.

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I know people who will also say "I look at pornography once in a while, and it doesn't hurt me at all." There are people who say that smoking didn't hurt them, so they don't see what all the fuss is about.

All I want to say is "Beware." If you just do exercises called Yoga exercises, you probably don't have to worry. But there's "yoga", and there's "yoga".

YOGA as a Spiritual Path

gurneyhalleck1 said:

DDP was ok, but he didn't hold a candle to Macho Man or Ric Flair! WOOOOO!!!

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All legends!

DDP and the Macho Man actually had a lengthy feud in WCW. A lot of WWF/WWE fans aren't aware of that.

Here's a highlight video someone put together on youtube that you might enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaWK5SUoXBA

Here's the last 5 minutes or so of a match between the Macho Man and DDP at Halloween Havoc 1997:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgykvOS5Ndw

Macho was no fun after he dropped the Ric Flair-like awesome robes and went to that Slim Jim cowboy outfit and was no longer with "Miss Elizabeth." I loved Macho from like 1985-1991 or so.

I honestly didn't care much for WCW. I started to lose interest with the attitude era and the NWO and all that stuff. I'm an 80's Four Horsemen-era NWA and Ultimate Warrior-era WWF guy!

Fish and Bread said:

All legends!

DDP and the Macho Man actually had a lengthy feud in WCW. A lot of WWF/WWE fans aren't aware of that.

Here's a highlight video someone put together on youtube that you might enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaWK5SUoXBA

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Thanks this is so relevant.

You're most welcome, Bill. We can put up some Andre the Giant, 4 Horsemen, Ultimate Warrior, some Mega Powers with Hogan and Macho, maybe even a little Ricky Steamboat if you like! We aim to please!

bill5 said:

Thanks this is so relevant.

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IgnatiusOfAntioch said:

Yes, Fr. Mitch Pacwa has written extensively on the spiritual dangers of this and other New Age spirituality.

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The yoga--path to God--which I described is far from New Age. It is very ancient--much older than Christianity. As I said, it is quite adaptable to Christian spirituality.

I knew a woman who was into Vedantan spirituality. The Teacher said, "It is now time to pick your Guru." There were pictures of various Gurus displayed by the Teacher. This woman noticed a picture of Jesus Christ. She chose Him as her Guru, became a Christian, and the rest is history.

steve_bakr said:

The yoga--path to God. It is very ancient--much older than Christianity. As I said, it is quite adaptable to Christian spirituality.

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Unfortunately it has elements that are in opposition to the Teachings of The Catholic Church. You will find out why if you will read the articles by Fr. Pacwa and others that I alluded to.

IgnatiusOfAntioch said:

Unfortunately it has elements that are in opposition to the Teachings of The Catholic Church. You will find out why if you will read the articles by Fr. Pacwa and others that I alluded to.

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Well, sure, the Spirituality of Yoga does not match all the teachings of the Catholic Church. I am not saying to accept it wholesale, so to speak.

But Yoga can be utilized in Christian Spirituality, for sure. For example, Karma Yoga is simply to offer all one's work to the Lord in a Sacrificial manner. That is biblical.

Japa Yoga is to continually repeat a sacred phrase or Name of God in a prayerful way, which matches the practice of repeating the Jesus Prayer in the Eastern Church, and also praying the Rosary.

Jnana Yoga may be more difficult to find a match for in the Catholic Church. It is related to knowledge of God, for example, through meditation; meditative and contemplative prayer in the Catholic Church, particularly in Monasteries, may be the closest example.

The Spirituality of Yoga is something we can learn from. The key is to practice discrimination. Appropriate what is useful and disregard what is not useful. Many Church Father's appropriated certain truths in Pagan religions.

I think St Augustin said that all truth can be appropriated into Christianity, no matter where it comes from. Those who lack Spiritual Discrimination, however, should stay away from the teachings of other religions. But other religions are not to be rejected in a wholesale fashion.

....or you can forget all that and simply use it in a non-spiritual way, as probably most do today.