Yoga And Christianity.What's Wrong About It ?

[Soma-Sight]

Yoga Theory and Practice:Separable?
-- Part 2
by Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon
(from Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs,
Harvest House Publishers, 1996)

Consider a final statement as to why yoga practice and theory are
inseparable. The Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, California,
publishes a relatively brief treatment on yoga, which we reproduce here
with permission. The author was a former practitioner of yoga for several
years with the Ananda Marga Yoga Society: 1

Yoga exercises are taught as part of YMCA physical education programs,
as health spa esoterica, on educational TV, and are incorporated into
institutional church youth activitiesâ€â€all on the assumption that
these techniques are nothing more than a superior brand of physical
conditioning.

Yet this assumption is really the worst presumption.... [E]ven
physical yoga is inextricably bound up in the whole of Eastern religious
metaphysics. In fact, it is quite accurate to say that physical yoga and
Indian metaphysics are mutually interdependent; you really can’t have
one without the other. This point may be illustrated by referring to the
two major traditional occurrences of physical yoga in the East. ....
Read the rest of this informative article here:
http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/n ... 0102W2.htm

Why Christians have to have absolute dichotomies is beyond me....

So there is nothing of value in any other culture in the whole world save the Hebrew based one?

No religon has any wisdom to offer or any knowledge that WORKS for health and well being?

Better discount a lot of mathmatics as the Indians/Hindus came up with a lot of that theory as well...... Since it is not of Jewish heritage must be devil work. :P

There is a SCIENCE behind yoga and someday hopefully the west will incorporate that into much of its health system practices rather than just prescribing dangerous drugs.

 

[Soma-Sight]

Christian Yoga....

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1889526

 

[Relic]

.


I was under the influence that the whole bible was written by the HEBREWS AND JUDEO CHRISTIANS. And these teachings are what "Christians" follow and lead their lives by... Christ-like HOLY SPIRIT. :roll:


James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Are you "Christian" or not? This is a "CHRISTIAN" FORUM. This is Not a Buddhist or Hindu forum. CHRIST JESUS IS OUR LORD, not some other religious icon or, force or, spirit.

When you come to this board you are not to "promote" other religions. Yoga "meditations" are based on MYSTICISM.


"Christians" do not practice or follow after OTHER meditations which are not of the "HOLY" spirit of JHVH GD.

What is "Holy, from a biblical definition of what is Holy" about meditating on the KUNDALINI? :o
Kundalini possesses the body.

What is "Holy, from a biblical definition of what is Holy" about meditating on the CHAKRA? :o
Chakra focuses on the physical in order to transcend/achieve some spiritual state of mind.

What is "Holy, from a biblical definition of what is Holy" about meditating on the CHI' ? :o
It is, Quoting what Sothenes wrote earlier, "...trying to tap into this spiritual force they call 'chi'. That is entertaining Pantheism or asking other spirits to come in through an altered state of consciousness." (And even Soma-sight agreed to this in a previous post in just using one word, "correct" . )



"Christians" who are IN CHRIST, that is, Being IN CHRIST LIKE "HOLY" SPIRIT do not rely on OTHER SPIRITS OR gods to help them achieve anything!

You don't need " chi' " to make you focused or stronger or like some superman to break through any cement blocks! : All you need is faith in Christ-like holy spirit.
When you start to depend on other things you are committing adultery against the Holy Spirit of JHVH GD.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.


Being a Christian does not mean you throw the teachings in the bible out the window, nor does it mean you pick and choose which scriptures to ignore when it comes down to who you look to and rely on for ALL things. Nor does it mean you throw parts of the 10 commandments out the window.

1st commandment:
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Meditating on the Kundalini is meditation on the ideal/idol of a goddess.

3rd Commandment:
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord they God in vain.

I maintain that anyone who suggests that it's impossible to stretch your muscles and monitor your breathing without abandoning the Holy Spirit is a paranoid fool. The alleged "former practitioners" of yoga who are now coming forth to talk about how a health regimen is really just a way of selling your soul to Satan were likely just scared into their current beliefs by those weak of mind and faith who convinced them that their superstitions were valid.

I mean, really. I've seen yoga videos. I've done yoga. My wife has a DVD. All it is is people breathing slowly while getting into really uncomfortable positions. It's about as scary as a Harry Potter book.

Oh, right. Some of these people are scared of those, too. Nevermind.

The physical part of doing yoga is not the issue here. (that is, if you are not "fully" involved with or practicing hindu yoga.

It is what you meditate on while doing the exercises that is the whole point here! So do you just take the whole truth of what MYSTICISM IS ALL ABOUT and ignore it, do you? :-?

Of course anyone knows there is nothing wrong with physical exercise for physical health. : Although..... I've read of some people who take yoga to the extreme in the body cleansing part of it. So extreme as a matter of fact, I don't think I would be allowed to mention it on this "Christian" based forum. :o
And when you take physical exercise to the point of extreme, well then..... is that not vanity? Of course it is!

Better discount a lot of mathmatics as the Indians/Hindus came up with a lot of that theory as well...... Since it is not of Jewish heritage must be devil work.

And it doesn't suprise me that you don't know the difference between what is of the "HOLY" Spirit of JHVH GD and what is not.

It also doesn't surprise me that you guys would take this and make it out to be the "Christians" fault for bringing up the truth about the "MEDITATION" part of Yoga.

The whole point in those articles is that there is a propensity for a person to be lured into MYSTICISM, which, by the way, absolutely takes you away from the Holy spirit we are taught about in "Christianity".

Yes, deception/contortion comes in many guises, even "attractive" ones.... : !!!

If you think about it.... THE MEDITATIONS, when one is told to focus on the kundalini and/or some other force, source, or spiritualism, IS a form of adultery against the truth of the "HOLY" SPIRIT OF JHVH GD.



1 Peter 4:11
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Romans 11:36
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

(That "HIM" ... is JESUS CHRIST, not some buddhist or hindu form of meditation. )


.

 

[gingercat]

"Love the Lord your God with all you heart , soul, strength and mind".

God is a jealous God. He wants us to be very mindful of how we worship Him. He does not want us to have our faith mixed up with any other gods.

 

[soma]

The first commandment is “I am the Lord thy God and thou shall not have strange Gods before Me.†This is the basis for the conviction that there is only one God, a belief that leads to the knowledge of unity, which once accomplished influences and helps us in our daily lives. There is only one God appearing before us, and this one God is for everyone embodying the secrets for successful living in His all-pervading consciousness. In the awareness of God’s omnipresence we realize that God is all loving and always present so there is no need to fear either man or his developments because God has full power. It doesn’t matter how negative or bad life can be because similar to Noah we can go into the ark of God’s all pervading consciousness and find protection from the flood of cruel experiences that drown us in unbearable agony.

It seems some Christians are in a row boat and deny God is everywhere teaching, loving and guiding us, but some day they too will see God everywhere and not be intimidated by knowledge.

 

[soma]

The first commandment is “I am the Lord thy God and thou shall not have strange Gods before Me.†This is the basis for the conviction that there is only one God, a belief that leads to the knowledge of unity, which once accomplished influences and helps us in our daily lives. There is only one God appearing before us, and this one God is for everyone embodying the secrets for successful living in His all-pervading consciousness. In the awareness of God’s omnipresence we realize that God is all loving and always present so there is no need to fear either man or his developments because God has full power. It doesn’t matter how negative or bad life can be because similar to Noah we can go into the ark of God’s all pervading consciousness and find protection from the flood of cruel experiences that drown us in unbearable agony. The vigilance to stay in the ark of pure consciousness takes discipline, but satisfies our basic spiritual need by acting as a counter-weight to the ever increasing nervous, mental and physical tensions in modern life. This counteraction to the deterioration caused by our daily fight for survival helps us to grow healthier and more relaxed as we become calm, less inclined to agitation, frustration and a bad frame of mind. Therefore, the reassuring first step to know the meaning of God is to develop the conscious awareness of His omnipresence, which is ancient and as modern as the space age. Dedication to the recognition of this one God as an art and the unity of all things in His consciousness as a science will eliminate the stress and hustle of modern life.

 

[Relic]

.


New age thinking! :

Trying to be Intellectual but actually it's nothing but mumbo jumbo which has no real foundation based in the HOLY SPIRIT OF CHRIST JESUS. New age Gnostics do just as much, looking to mysticism, instead of keeping focus on the HOLY SPIRIT OF Christ Jesus.




Fact is.... some knowledge leads to Satan. And Yoga "meditations" are misleading.


Do you believe there is a devil in this world? Do you believe even Jesus had to rebuke Satan during his life on this earth?
Oh, even Peter didn't recognize when Satan was speaking through him! BUT the "HOLY" SPIRIT OF JESUS DID 8-)

Soma, NOT ALL THINGS LEAD TO THE HOLINESS OF JHVH GD. Some things are very very misleading and will lead one astray onto paths that are NOT of the HOLY SPIRIT.
Satan is good at that you know... :smt084


Please do become aware of this fact, The GOD that is being referred to in that first commandment is JHVH GD, not some other god or goddess or some other spirit that is not of the HOLY JHVH GD.
After all, It is the JUDEO CHRISTIAN "BIBLE" WE ARE quoting from...... yes? :D




.

I like how Jesus put it when he dealt with common man. He put it plain and simple.....


..."Follow me." ....

... "great is they faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt"...

...."verily, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel...
go thy way: and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee"....


..."Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?...

Arise, and be not afraid. "...


... "Be of good cheer; it is I, be not afraid" ...


Or, in situations to bring about clam....

..."Peace be still!" ...


And sometimes, it only took one word for Jesus to get his message across to evil spirits...

... "Go". ..

other times, it only took a swift rebuke from the temptations of the whiles of the devil...

... "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. " ...

Or,

... "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou are an offence unto me: for thou savorest no the things that be of God, but those that be of men." ...



No need to meditate on some chi', or other force, or some Kundalini, or some pagan goddess, or some strange mediation which is NOT of the HOLY SPIRIT OF JHVH GD, those things that lead you away from the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus is the only Spirit that is to be living IN you THROUGH you. That's what 'Christians" do you know. :D They live BY the HOLY SPIRIT OF CHRIST JESUS. NO OTHER gods or spirits will do, thank you. :D




John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

I'll listen to Jesus, and I'll take the lead of Jesus, thank you.
I'll pick up my cross and follow him thank you.


Don't need no Shiva crawling up my spine! :o Nor do I need to chant any ohm to bring me a sense of bliss. :roll: And I surely don't need any chi force to bring me muscle strength! :



JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.



.

 

[ArtGuy]

The physical part of doing yoga is not the issue here. (that is, if you are not "fully" involved with or practicing hindu yoga.

It is what you meditate on while doing the exercises that is the whole point here! So do you just take the whole truth of what MYSTICISM IS ALL ABOUT and ignore it, do you?

So... are you defining "Yoga" as "exercise that involves praying to other deities and unholy spirits" and then decrying that? Are you saying that anyone who claims they're practicing Yoga must necessarily be praying to other deities and unholy spirits, even if they don't know it? I'm not sure what, exactly, you're railing against.

Most people who practice yoga don't see anything particularly mystical about it. They don't pray to spirits, they don't put their faith in false gods. To the extent they focus their chi and think about their chakras, they do so in strictly physiological senses in order to concentrate better on what they're doing.

Yes, if your practice of yoga includes appeals to foreign spirits, that's bad and unholy and whatnot. But few people actually are doing that. If you're claiming that it's impossible to say that you're practicing yoga without being unChristian, that's baloney. If you're just saying that you can't "truly" practice yoga without bowing down to Shiva, or whatever, and as such all these people who think they're practicing yoga really aren't, then fine, I guess I can buy that argument, though I don't know how useful it is. It basically boils down to "praying to false gods is bad", which we all pretty much agree with.

Of course anyone knows there is nothing wrong with physical exercise for physical health. Although..... I've read of some people who take yoga to the extreme in the body cleansing part of it. So extreme as a matter of fact, I don't think I would be allowed to mention it on this "Christian" based forum.
And when you take physical exercise to the point of extreme, well then..... is that not vanity? Of course it is!

Depends on how one defines "extreme", I suppose, but sure. Though the most XTREME YOGA TECHNIQUE I've heard of is just a glorified enima, which doesn't really strike me as unmentionable. Unpleasant as heck, sure, but not unmentionable.

 

[moniker]

I was under the influence that the whole bible was written by the HEBREWS AND JUDEO CHRISTIANS. And these teachings are what "Christians" follow and lead their lives by... Christ-like HOLY SPIRIT.

How does this prevent you from understanding and appreciating knowledge from other cultures?

 

[ArtGuy]

I was under the influence that the whole bible was written by the HEBREWS AND JUDEO CHRISTIANS. And these teachings are what "Christians" follow and lead their lives by... Christ-like HOLY SPIRIT.

How does this prevent you from understanding and appreciating knowledge from other cultures?

Wait, I just realized something. This computer was made by engineers. Engineers use math. And math was largely created by... Muslims!

I guess I better throw my computer in a lake and repent.

 

[Relic]

.

You guys are veering off course with all your quirky remarks about math and computers and such. The main topic is about what is considered HOLY and what is not in terms of the "meditations" involved in the practice of yoga. :roll: Anything to avoid "the facts" about the "meditations" of yoga... Aye Guys? :-?

Just because the physical exercise isn't harmful, doesn't mean the mediations aren't able to or aren't going to lead a person off course of the JUDEO CHRISTIAN teachings IF they are actually being taught to meditate on energies, and spirits and forces that are not of JHVH GD. That is the concern here, and if you guys want to avoid the facts that were presented earlier, then be my guest. However, by now, I've supplied plenty of them for you to have gotten the facts and the real concerns in regards to the "mediations" of yoga. . So please, do Stop presupposing that I am saying things I am not saying, and please do stop interjecting things into this topic that have nothing to do with the REAL ISSUE here. Thank you.

Fact is... if anything takes the focus off of the things set aside as being sanctified/holy, and is void of the precepts and principles of the Judeo Christians teachings, then, it is not of the HOLY spirit of God.
And then, you can be assured, IF you take claim to being a Christian, you are then being involved in an act of having an adulterated "relation"-ship against the "HOLY" Spirit of JHVH GD, IF you participate in focusing on other spirits or energies not OF the "HOLY" SPIRIT OF JHVH GD.
If you can't see that then you need to study the differences between what is considered holy and what is not in accordance to the Judeo Christians teachings.

If you can't see the truth which has been presented in the previous postings, it being that the truth about yoga meditations is a fraudulent form of mediation, in that, it is against the JUDEO CHRISTIAN teachings, then maybe you need to go back and read the articles instead of skimming over them.
What more can I present here other than it becoming a redundant argument? Enough facts have been presented. If you are numb to them, andif that being the case, then perhaps the attractiveness of "the worldly" things in life has done that to you. Or, perhaps.... :roll: ... the gnostics have gotten to you? :


Like I wrote earlier:

No need to meditate on some chi', or other force, or some Kundalini, or some pagan goddess, or some strange mediation which is NOT of the HOLY SPIRIT OF JHVH GD, those things that lead you away from the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus is the only Spirit that is to be living IN you THROUGH you. That's what 'Christians" do you know. They live BY the HOLY SPIRIT OF CHRIST JESUS. NO OTHER gods or spirits will do, thank you.



John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

I'll listen to Jesus, and I'll take the lead of Jesus, thank you.
I'll pick up my cross and follow him, thank you.


Don't need no Shiva crawling up my spine! :o

Don't need to chant any ohm to bring me a sense of bliss. :roll:

And I surely don't need any chi force to bring me muscle strength! :



JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.


.

 

[Vic C.]

Wait, I just realized something. This computer was made by engineers. Engineers use math. And math was largely created by... Muslims!

I guess I better throw my computer in a lake and repent.

That is not true. Mathematics predate Islam by hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. It may have it's beginnings in either Babylonia or Egypt.

But anyway...

 

[moniker]

Wait, I just realized something. This computer was made by engineers. Engineers use math. And math was largely created by... Muslims!

I guess I better throw my computer in a lake and repent.

That is not true. Mathematics predate Islam by hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. It may have it's beginnings in either Babylonia or Egypt.

But anyway...

True, however the Arabic numerals and interactions with Muslims during the Crusades and pilgramages to the middle east, is what first gave the west the concept of zero. Which is an incredible advancement whihc is likely what he was referring to. Now, the Muslim world are not the first ones to recognize it and likely learned it from others, however my knowledge of this is not too great so...yeah. It's interesting that Mayans were able to discover it, being so secluded from other civilizations. They really did have an amazing existence and I wish I knew more about them.

Relic, if my understanding of your position is correct you do not hold anything against yoga as a discipline of stretching your body and improving your health. You only have a problem with the practice of worshipping Satan while stretching, and thus condemn all of yoga. Why? Simply because an aspect can be used in such a way does not mean it must be. Otherwise you would have to condemn and ban a great many things for fear that it might lead people away from Christ. And banning something for fear of what it might lead to, what an aspect of it might produce, well that is a dangerous road to take.

 

[gingercat]

Relic, if my understanding of your position is correct you do not hold anything against yoga as a discipline of stretching your body and improving your health.

Satan is very clever in sneaking into our mind gladually. This is very effective accomplishing his motives. If we have a habbit of letting sin creep in by saying "innocent practice" it will soon be full-fledged sin.

The Bible is caustioning this kind of mentality.

We should get rid of this kind of small "innocent habbits or practices" as many as we can. I have many of them too. :

 

[DivineNames]

I think some Christians just love to be pathetically small minded.

 

[DivineNames]

excerpt from an article which describes the truth about Yoga:

• 
  Yoga Theory and Practice:Separable?
  -- Part 2
  by Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon
  (from Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs,
  Harvest House Publishers, 1996)
  
  Consider a final statement as to why yoga practice and theory are
  inseparable. The Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, California,
  publishes a relatively brief treatment on yoga, which we reproduce here
  with permission. The author was a former practitioner of yoga for several
  years with the Ananda Marga Yoga Society: 1
  
  Yoga exercises are taught as part of YMCA physical education programs,
  as health spa esoterica, on educational TV, and are incorporated into
  institutional church youth activitiesâ€â€all on the assumption that
  these techniques are nothing more than a superior brand of physical
  conditioning.
  
  Yet this assumption is really the worst presumption.... [E]ven
  physical yoga is inextricably bound up in the whole of Eastern religious
  metaphysics. In fact, it is quite accurate to say that physical yoga and
  Indian metaphysics are mutually interdependent; you really can’t have
  one without the other. This point may be illustrated by referring to the
  two major traditional occurrences of physical yoga in the East. ....
  Read the rest of this informative article here:
  http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/new-age/NA0102W2.htm

This is rather silly. That physical yoga has historically been connected to eastern religion doesn't necessarily mean that physical yoga can't be separated as a system of exercise.

 

[gingercat]

I think some Christians just love to be pathetically small minded.

Are you talking about me? I am sorry to dissapoint you but Jesus loves me anyway. :angel:

 

[DivineNames]

I think some Christians just love to be pathetically small minded.

Are you talking about me?

I guess that depends on whether you love to be pathetically small minded.

 

[Relic]

excerpt from an article which describes the truth about Yoga:

• 
  Yoga Theory and Practice:Separable?
  -- Part 2
  by Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon
  (from Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs,
  Harvest House Publishers, 1996)
  
  Consider a final statement as to why yoga practice and theory are
  inseparable. The Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, California,
  publishes a relatively brief treatment on yoga, which we reproduce here
  with permission. The author was a former practitioner of yoga for several
  years with the Ananda Marga Yoga Society: 1
  
  Yoga exercises are taught as part of YMCA physical education programs,
  as health spa esoterica, on educational TV, and are incorporated into
  institutional church youth activitiesâ€â€all on the assumption that
  these techniques are nothing more than a superior brand of physical
  conditioning.
  
  Yet this assumption is really the worst presumption.... [E]ven
  physical yoga is inextricably bound up in the whole of Eastern religious
  metaphysics. In fact, it is quite accurate to say that physical yoga and
  Indian metaphysics are mutually interdependent; you really can’t have
  one without the other. This point may be illustrated by referring to the
  two major traditional occurrences of physical yoga in the East. ....
  Read the rest of this informative article here:
  http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/new-age/NA0102W2.htm

This is rather silly. That physical yoga has historically been connected to eastern religion doesn't necessarily mean that physical yoga can't be separated as a system of exercise.

And who said it can't be? IF it is separated as merely as system of exercise without giving cause to the underlying truth behind yoga, then what is the harm?... That is, IF you don't manipulate your body to the point of not understanding what you are doing to it in connection to your WHOLE BEING.

Did you know that certain physical manipulations during a session in the therapy called Reiki can rouse emotions in a person that were so deeply rooted in past experiences of this person? And, did you know that these emotions which have been brought to the fore by the physical manipulations of the Reiki practitioner are not surprising or of any new experience to deal with by the Reiki practitioner? They are trained to know how to deal with "EMOTIONS" that come sprouting out of their clients during their treatments! And you think Yoga has no such effects of the body of persons who don't know what they are doing when it comes down to certain manipulations of the body? If that being so, then you are blind to the truth about the physical ties of the body to the spiritual essence within all living beings! And those who are ignorant to the core of that which brings on manifestations from out of the physical, are in for some unexpected experiences from which they know not what happened to them, or where it came from.
Maybe this whole thing about the connection of the physical with the spiritual is just too much over your head, and so you take the connections for granted and think nothing of it.
And, do you ever wonder how hypnotists can do what they do to their subjects? Or, how it is well known by many physical therapist that certain manipulations to the body can contribute to the well being or the detriment of a persons physical health, and then eventually how it effects the mental health of a person?
Did you know that if you posture yourself incorrectly, for long enough of a period, that you will end up with a back ache and it will effect your mental well being, and that until you correct that posture, you will not find health physically, nor mentally?
And, did you know that, many times, it is the thoughts of a person that dictate their posture? And that many times, an experienced person can read a person like a book just by the physcial posture of the person! ? Did you know that? Did you know that many a professionals, doctor and/or therapist, can tell if you have emotional problems just by meeting you and sitting with you for a few minutes? Did you know that? Did you know that many secular practitioners keep Holistic cures to themselves because they'd rather sell drugs to their patients because the money is what drives them instead of the well being of their patients? So why wouldn't a western yoga practitioner keep the truths about the effects of yoga to themselves? Do you think that IF westerners really knew the core aim of eastern yoga and what meditations are REALLY involved with the true practice of yoga, that they would persue practicing it and integrating it into their exersize routine? Really Do you really want to think about SHIVA CRAWLING UP YOUR SPINE WHEN YOU PRACTICE YOGA? :o Of course the westerners are going to WATER DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT YOGA! What profit is there in it if they didn't?

Oh there is so much you are blind too if you don't see the point of what is being relayed here! :roll:
I've just about had it with you guys..... You don't read the full articles and then you come back with your own presumptions about what is being said, those things that weren't even inferred in any of the articles, you come back as if the whole premise is that the "physical exercise is what is harmful in the ways in which the "westerners" practice the "physical" parts of yoga without knowledge to what the Eastern practice of yoga are in relations to the physical aspect of it!
You completely ignored that fact that the articles stipulate that many of the western teachings are not "true" yoga practitioners.
In fact, they are manipulating the physical without knowledge to what is originally behind the ancient practice of this exercise.

Many of the "westerners" are ignorant to the truth of Eastern practice of yoga! And the Fact is guys! you are not deciphering and gathering the facts correctly. :-?


If you don't get what the articles are saying, in that, the practice of Yoga is not really yoga IF one does not include the Eastern form of meditations", that they are practicing an ancient form of meditation without thought to what the underlying aim is behind the physical manipulation of the body. If you can't see that, then you need to clear away the blocks you put before your thinking process. And start to think about the articles that are listed here instead of letting it go in one ear and out the other without giving consideration to the complete context of the articles I've presented. There CAN BE PHYSICAL ABUSE IF EXTREMES ARE PRACTICED! AND IF one goes into the practice of yoga without knowledge of what type of "manipulation" is taking place. :-?

Now read the rest of the article, and dare come back defending your own misconceptions about yoga! :x Here, Divine Names and Moniker and all the rest of you who come back with your relentless comments full of false notions about yoga meditations as opposed to the truth about the physical side of yoga! Read the rest of that article, which you didn't bother to read completely in the first place :-? :

• 
  
  ".... First of all, yoga postures (asanas) evolved as an integral part of Raja (royal) Yoga, also known as ashtanga (eight-limbed) yoga. Raja Yoga is one of the more highly sophisticated systems of psychospiritual conditioning, and all the more so because it recognizes the profound influence of the body upon consciousness. (Indeed, its philosophical premise is that the body is but a crude layer of mind.) Asana (physical postures) is indispensable as one of the eight stages of Raja Yoga because the yoga postures are themselves specifically designed to manipulate consciousness, to a greater or lesser degree, into Raja Yoga’s consummate experience of samadhi: undifferentiated union with the primal essence of consciousness, the monist’s equivalent of "God." In his definitive work on Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda writes of asana: "A series of exercises, physical and mental, is to be gone through every day until certain higher states are reached. Nerve currents will have to be displaced and given a new channel. New sorts of vibrations will begin: the whole constitution will be remodeled, as it were."
  In the context of Raja Yoga, then, the effects of the practice of asana are recognized as certainly going far beyond the merely physical and psychological results of Western systems of exercise. But does it necessarily follow that the Westerner practicing physical yoga will automatically have his or her consciousness manipulated into that experience of reality characteristic of Eastern metaphysics? Such a question has a great many ramifications. Some preliminary light may be shed on it, however, by examining the second major occurrence of physical yoga in the Eastâ€â€Hatha Yoga.
  
  Because of widespread abuse in India, Hatha Yoga has there fallen into much disrepute, being considered a gross physical practice without spiritual value. Vivekananda, in comparing asana to hatha, summarily dismisses the latter as having no real worth at all: "This portion of yoga (asana) is a little similar to Hatha Yoga, which deals entirely with the physical body, its aim being to make the physical body very strong. We have nothing to do with it here, because its practices are very difficult... and, after all, do not lead to much spiritual growth."
  
  It is this reputation, as well as the ready availability of certain teachers of hatha who would perpetuate it, which makes it easy for a Westerner to presume to use the techniques of yoga as but another form of physical self-culture. But, in reality, neither Vivekananda’s partisan snobbery nor a lotus-cart full of Hatha gymnasts can mask the fact that Hatha is classically understood in much the same way as Raja Yoga.
  
  In fact, the classic esoteric handbook of Hatha, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Swami Svatmarama states emphatically in the second and third slokas: "Having thus solemnly saluted his master, Yogi Svatmarama now presents Hatha Vidya (vidya = wisdom) solely and exclusively for the attainment of Raja Yoga. For those who wander in the darkness of conflicting creeds, unable to reach to the heights of Raja Yoga, the merciful Yogi Svatmarama has lit the torch of Hatha wisdom."
  
  The meaning here could not be more plain. The techniques of Hatha are given so as to prepare a person’s consciousness for the subtler metaphysics of Raja Yoga. Irrespective of belief, Hatha is regarded as a torch to experientially guide one out from that belief into the "wisdom" of Raja Yoga.
  
  Alain Danielou, a recognized French scholar on the subject of yoga, states that "the sole purpose of the physical practices of Hatha Yoga is to suppress physical obstacles on the Spiritual or Royal path of Raja Yoga and Hatha yoga is therefore called ‘the ladder to Raja Yoga.’ " However for those who practice Hatha for purely physical ends, outside of a total context of spiritual discipline, most of the classic commentaries issue dire warnings. The Ananda Marga Yoga Society’s manual for teachers sums them up well: "Indeed from the practice of Hatha Yoga, without a proper effort to the mind, mental and spiritual degeneration may ultimately occur."
  
  The typical middle-class Westerner, taking yoga classes at the YMCA, has little or no idea of the how’s and why’s of yoga’s seeming efficacy. In the traditional understanding, physical yoga has a great deal more to do with the practitioner’s invisible, "subtle" body, than it does with the flesh and bones and muscles which encase it. While yoga does purport to first of all work on the muscular, glandular, and physical nervous systems, its real import, as Danielou says, is as "a process of control of the gross body which aims at freeing the subtle body." This subtle body is extremely complex, but can be superficially described as consisting of 72,000 invisible psychic channels called nadis, which constitute an other dimensional body which directly corresponds to the physical, or gross, body. The subtle body is connected to the gross body at several points, with the seven predominant ones located at distinct points ranging from the base of the spine to the top of the head. These are called chakras, and they are believed to control the various aspects of the consciousness of the individual.
  Physical yoga finds its most refined expression when it teaches postures which bring various channels within the subtle body into a specific alignment with one another and thus alter the consciousness of the practitioner in a specified way.
  
  Whether or not this sort of thing is actually going on... it is important to understand that physical yoga, according to its classical definitions, is inherently and functionally incapable of being separated from Eastern religious metaphysics. The Western practitioner who attempts to do so is operating in ignorance and danger, from the yogi’s viewpoint, as well as from the Christian’s. 2[/color]
  Notes:
  
  1. Dave Fletcho, "David Fletcho’s Story: Last Meditation/Lotus Reference," Special Collections Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, Berkeley, CA: Spiritual Counterfeits Project, Winter 1984, pp. 31-36.
  
  2. Dave Fletcho, "Yoga," Berkeley, CA: Spiritual Counterfeits Project, 1978, pp. 2-6.

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[moniker]

Relic, if my understanding of your position is correct you do not hold anything against yoga as a discipline of stretching your body and improving your health.

Satan is very clever in sneaking into our mind gladually. This is very effective accomplishing his motives. If we have a habbit of letting sin creep in by saying "innocent practice" it will soon be full-fledged sin.

The Bible is caustioning this kind of mentality.

We should get rid of this kind of small "innocent habbits or practices" as many as we can. I have many of them too. :

I take it you find Easter eggs, rabbits, christmas trees, santa claus, etc. to all be degrading people's belief in Jesus then? They all have a pagan past. In fact, most everything around today can have its roots traced back to pagan beliefs and cultures. Does this condemn them for not being Judeo-Christian in origin, simply in practice (by some)? Woodworking can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, China, and Germany. Yet Jesus himself was a carpenter.

Again, how does appreciating and learning another culture's knowledge lessen your own or lead to damnation?