The martyrdom of EleazarToday’s first reading was from the second book of Maccabees where a courageous man of God named Eleazar chose death rather than cause scandal by pretending to eat forbidden meat. What does this Scripture teach us about the heated debates surrounding yoga, mindfulness, centering prayer, and a variety of other practices that originate in non-Christian religions?
We recently received a scathing letter from a Holy Yoga instructor who took us to task for our position against the practice of “Christian yoga.” She believes that because a man in her class asked her to help him accept Jesus as his savior, this proves that God is working in her classes. Is this true? Yes! But not for the reasons she thinks . . .
TV writes: "I had heard that Pope Benedict said that Yoga is not a sin in itself but the worshiping of our bodies is sinful. Is there more you can share about our Catholic Church's teachings of yoga."
Introducing yoga into public schools isn't happening without a fight - and Increasing complaints from parents and accusations that schools are endorsing religious practices is beginning to have an effect on programs across the country.
PM writes: "What is chair yoga? Is it OK to do as one is not upright doing poses?"
A recent study by scientists at Sydney University has found that yoga causes musculoskeletal pain in more than one in ten participants, actually worsened more than a fifth of existing injuries, and is just as dangerous as other sports.
Bishop Joseph F. Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas, offers this advice to parents who want to decrease the chances that their son or daughter will grow up to be a “none” – don’t sign them up for a yoga class.
The following witness was written by Janet C. Munday, BSN, RN, who serves as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses, U.S.A. Janet practiced yoga for 19 years before realizing that she could no longer do so. In poignant detail, she describes her journey from yoga-as-exercise to the realization that this practice is counterproductive for those seeking the light of Christ.
Anyone who has ever encountered a holier-than-thou yoga practitioner will not be surprised by the findings of a new study that found regular yoga and meditation practitioners experience a surge in ego just after a session.
Two weeks ago, EWTN’s Women of Grace aired a series of shows detailing many of the lesser-known facts about the current mindfulness craze. We received the following letter from a woman who said that at the time of the show’s airing, she was grappling with whether or not to quit teaching yoga. After watching just the first half of the first show, she immediately knew what had to be done.
