Georgiana Daniels Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Lol, I have never heard it described as such before, but by saying woowoo I knew exactly what you meant! Like you, no disrespect, just not my cuppa... Ironically, I loved the class, but did not expect the instructor to try to force that aspect on anyone at the athletic club. Had he not, who knows what amazing feats I'd be capable of by now? Or not.....:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Here's my opinion on the religious side of it. I was raised Lutheran and taught about one God in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. I've read the Bible many times, and it's pretty consistent about what the Holy Spirit is, IMO. The Holy Spirit resides in the human heart. Hence God resides in the human heart, and to get close to God you do your best to strip away the negative stuff that is blocking your mind from the God within you. I've read a fair amount of the Hindu and Buddhist holy books, and they are in no way incompatible with the above understanding. In Hinduism, Atman is that God (Holy Spirit) within you which humans tend to block with negativity. Buddhists technically don't believe in an external God, but they believe in the God within you (Holy Spirit). Meditation, spiritual Yoga, etc. are practices to help strip away the barriers individuals have erected to communication with the Holy Spirit within them. That would be insecurity, fear, anger, low self-esteem, and so on. If you clear your mind and open yourself to hear the positive voice within you (which is God), how is that scary? It's only scary if you believe in other gods or if you believe the Holy Spirit is distant and/or powerless. Yes, different marketers add different bells and whistles to the yoga practice, and most of them are woo-woo for me too. They are distractions because they are too far outside my comfort level (what I'm used to). Some EEE-YAAA music is going to distract me but a nice Western classical instrumental will comfort me because I'm used to that being a comfort. Either way, those are external matters that have little to do with God. All that aside, it is really good scientific physical exercise. When I'm doing my little yoga routine, I am rarely thinking about the spiritual aspect of it. I do my spiritual thinking at other times. But, I think it would be fun someday to go to a yoga retreat and just do that all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 :iagree: Motivation, what is in your heart is the key. I do understand being on the receiving end this kind of thing. I've been "disinvited" to dissect with a homeschool group because our kids have read Harry Potter - they didn't want me to influence the children towards the Dark Arts :001_huh: - and just last week had a 4-H family drop out of our club because they noticed during a meeting that we have National Geographic in our home. Clearly, we aren't the right kind of Christian. :glare: What we learned is just to smile, pass the bean dip, keep our hearts right with God, and let Him take care of the rest. We still have Harry Potter books and National Geographic at our house! :D I still do both the yoga exercises and strength training on the Wii....something about the "virtual" trainer telling me that this is toning my hips and thighs while doing the exercises does not exactly speak "worshipping anything" at the time. Jesus and I are A okay and maybe, just maybe, someday my thighs will look better - where is the crossed fingers, determined face emoticon????? (We need one of these.) I say that if it bothers someone, they clearly themselves should not do it. God deals with each person in their own respective place and with their own personal issues...those issues aren't the same for everyone. If you are fine and it won't negatively influence your relationship with God then by all means do the yoga, get the health benefits, and don't give it a second thought. You just need a good bean dip recipe! :001_smile: Faith Nat Geo? Really? Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 hmm, I take those times during the poses to visualize myself under a very gentle waterfall washing away all the toxins in my body. And enjoying the sensation of deep breathing. It's very soothing. It gives me more appreciation for the complexity and miracle of the body Heavenly Father gave me. That is a nice idea. I'm going to borrow it, if you don't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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