Is the exercise of yoga approved by the Catholic Church?

Answer 1

Jim Blackburn-(Catholic Answers Apologist) While the physical aspects of Yoga can be beneficial, the spiritual aspects may be harmful as they flow into "New Age" religiosity. The Church's reflection on the New Age, Jesus Christ: The Bearer of the Water of Life, warns the Catholic faithful:

Quote:

Yoga, zen, transcendental meditation and tantric exercises lead to an experience of self-fulfilment or enlightenment. Peak-experiences (reliving one's birth, travelling to the gates of death, biofeedback, dance and even drugs - anything which can provoke an altered state of consciousness) are believed to lead to unity and enlightenment. Since there is only one Mind, some people can be channels for higher beings. Every part of this single universal being has contact with every other part. The classic approach in New Age is transpersonal psychology, whose main concepts are the Universal Mind, the Higher Self, the collective and personal unconscious and the individual ego. The Higher Self is our real identity, a bridge between God as divine Mind and humanity. Spiritual development is contact with the Higher Self, which overcomes all forms of dualism between subject and object, life and death, psyche and soma, the self and the fragmentary aspects of the self. Our limited personality is like a shadow or a dream created by the real self. The Higher Self contains the memories of earlier (re-)incarnations.

Aspects such as these are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic faith.

Answer 2

Though it is thought of as just another form of exercise by some people, yoga has a foundation in the Buddhist, Hindu and Jainism religions. Therefore, because of the influence of these religions on yoga, many Christians believe that practising yoga lends credence to these other religions at the expense of Christianity, and is wrong. This has a precedence way back in the Old Testament where God was angry with the Jews for 'diluting' their own beliefs with the beliefs of those others around them, and by marrying those of other religions, thus compromising their own beliefs, and causing real problems for the beliefs of their offspring. Similarly, in the New Testament some of Paul's letters scold the churches round the Mediterranean area (eg the Corinthians) for adopting pagan practices which had no place in Christianity. With regard to the Roman Catholic Church, in 1989, the Vatican declared that Eastern meditation practices such as Zen and yoga can "degenerate into a cult of the body" in that people become more concerned with their looks and physique than by the condition of their soul. While some critics may think this attitude risible, it is totally justified as is borne out in many parts of the world - eg California USA, where millions of dollars every year are spent on cosmetic and enhancing surgery, purely for vanity, money which could be better spent in feeding the poor of the world.

Answer 3

The Catholic Church teaches that yoga shouldn't be learned - not the exercise yoga, the religion yoga - because they don't really believe in the True God or that Jesus walked this earth, which goes against Catholic Church teachings.

Answer 4

Catholic Answer:Father Thomas Dubay, a wonderful priest who is a very good spiritual director and author has a tape set out on Contemplation. In it he discusses transcendental meditation to an extent. He basically says that it is totally unrelated to Christian meditation and has nothing to offer the Christian. I believe he also discusses it in his book on prayer: Prayer Primer. See links below.

Answer 5

As with many non-Catholic practices, the Church always seeks first to find what is praiseworthy, while simultaneously taking care to caution the faithful of potential dangers. Yoga is no exception:

• "Purpose and Evaluation of Yoga. In all ... forms of yoga, ... , there is a constant effort to return to the state of man before the Fall, to transcend the human state and become "like God." In so far as it relies on human effort and a definite technique to attain this end, yoga may be regarded as a system of magic, and there can be no doubt that this element is often present. But, on the other hand, following the original impulse of the Indian mind in its search for God, there is also a definite desire to attain to spiritual freedom, to be freed from the effects of sin, and in certain schools, at least, to depend on the grace of God rather than on human effort. In this case the goal is not so much magical as mystical. The aim is to separate the soul from its subjection to the body and its passions, to free the mind from its subjection to the senses and the imagination, and to attain to a state of absolute freedom and spiritual consciousness. In this state, it is believed, man can be restored to his original state of unity, above the flux of time and change, free from bondage to the material world, and established in perfect freedom and immortality. It marks the deep aspiration of the Indian soul to return to God, to recover the lost state of Paradise; but, lacking the light of revelation, it is inevitably exposed to the dangers of illusion and of magic and superstition. Yet, on the whole, one must say that the desire to know God is the fundamental motive of yoga."

• GRIFFITHS, B. "Yoga." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 890-893. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.

Answer 6

From my research there does not seem to be a clear opinion from the Catholic Church on Transcendental Meditation. It seems to depend on who and when you ask. In 1968 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey appeared on British TV with the founder of TM and according to the press, he supported the theories of Maharish Mahesh Yogi. However, in 1984 Cardinal Jamie Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, said that Transcendental Meditation was not compatible with Catholic beliefs. A few Catholic clergy have supported the use of the Transcendental Meditation. One example is the Catholic Monk, Wayne Teasdale who wrote the book: The Mystic Heart and priests who practice TM include New York's Len Dubi (see You Tube video) and the Canadian priest, Kevin Joyce.