Keeping checking back here and I hope that people are just enjoying the summer and that's why there haven't been posts recently (and not that I killed the blog with my last downer post). Sorry.
Anyway - I've started taking a yoga class. My two pregnancies have left me with I think 3 working muscles in my tummy, and this is my great idea to fit that. So the plan is to be downward dogging every Tuesday night until the summer session is over. This is, however, not the first time I've taken classes with a yogi (or, as a yogi?). There was a brief period that a 5:30am class was a small part of my marriage prep.
Now, I know we're not supposed to judge, and I know that all the following is somewhat shallow of me. But. I could not help from comparing the two instructors. At my first classes, the girl was young, beautiful, in amazing shape, basically one solid muscle. The kind of instructor that has perfect, gravity defying hair, no matter what crazy twist pose she did. She also had no sweat glands.
This new instructor was an older, jolly lady, who I almost didn't realize was the instructor because she was definitely on the heavy side. Not crane lifting heavy, but probably about 50+ lbs. or so over a normal height/weight. She was (and I'm sure you all can see this coming) by far the better instructor. She focused on how we were doing, tailored the class to what poses would help us best. She encouraged questions and laughing (which I thought was a huge yoga/meditation/karma no-no). And, even at one point, stopped the class flow to explain how exactly to hold our hands so we would not get bad habits. Pause the Enya!
My old instructor never noticed that I had my child pose wrong and that I really didn't have the "yoga feet" down. She was busy taking all the poses "a little farther" and I guess thought we'd get used to the class flow and catch up (which is true also). However, although she was gently commanding us to BREATHE, I got the idea she had not let out all the way for some years. And the more I went, the more I realized that this class was only a part of her routine, not her whole exercise. Before class, I would see her on the treadmill at a full. out. run. A scary movie, guy behind me's got a knife run. Then she walked into class, taught, put away her mat and on my way out to the car, I would see her again on the Stephen King run.
Interesting isn't it? Put these two ladies together and I'm sure 99 out of 100 would say that the young, fit one was a walking advertisement for healthy living, but really, she seems tortured by her exercise routine. The new lady, though, seems to understand the purpose of her gentle poses. And I bet has more of an acquaintance with inner peace.
And she can hold pretty much any pose known to man. Then takes it "further."
6 comments:
I would be careful about doing yoga. There's been some controversy over whether or not Catholics should engage in the activity. You may want to do some research on the topic.
God Bless!
ARG! I just wrote this huge response, and lost it. Dang.
Anyway - thanks Arafea - I hadn't thought about the spiritual effects until I read your comment. So, I started looking it up, and you are not kidding! There is tons of controversy about Catholics doing yoga.
Basically, it seems like most people were in two camps: 1)yoga is fine. Exercises are separate from the meditation. Or, 2)yoga is bad. You are doing pagan practices and it opens you up to possess. (btw, Yikes!)
They also mentioned the LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
ON SOME ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION by Card. Ratzinger (Awesome.) which mentions yoga in a footnote. Well, I read it and it basically talks all about yoga. "The ever more frequent contact with other religions and with their different styles and methods of prayer has, in recent decades, led many of the faithful to ask themselves what value non-Christian forms of meditation might have for Christians. Above all, the question concerns eastern methods.1 Some people today turn to these methods for therapeutic reasons."
Basically it says that it can be good or bad, but not for the same reasons the bloggers said. The (then) Ratzinger said that these meditation practices teach you to open and empty yourself. Now, this is good if you realize that you empty yourself so that God can fill you up with Himself. The problem is when you rid yourself of the world, to just focus on yourself and stay there. Focused on yourself. (boo)
The other problem (and I thought this was genius) is that no technique can get you closer to God. God's grace is a gift. So just because you are doing a meditative pose and have prepared yourself perfectly for mediation does not mean that God WILL give you a grace to meditate on Him.
Didn't St. Therese say "All is Grace"? And she meant it. ALL.
So - yes - I think here Card. R. is saying yoga can be a good tool: "In prayer it is the whole man who must enter into relation with God, and so his body should also take up the position most suited to recollection. Such a position can in a symbolic way express the prayer itself, depending on cultures and personal sensibilities. In some aspects, Christians are today becoming more conscious of how one's bodily posture can aid prayer."
It's just that you need to know what you're doing. You're preparing yourself to meditate on God and not yourself. And that while this is good to do, you are not being graced with a deep prayer because you are bending deeply. And, he says that we must not forget that prayer is also acts of love, out in the world that many eastern religions would like to forget.
I think Card. Ratzinger summed it up well with "The love of God, the sole object of Christian contemplation, is a reality which cannot be 'mastered' by any method or technique."
It also makes sense to me that the problem with yoga is not that you may leave the Faith for some cult or other religion, but that you may end up unknowingly teach yourself to be self-centered.
Brilliant man.
longest comment ever.
I love you Jaunebug.
I've taken prenatal yoga with our birth instructor for my first 2 pregnancies but my stomach just won't let me do much beyond walking this time around. It wasn't really focused at all on any of the Eastern stuff. No "ohms" or "namastes" and just in the studio of a baby store. She would just play nice spa music with no beat to distract you and she always helps modify poses for those of us who are incapable of reaching beyond our knees. There is never any mentioning of emptying yourself or anything even vaguely eastern, through she is known to throw in the occasional "Your baby is loving this." I'd say part of it depends on who your instructor is and what studio you are part of. Common sense! And you can always throw in a Hail Mary or meditate on something Catholic if you can think anything besides "don't fall over!"
I definitely agree with all of the research you've done Jaunebug-- I did it myself a little while back. Seems like it would make a great post in itself!!
Being a dancer, yoga has always been a great "cross- training" exercise to me, and I have never taken a class that has upset my conscience. Like Andi said, most yoga classes in our area are very westernized-- I've never heard an instructor discuss Hindu philosophy or religion between poses!
I would say that if you find yourself conflicted with yoga, examine why you feel that way, and pray. And if it really doesn't feel right, there are many other forms of exercise that can reap similar benefits to yoga such as stretching regularly, and working on core-strengthening exercises. :)
Chantal - when I went to post the comment, I thought, jeez, this should be it's own post. But that meant more work, so I just posted it. =P And I totally agree - if you don't feel comfortable with yoga, don't do it. Pilates is WAY harder. (More penance anyway)
Andi- I love you too! I did preggo yoga (but just a dvd in my house) and it really helped. My mom saw it and she loved it too!(She's my own private pregnancy expert.) Pretty much all the positions were the same things Dr. Sears tells you to do. Just way more fun to do it with a DVD and music than with an opened book.
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