Yoga Michigan

 

Recently there was news about a yoga instructor who rented a room at a Catholic church. When the priest found out that she would be teaching yoga there, he promptly banned her from using the room. His reasoning was that yoga was "too Hindu" and "not compatible with the Catholic faith."

 

Yoga is a largely misunderstood discipline. Even people who have been practicing for years often do not understand the true teachings of yoga. Many people think it is a form of exercise intermingled with some mystical "Hindu" chanting. For some, it even involves sweating in a high-temperature room, banging drums half-naked or hanging upside-down on a swing. 

 

Just like there are all kinds of people who claim to be “Catholic,” there are all kinds of people who claim to be “yogic.” Some of the practices out there are surprising or amusing, but then again, true yogis learn to accept interpretations that are different than their own.

 

The word “yoga” means “unity” or “oneness.” One of the traditional goals of yoga is to see everything as one and each one of us as a tiny fragment of this oneness. It takes all kinds of people to make a world. We may not agree with it all or like it all, but we learn to respect our differences, just as we would hope that others would respect our differences than them. 

An apple is “pomme” to a French, “ringo” to a Japanese, “manzana” to a Spaniard, and “yablaka” to a Russian. The word is simply a representation of the essence of that round, red or green edible fruit. Just because someone describes it using a different sound combination does not change the nature of the object itself. 

Likewise, the Universal Consciousness that a yogi talks about may be “God” to a Christian, “Allah” to a Muslim, “Buddha” to a Buddhist, or “Vishnu” to a Hindu. The word is simply a representation of the essence of that Divine Truth. Just because someone uses a different word to refer to it, different rituals to honor it, and different prayers to communicate with it does not change its essence.

Pinning God against Vishnu, for example, is equivalent to a French and Japanese arguing whether an apple is really a “pomme” or a “ringo.” Imagine, some people even kill each other insisting that their interpretation is correct.

 

This brings to mind a quote from the Bible: 

 

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."   - Luke 6:37

 

To the Father who judged the yoga instructor, I am sure she has the heart to forgive you.