Yogi Philosophy: Reaction Paper

Sem. Jeremias F. Cusay Jr.

Nowadays, a lot of people are attending yoga classes because of the health benefits they
can get. Moreover, they also see yoga as physical exercise and as a form of breathing exercise.
However, yoga is more than these. It is more than a physical activity to improve one’s well-
being. Yoga is spiritual exercise wherein one can unite him/herself with the divine.

The word Yoga actually means “union or transition” wherein a man or woman can unite
with the divine being, through the discipline of the body and mind. Since I did not experience
yoga, there are so many questions posted in my mind like: is it safe? Can this make us more
devoted to Jesus? Will it make us more Christian?

There are eight (8) limbs to yoga. These limbs serve as aids to attain a good physical
body, balance, harmony, peace and unity in mind. And the Yogi philosophy also said that man
has seven principles. If one can master these principles with the help of the eight (8) limbs he/she
can definitely unite himself/herself with the divine. But the question now is, does God’s grace
still work? Obviously, if someone can already unite himself to the divine then he does not need
any more grace coming from God. As we all know humans’ powers and operations are limited.
We need God in order to be truly happy and in peace. According to Pope Francis “You can
follow thousands of catechism courses, thousands of spirituality courses and yoga courses and all
these things, but none of these will be able to give you the freedom as a child of God.” It is very
clear that for Pope Francis, the Holy Spirit can only provide everything in the form of
meditation. Now, if yoga can make us unite with our inner-self to the divine being through the
discipline of our body and mind then what is the purpose of praying and meditation-- since these
two serve as a form for Christians in communicating to God? Therefore, yoga can endanger our
faith.

Yoga can be useful for us if our intention is for our well-being and for the glory of God
as St. Paul said "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things
that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of
praise."