Your thoughts on Yoga

[q_q_]

Yoga originated within Hindu religious philosophy and is very much connected to it.  Jews are not permitted to be a part of idolatrous worship.  Substituting the idols' names with "G-d" doesn't solve the problem, because Jews are forbidden to serve G-d in the same manner that idols are served, and vice versa.

so meditate over what your dinner is going to be.  Yoga doesn't have to be serving G-d!

[nessuno]

tastes good with granola 

[takebackourtemple]

   Keep in mind that there are different types of yoga. There are also different types of martial arts. Some forms of yoga may be polytheistic while others may be permitted.

[q_q_]

Yoga originated within Hindu religious philosophy and is very much connected to it.  Jews are not permitted to be a part of idolatrous worship.  Substituting the idols' names with "G-d" doesn't solve the problem, because Jews are forbidden to serve G-d in the same manner that idols are served, and vice versa.

so meditate over what your dinner is going to be.  Yoga doesn't have to be serving G-d!

It still emulates idolatrous worship.

what, meditating over what you'll eat for dinner?

[q_q_]

It still emulates idolatrous worship.

what, meditating over what you'll eat for dinner?

Yep.

ok, leave the Gingerbread men out of your dinner..

[cjd]

We have had some threads here on the forum however this one takes the cake or should I say the gingerbread man.

[nessuno]

I'm with you on this one q_q_, but can you explain the Gingerbread Men reference.

[q_q_]

I'm with you on this one q_q_, but can you explain the Gingerbread Men reference.

Trying to find ways that meditating over one's dinner is idolatry or emulating idolatry. It's a long shot, but a gingerbread man could be seen as an idol if it is meditated over..

I suppose that could apply to a chicken too. If a person is meditating over his chicken , he may be a bit crazy, pleading to it to show mercy on him in the next world.. and forgive him for eating it.  A more extreme chicken meditator may worship the chicken and ascribe divine powers to it.  That is definitely forbidden.

[nessuno]

I'm with you on this one q_q_, but can you explain the Gingerbread Men reference.

Trying to find ways that meditating over one's dinner is idolatry or emulating idolatry. It's a long shot, but a gingerbread man could be seen as an idol if it is meditated over..

I suppose that could apply to a chicken too. If a person is meditating over his chicken , he may be a bit crazy, pleading to it to show mercy on him in the next world.. and forgive him for eating it.  A more extreme chicken meditator may worship the chicken and ascribe divine powers to it.  That is definitely forbidden.

Thank You for taking the time to explain.
Now excuse me while I   
Thanks for the laugh.

[New Yorker]

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

[q_q_]

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

I suppose that any set of rules if you struggle to keep them and fail, but keep struggling, and they just take over your life, could give symptoms alike to OCD, but it's not OCD.  It's OCD if the person doesn't have a good reason.

I once heard that a jew that was not religious, but exploring judaism, looked through a book on the laws of shabbat.  They are so intricate.. you can't do this, you can't do that.. She was horrified, she thought this looks like OCD..
Then she went to people for shabbat, and realised how the day has its own atmosphere and people experienced at it don't think "oh, I can't open an umbrella, can I".  Or, "oh, I can't tear paper". They wouldn't think to open an umbrella. And like a recipe, they have the toilet paper ready cut.. and even a box of toilet tissues - each one is separate.

You could look at brushing your teeth, or cooking or eating, and call it OCD. (every day he does this crazy routine!!) But it's not crazy, there are good reasons for it!

[New Yorker]

Yeah but you can't constantly pick apart life LOOKING for stuff to be forbidden, it is obsessive. But whatever to each his own.

[q_q_]

Yeah but you can't constantly pick apart life LOOKING for stuff to be forbidden, it is obsessive. But whatever to each his own.

As rabbi kahane said.. "Life is essentially a question of values"

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/meir_kahane.html

[muman613]

Yeah but you can't constantly pick apart life LOOKING for stuff to be forbidden, it is obsessive. But whatever to each his own.

If you believe in Judaism you don't look for things to be forbidden. We accept that some things are allowed and some are not. Just as there are rules in nature like gravity, when you drop something it falls, regardless of whether you want it to fall or not. We realize that there are spiritual laws which must me kept. If you don't accept this then you don't accept Judaism at all. There is nothing obsessive about this.

[New Yorker]

Yeah but you can't constantly pick apart life LOOKING for stuff to be forbidden, it is obsessive. But whatever to each his own.

If you believe in Judaism you don't look for things to be forbidden. We accept that some things are allowed and some are not. Just as there are rules in nature like gravity, when you drop something it falls, regardless of whether you want it to fall or not. We realize that there are spiritual laws which must me kept. If you don't accept this then you don't accept Judaism at all. There is nothing obsessive about this.

That's why I finished my post with the words "to each his own".

Not going to spend my life looking at this face. LOL 

[muman613]

Yeah but you can't constantly pick apart life LOOKING for stuff to be forbidden, it is obsessive. But whatever to each his own.

If you believe in Judaism you don't look for things to be forbidden. We accept that some things are allowed and some are not. Just as there are rules in nature like gravity, when you drop something it falls, regardless of whether you want it to fall or not. We realize that there are spiritual laws which must me kept. If you don't accept this then you don't accept Judaism at all. There is nothing obsessive about this.

That's why I finished my post with the words "to each his own".

Not going to spend my life looking at this face. LOL 

Does this imply that you enjoy transgressing the mitzvot? I really don't understand why people have such a problem with accepting the commandments. Only a person with a uncontrolled ego would have a problem. I accept that my ideas about morality and purpose in life are formed by my perspective and not from reality. I accept that Torah which was handed down from generation to generation has answers to questions which I cannot rationally deduce. Life has not worked in a logical and ego fufilling manner so I have to come to the conclusion that there is more here than meets the eye.

It started with one mitzvah, which led to another. I did Teshuva {return} and am now more observant than anyone in my family. I have influenced my father and mother to become more learned in Jewish ideology {which is a mitzvah} and discuss Torah with anyone who is interested.

I was an uncontrollable beast before I returned to the path. I thought I knew everything, more than my parents, more than my teachers. But truth is truth and I know virtually nothing. The first step to accepting the yoke of heaven is called bittul {self-nullification}. I realize that as smart and powerful in the software engineering field I am {and I know that I am gifted because of my resume} I really don't know anything about the Olam {world/hiddenness of G-d}.

If you are Jewish there is a whole world of knowledge and understanding waiting for you...

[q_q_]

Yeah but you can't constantly pick apart life LOOKING for stuff to be forbidden, it is obsessive. But whatever to each his own.

If you believe in Judaism you don't look for things to be forbidden. We accept that some things are allowed and some are not. Just as there are rules in nature like gravity, when you drop something it falls, regardless of whether you want it to fall or not. We realize that there are spiritual laws which must me kept. If you don't accept this then you don't accept Judaism at all. There is nothing obsessive about this.

That's why I finished my post with the words "to each his own".

Not going to spend my life looking at this face. LOL 

Does this imply that you enjoy transgressing the mitzvot?

<snip long stuff about mitzvot>

If you are Jewish there is a whole world of knowledge and understanding waiting for you...

You should have said that second sentence first.

[New Yorker]

"Does this imply that you enjoy transgressing the mitzvot? "

Okay, a little background so you know where I'm coming from. I'm Jewish, Sepharadic, but have pretty much zero Jewish education, don't read or speak hebrew; I was born and raised in New York, so I'm more a secular American than Jewish if you go by my lifestyle.

So to answer your question, it's not about "enjoying" it, it's about not having any knowledge or anything to do with it to begin with. To be honest, if I was asked where I'd feel more comfortable, in Brooklyn with a bunch of Orthodox Jews, or in Iowa with some corn fed red blooded Americans, I'd have to say I'd probably be more comfortable with and have more in common lifestyle-wise with the guys from Iowa.

That said, I'm vigorously pro-Israel, and I guess you can say as Kahanist as a secular Jew can be; In my estimation, that makes me better than a liberal shmuck that goes to synagogue, keeps kosher, but sides with Israel's enemies.

Strange old world we live in isn't it?

[muman613]

<snip>

You should have said that second sentence first.

Shoot... I can't do anything right!  Can I?

[White Israelite]

My mom takes Yoga because she has Multiple Sclerosis.

[Zelhar]

I think Yoga is a prime form of exercise as it involves flexibility, strength,  breathing, balance. However it lacks dexterity, agility and cardio exercise. It is also hard to practice, at list from my limited experience. I have tried to learn some Yoga from the book "light on yoga" by Iyengar. But most asanas require very high flexibility and there is no well graded path from basic asanas to advanced ones.

Anyay Yoga is just a form of exercise.

[nessuno]

My mom takes Yoga because she has Multiple Sclerosis.

I think Yoga is a very good form of exercise.  Probably very 'gentle' on the body and mind. 
I can understand why your Mom takes Yoga classes.

It doesn't have to be performed perfectly.  I think the point is to increase your flexability.
I have taken Yoga classes.  Never was it a religious experience.  That is what I'm missing in this debate.

[Rubystars]

bullcat the exercises themselves if done in a secular way probably aren't religious. I don't have a problem with that so much. I do think that perhaps people should be careful though. There are a lot of different types of yoga. I've heard some of them can be dangerous.

According to Tantra, kundalini energy rests like a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. When this dormant energy flows freely upward through the seven chakras (energy centers) and leads to an expanded state of consciousness, it's known as a kundalini awakening.

For some, the experience can be blissful and filled with feelings of love and a sense of the interconnectedness of all things. For others, it can feel more like a bad drug trip, or even a psychotic break, where practitioners go through altered sleep cycles, changes in identity, or depression. This discrepancy has led many Westerners to fear the coiled serpent resting in their spine, ready to strike.

Maybe it's all just in their own mind, or maybe it's something spiritual, but either way, I wouldn't want to get involved in anything that could imitate a psychotic break.

[q_q_]

My mom takes Yoga because she has Multiple Sclerosis.

I think Yoga is a very good form of exercise.  Probably very 'gentle' on the body and mind. 
I can understand why your Mom takes Yoga classes.

It doesn't have to be performed perfectly.  I think the point is to increase your flexability.
I have taken Yoga classes.  Never was it a religious experience.  That is what I'm missing in this debate.

well if you're doing some exercise routine designed in a foreign land, something so foreign that if you were told that the exercise you were doing was called the balu farhar shamaleetaktak which means the double belly stretch of the warrior lioness,   you would just nod unquestioningly. So don't be suprised if some of the hums, and well timed Ohs and Ahs and Ums and whatever, are some kind of names of idols that the ancient practioners meditated on, and you're meditating over those names, saying those names.. not realising the meaning behind it. You'd be better off with a non-idolatrous version since you just want the exercise.
then you wouldn't know

[nessuno]

My mom takes Yoga because she has Multiple Sclerosis.

I think Yoga is a very good form of exercise.  Probably very 'gentle' on the body and mind. 
I can understand why your Mom takes Yoga classes.

It doesn't have to be performed perfectly.  I think the point is to increase your flexability.
I have taken Yoga classes.  Never was it a religious experience.  That is what I'm missing in this debate.

well if you're doing some exercise routine designed in a foreign land, something so foreign that if you were told that the exercise you were doing was called the balu farhar shamaleetaktak which means the double belly stretch of the warrior lioness,   you would just nod unquestioningly. So don't be suprised if some of the hums, and well timed Ohs and Ahs and Ums and whatever, are some kind of names of idols that the ancient practioners meditated on, and you're meditating over those names, saying those names.. not realising the meaning behind it. You'd be better off with a non-idolatrous version since you just want the exercise.
then you wouldn't know

Ignorance is bliss they say.
I don't worship false idols.
I believe in God.
I have nothing to fear from the double belly stretch of the warrior lioness.
Except for sore muscles.
Why must everything be over anaylyzed in life?