Yoga’s Impact on Religion

Father Rutler feels like with the quarantine and the lockdown families are going to be prone to being lazy and inactive. Keeping young children active and entertained are feeling like difficult tasks for parents. To keep kids physical, as if they were in school, yoga can be a good option.

Rutler realizes with the closing down of schools, the challenges to keeping children busy are difficult. Yoga is an activity that both the parents and children can do together. In the year 2021, with the advancement of technology and the internet, parents can find multiple videos online that are dedicated to yoga for kids.

Yoga is not a religion, but a spiritual practice for anyone. A simple definition of yoga can be defined as union, unite, or to be yoked. Yoga is a discipline that connects the body and mind. It teaches a person to control breathing and meditation through particular body movements. Yoga represents a positive and comprehensive approach to holistic health, which can be viewed as a way to promote one’s spiritual well-being. Regularly practicing yoga can help relieve stress from everyday life, strengthen good habits, improve a person’s mental and emotional health, sleeping habits, and balance.

With each religion, people have different practices that affirm their beliefs. Father Rutler believes that adding yoga to their daily or weekly routine can help provide a deeper connection with themselves and their faith. An example of connecting yoga and religion would be their Christian faith. Through yoga, there are certain practices and rituals as with Christianity. Prayers are viewed as “resting in God”, including yoga in this practice, one can develop a deeper meditative state that eases the body and focuses a calm, quiet state of mind.

Connecting the Christian faith and yoga helps create a deeper hold on a person’s faith. Finding positive aspects of yoga that can connect to moral guidelines to the religion, such as assigning prayers to certain yoga positions. Connecting the guidelines for healthy living are known as yamas and niyamas. Yamas are viewed as the guidelines on interactions with others and niyamas are personal observances. By combining the practice of yamas and niyamas, a person’s moral observances are used as a catalyst towards self-acceptance, healthy relationships, and spiritual growth.

One of the most active parts of the body is the brain and can be compared to a computer, receiving information and sending messages to the appropriate part of the body. Yoga helps center the mind on a particular muscle group and slows down the breathing focusing on the calm and stillness around them. Through each movement or stretch, the bodies can be viewed as a way of worship towards the Lord and honor the Holy Spirit.

People often view yoga and Christianity as two practices that cannot be or should be combined. Oftentimes it is because someone feels that it is ungodly. But finding ways to combine the two, it can find a deeper connection with their faith.