This was partly discussed in this thread: https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4853755331739648/these-common-jw-beliefs?page=2#!#5701815683252224 but i wanted to delve into the topic of yoga even further.
It seems Watchtower have no clue what Yoga actually is, or what it can achieve. I myself dont practice yoga, but i do meditate and see the benefits of that.
Here is an artical from Watchtower 2002 with my commentary:
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002565#h=1
Yoga—Just an Exercise or Something More?
HAVING a slim and healthy body is very much on people’s minds today. This has caused many to turn to gymnasiums and health clubs for help. For the same reason, thousands of people in the Western world have turned to the Eastern art of yoga.
People suffering from stress, depression, and frustration have also turned to yoga for solace and solutions. Particularly since the 1960’s, the decade of hippies and flower children, has interest in Eastern religions and their mystic practices spread throughout the West. Transcendental meditation, a close adjunct of yoga, has been popularized by film stars and rock musicians. In view of the growing interest in yoga, we might ask: ‘Is yoga simply an exercise routine that will give the practitioner a healthy, slim body and some peace of mind? Can yoga be practiced without any religious overtones? Is yoga suitable for Christians?’
Yes, yes and yes!
The Background of Yoga
The origin of the word “yoga” is related to that of the English word “yoke.” It can mean to join or yoke together or to bring under a yoke, to harness or control. To a Hindu, yoga is a technique or a discipline that leads to union with a great supernatural force or spirit. It has been described as “the yoking of all the powers of body, mind and soul to God.”
I dont know what yogic school this writer attended but that's not entirely true. According to Yoga.org.nz the true definition is: Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion. Yoga is an ancient art based on a harmonizing system of development for the body, mind, and spirit. The continued practice of yoga will lead you to a sense of peace and well-being, and also a feeling of being at one with their environment. This is a simple definition. http://yoga.org.nz/what-is-yoga/yoga_definition.htm
Nothing mentioned there about god. And of course, Buddhists dont actually concern themselves with any god.
How far back in history can yoga be traced? Figures of people seated in various yoga positions appear on seals found in the Indus Valley, in present-day Pakistan. The Indus Valley civilization is dated by archaeologists to between the third and the second millenniums B.C.E., very close in time to the Mesopotamian culture. Artifacts from both areas portray a man, representing a deity, crowned with animal horns and surrounded by animals, reminiscent of Nimrod, the “mighty hunter.” (Genesis 10:8, 9) The Hindus claim that the figures sitting in yoga positions are images of the god Siva, lord of the animals and lord of yoga, who is often worshiped through the lingam, a phallic symbol. Thus, the book Hindu World calls yoga “a code of ascetic practices, mainly pre-Aryan in origin, containing relics of many primitive conceptions and observances.”
So one religion, Hinduism, has taken the practice of yoga and used it. That doesnt make yoga exclusively a Hindu thing though does it? Just like JW's have taken the wedding ring, wedding cake and ear piercings and used them. Doesnt mean that JW's invented them.
The methods of yoga were at first handed down orally. Then they were put into detailed, written form by the Indian yogic sage Patañjali as the Yoga Sutra, which remains the basic instruction book of yoga. According to Patañjali, yoga is “a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.” From its inception until the present time, yoga has been an integral part of Eastern religions, now particularly Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Some practicers of yoga believe that it will lead them to attain moksha, or liberation, through a merging with an all-pervading spirit.
Moksha is exclusively a Hindu belief. It means liberation, and release from the cycle of death and rebirth. Again, this is just one religion and their take on yoga. Just like many Christians have their own ideas on the nature and role of Jesus Christ.
So once again we ask: ‘Can yoga be practiced simply as a physical exercise to develop a healthy body and a relaxed mind, without any involvement with religion?’ In view of its background, the answer would have to be no.
I'll have to disagree with you there and say YES! Many people of no religion practice yoga and use it to control their diet, blood pressure and mental disposition.
Where Can Yoga Take You?
The objective of yoga as a discipline is to lead a person to the spiritual experience of being “yoked” to or merged with a superhuman spirit. But which spirit would that be?
No it isnt. I wish Watchtower would cite their sources for this claim. Yoga does mean to join, but it's referring to joining the body and mind (and for those who believe in a soul, the spirit).
In Hindu World, author Benjamin Walker says of yoga: “It may have been an early system of magical ritualism, and yoga still retains in its meaning an overtone of occultism and sorcery.” Hindu philosophers admit that the practice of yoga can give supernatural powers, even though they usually claim that this is not the ultimate goal of yoga. For example, in the book Indian Philosophy, former president of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, says of the yogi that “control of the body through postures results in an indifference to the extremes of heat and cold. . . . The yogin can see and hear at a distance . . . Transmission of thought from one individual to another without the intervention of the normal communicating mechanisms is quite possible. . . . The yogi can make his body invisible.”
I call bullshit on this one. It is true that the human body is amazing and capable of doing remarkable things such as withstanding heat and cold under the proper training. But as for transmitting thoughts and super hearing this has NEVER been proven under scientific conditions. If it had it would be a world wide groundbreaking discovery that science would use for the advancement of humanity. So far, no proof has ever come forward.
The image of a yogi sleeping on a bed of nails or walking on hot coals may appear to be a hoax to some and a joke to others. But these are common occurrences in India, as is the practice of standing on one leg while staring directly at the sun for hours and breath control that allows a person to be buried in sand for long periods of time.
Not so amazing. Lying on a bed of nails is pure physics. Anyone can do it. The weight of ones body evenly spread over the bed of nails in the correct way is no great feat. As for hot coals, hell, Tony Robbins does this at the end of every seminar with his students. Again, pure physics.
In June 1995, The Times of India reported that a three-and-a-half-year-old girl lay in a trance as a car weighing more than 1,600 pounds [750 kg] was allowed to run over her abdomen. To the amazement of the crowd, when she awoke she was totally unharmed. The report added: “It was sheer yogic power.”
I've seen Penn and Teller do this trick too. Then they shown you how they did it. No major feat there either.
Without a doubt, no normal human is capable of performing any of these tasks.
Yes they are. And to use the term "without a doubt", you haven't even looked at the opposing evidence.
Hence, a Christian must ask: Of what are these feats an indication? Are they from Jehovah God, “the Most High over all the earth,” or are they from some other source? (Psalm 83:18) The Bible is clear on this point. When the Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, which was occupied by the Canaanites, Jehovah told the sons of Israel through Moses: “You must not learn to do according to the detestable things of those nations.” What “detestable things”? Moses warned against “anyone who employs divination, a practicer of magic or anyone who looks for omens or a sorcerer.” (Deuteronomy 18:9, 10) These things are detestable to God because they are works of the demons and of the fallen flesh.—Galatians 5:19-21.
Oh dear. The demons. Your superstition has immediately labelled anything you dont know about as demonic. You're just like the clergy of Galileo's day.
Not a Choice for Christians
Whatever health instructors may say to the contrary, yoga does not stop with physical exercises. The book Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies relates the experiences of two yoga novitiates who were under the guidance of a guru. One is quoted as saying: “I made superhuman efforts to hold my breath as long as possible, and only breathed when I was on the point of fainting. . . . One day, at high noon, I thought I saw a bright moon, which seemed to move and sway from side to side. Another time I imagined myself enveloped in thick darkness at midday. My director . . . was greatly pleased when I mentioned these visions to him. . . . The time was not far distant, he assured me, when I should experience much more surprising results from my penance.” The second man relates: “He obliged me to stare at the sky every day without blinking my eyes or changing my position. . . . Sometimes I thought I saw sparks of fire in the air; at others I seemed to see fiery globes and other meteors. My teacher was much pleased with the success of my efforts.”
Well of course you did. You're brain is starved of oxygen and you're hallucinating.
The strange sights were evidently what the gurus felt were proper results along the way to the true aim of yogic exercises. Yes, the ultimate goal of yoga is moksha, explained as the merging with some impersonal great spirit.
No it isnt. That's just the hindu take on it. Go speak to a Buddhist, a Jain, a Trantic or any other school of yoga. There are many!
It is described as “the (intentional) stopping of the spontaneous activity of the mind stuff.” This is clearly contrary to the goal set out for Christians, who are given the admonition: “Present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason. And quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”—Romans 12:1, 2.
Woah, hang on, say that again... "“the (intentional) stopping of the spontaneous activity of the mind stuff.” This is clearly contrary to the goal set out for Christians..." you mean like when a JW see's proof on the internet that the Watchtower has been wrong again and again and again and you use thought stopping lines such as "apostate drivin lies and dishonestys"?
The choice of what physical exercise to pursue is a personal one. Christians, however, would not allow anything—be it bodily training, eating, drinking, clothing, entertainment, or something else—to mar their relationship with Jehovah God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) For those exercising simply for the sake of their health, there are many avenues available that do not involve exposure to the dangers of spiritism and occultism. By keeping clear of practices and beliefs that are rooted in false religion, we may look forward to God’s blessing of a righteous new system of things in which we can enjoy perfect health in body and mind for an eternity.—2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3, 4.
[Pictures on page 22] Many enjoy healthy activities that do not involve exposure to spiritism
Picture of some JW's at a picnic, peach coloured polo shirt, light brown chino's, someone playing guitar while the JW's sit on the grass and sing from their songbooks. The JW women pouring out orange juice. Not a demon in sight.