Is Yoga against Your Religion?

An overview of the history and contemporary landscape of yoga. Is it something worth considering for folks who are wary of uncritical religious ideas, cults, or worship of strange deities? Is it bad for your health or wholesome? What about terms associated with Hinduism like namaste, used in most practices? What forms of yoga are there? How might yoga help me with anxiety, health, spirituality, and weight loss? Join us even if you’ve already made up your mind or don’t care about yoga in particular, since it is representative of so much more than just one practice.

Note that the music at the beginning is by Landon Mills, who plays improvisational while Stacie leads Stretching with Jesus, a yin practice with readings from the contemplative tradition within Christianity.

TOPICS AND LINKS FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

• The Decultification episode regarding the farm

• James Mallinson’s book on Yoga

• Namaste 

• Jonathan Haidt

• Tapping 

• Stacy Kitahata

• Kundalini

• Skin walkers

• Rajnishis  and the Wild Wild Country

• Bikram 

• Ravi Zacharias

• Iyengar

• Paramahansa Yogananda

• Kriyananda and the movement called Ananda

• Duncan Trussell

• Alan Watts

• Jah9