The Hare Krishnas are Back!

Do you remember the Hare Krishnas at the airport during the 70's? They had shaved heads, long robes, and would often corner people on the street. Sometimes they would be selling flowers.


Well, guess what folks, They're Back!!

The reason that I make this claim is because I'm getting pestered by religious fanatics. Unfortunately, they happen to be the folks at my treatment facility. How can a bunch of medically trained professionals push all this nonsense?
 Reiki is total quackery but  Yoga is more disturbing. Whether they realize it or not, they're pushing religion. I realize that's not their intent but in the end it's results that count. If you objectively look at the evidence, they're leading people into a religious practice. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 

I came to this realization after I read this article in "The American Conservative" entitled, Yoga: Exercise of Religion or Mere Exercise?. This article discusses two court cases where parents challenged the schools on the issue of  teaching Yoga. The central question revolved around whether Yoga was considered a religious activity. The proponents of yoga in the schools claim that it's merely an exercise class divorced from it's religious roots. They claim that one's intentions are all that matter when practicing yoga. If the goal is simple exercise then that's all it will be.
However, Rod Dreher makes this excellent point:

"The difficulty is that yoga, as traditionally understood, doesn’t work that way. In traditional understanding, yoga is itself a religious act. The postures themselves lead the practitioner to God, whether the practitioner intends this or not. In traditional understanding, in other words, one can’t separate the religious and secular aspects of yoga and one really shouldn’t try. Indeed, some American Hindus object to the way our popular culture treats yoga as a designer gym routine. Much as many American Christians seek to “Keep Christ in Christmas,” the Hindu American Foundation has mounted a campaign to “Take Back Yoga” for the faith."

In my opinion what's bad for young school kids is equally bad for Cancer patients. Both are a population that's vulnerable and dependent. Cancer patients entering treatment are usually frightened and overwhelmed. They trust their doctors and look to them for guidance

 Promoting yoga to patients is irresponsible. It's definitely not treatment and it's not the best option for exercise. (cardio is!) It's a "complementary" activity that is supposed to promote emotional well-being and relaxation but I think it can do real harm.  

Patients may initially start out in some "Gentle Yoga" at their treatment center with the best of intentions. But where will it lead? After treatment patients may go to another yoga class that's NOT so gentle and detached. The yoga studio may also have "meditation" classes  that definitely have religious overtones. The Yoga world has an infinite number of different schools.

It's also completely unregulated. Every studio is different and you'll never know what you'll find. 

All these treatment facilities may be leading their patients down a rabbit hole where they may not return in the same spiritual state. 

To put it simply, all these gentle yoga classes are a spiritual gateway drug. 

Also, for a Catholic to participate in Yoga classes is a form of religious indifference. It's like a couple I once knew. They were Catholics who liked to also pray at a Protestant church. (double dippers) They thought they were being super ecumenical and open-minded but it didn't last. Conflicts began to arise between their two belief systems and they were forced to choose. They ended up leaving the church. 

So next time the treatment center Hare Krishnas try to recruit me, I think I'll pass.