Well, it must be sending shivers up the spine of all those Yoga center operators. Not only the “most unproductive council” (i got that from the SMS column in the Star today – had a good laugh!), National Fatwa Council are thinking about banning Yoga for Muslims who will be deemed as practicing deviant religion if they do yoga, but it looks like some of the Christian group also have their reservations. So, if all Muslims and Christians are advised/ordered to stay away from yoga, lots of businesses will close shop.

While some Christian groups say it was wrong to practise yoga as it belonged to a different religion, others say they saw nothing wrong as long as the participants do not deviate from their beliefs.

The Malaysian Council of Churches general secretary, Rev Dr Herman Shastri, said different churches hold different opinions on the practice of yoga.

“In modern society, many young people are interested in health and well-being of mind and body.

“Some churches said it belonged to a different religion so Christians should not do it,” he said, adding that many churches held spiritual retreats that were opened to non-believers, featuring meditation to alleviate stress and help people seek spiritual comfort.

Another source said the issue was problematic as the council did not have a uniform stance on it.

He said other church groups consider yoga to be a healthy exercise if done only for physical reasons.

“But generally, for Christians, if they do not offer prayers to other Gods while practising yoga, I think it should be fine,” he said.

But, what amuses me is that the thinking that yoga is not related to Hinduism. Some of the practitioners say its an exercise. Yes it is, but its also more than that. One can still benefit from yoga sans all the chanting and prayers, but obviously for a Hindu, the real purpose of Yoga is beyond just a healthy body and mind. Its a bridge to achieve higher spiritual level and to realise God. MHS says:

Malaysia Hindu Sangam president Datuk A. Vaithilingam said yoga had long been an accepted form of exercise in many countries regardless of religion and culture.

“Yoga practitioners can just leave out the religion and do the exercise. It‘s entirely up to the individual,” he said, adding that there were no restrictions that yoga practitioners had to be Hindus.

Some say Yoga is scientific. Well, that’s Hinduism for you. It was well explained in the scriptures – Vedas and Gita.

Due to commercialization of Yoga, it has been shed of its religious aspects. The focus is on breathing, postures and now – combination with other arts and exercises.

Yoga actually have many types – Rajayoga, Karmayoga, Bhaktiyoga, and Jnanayoga. Well, “YOGA” comes from the word “yug” which means to unite. Unite what, you ask? the soul with the supreme consciousness.

Patanjili Maharishi is perhaps the most well-known name associated with Yoga. He is called the Father of Yoga for his work, the Yoga Sutras.

Patanjali’s writing also became the basis for a system referred to as “Ashtanga Yoga” (“Eight-Limbed Yoga”). The Eight Limbs are:

(1) Yama (The five “abstentions”): non-violence, non-lying, non-covetousness, non-sensuality, and non-possessiveness.
(2) Niyama (The five “observances”): purity, contentment, austerity, study, and surrender to god.
(3) Asana: Literally means “seat”, and in Patanjali’s Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
(4) Pranayama (“Lengthening Pr?na”): Pr?na, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, “?y?ma”, to lengthen or extend. Also interpreted as control of prana.
(5) Pratyahara (“Abstraction”): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
(6) Dharana (“Concentration”): Fixing the attention on a single object.
(7) Dhyana (“Meditation”): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
(8) Samadhi (“Liberation”): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

-from Wikipedia.

Anyway, the word Yoga now is applied to the “exercise” part of Yoga – the postures (asanas) and the breathing techniques.