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Yoga isn't a religion. It is basically just a group stretching class. Some people put various "new age" elements into it, but I don't see how it could be consid

Yoga isn't a religion. It is basically just a group stretching class. Some people put various "new age" elements into it, but I don't see how it could be considered a religion. I could be wrong though. I've never been to place where people considered it to be much more than a fitness class. Maybe I've been to the wrong places.

Alex3917 15y ago
The word yoga literally means 'yoke', in other words basically a connection to god. That's what those stretches are designed to do. It's a form of mysticism, like Kabbalah.
- blackguardx 15y ago
  I am an atheist and have never felt a connection to any god while stretching. You may have different experiences, though.
  - Alex3917 15y ago
    It's a historical fact, it has nothing to do with your experience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
    - daveungerer 15y ago
      You may want to try reading the links you post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga#Reception_in_the_West http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga#Reception_in_the_West Let me save you the trouble while I'm here: "...legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises outside of counter culture or esotericism circles, and unconnected to a religious denomination."
- AnthonBerg 15y ago
  The Red Cross is a religious organization because Jesus - a well-known religious figure - was crucified. On a cross.
- shiven 15y ago
  You made my day!! Alex3917 you are now permanently listed under the birfer/truther/tin-foil-hatter category in my book! You, Sir, are simply HILARIOUS!
  - gruseom 15y ago
    I really object to that. Alex3917 is one of the most well-informed commenters on here. That he takes unpopular and unconventional positions is cause for admiration, not rude ridicule. As for the point about yoga, it hardly seems odd to suggest that a system that's been around for thousands of years might retain some connection to its origins.
    - tptacek 15y ago
      Hm. I agree with you about the comment you replied to. That comment is so bad I flagged it. So the idea that anyone would downmod you for calling it out is dispiriting. But, much as I like 'Alex3917, I downmodded his yoga comment. I thought it was so reductionist that it sucked all the oxygen out of the room.
      - gruseom 15y ago
        Well now I feel guilty for communicating in abrasive shortcuts myself. "Reductionist" is probably fair. Alex can be a bit of a bombthrower, and not always in a helpful way. For me the line is drawn somewhere between http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932298 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932298 (unhelpful because indiscriminate and judgmental - and yes, reductionist. Nobody is a moron.) and http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932421 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932421 (provocative but informed). I'm guessing the line draws itself a little differently for you. Sadly, the interesting question (what if anything is the religious significance of yoga in the modern West?) probably falls in the large category of stuff that is impossible to discuss online. It always appears possible, but immediately degenerates into binary twiddling where everyone takes their own pre-existing bitmask, ANDs it with what they perceive the competing bitmasks to be, and emits signals of "yes/like" and "no/dislike" that vary only in intensity. The informational content of this process is low. It's like addictive food that lacks nutrition. I have a theory as to why this is. High-value discourse -- in which people experience their overlapping divergences as something other than a binary opposition and come away from the encounter slightly transformed, which is a deeply human and satisfying experience -- requires rapport, and rapport is a somatic phenomenon. It mostly occurs when people are both personally acquainted and physically nearby. Online discussions, which have neither, are therefore inhospitable. We end up with a lot of verbiage that is cognitively sophisticated but emotionally/limbically primitive. I wonder if auxiliary in-person meetups of online communities will continue to grow as a way to mitigate this. In any case we should look for a way to increase the likelihood of rapport. I don't mean to try to bring it about (that would be awful) but to ask what conditions increase the probability of it occurring spontaneously. (Normally I'd edit this down but I'm late for brunch at my sister's house, so you get the overwrought version!)
- rprasad 15y ago
  Why are people marking him down for making a factually accurate statement? Yoga is a form of Hindu mysticism which was practiced by Hindu ascetics as a form of religous penance or as part of their meditations. Yoga came to the West as a form of mysticism, largely due in part to the influence of the Beatles and the Hippie movement of the 70s. While yoga in the West has largely been divorced from its spiritual aspects, many American Yoga classes still incorporate them, even those taught by non-Hindus.
- nasmorn 15y ago
  You are in the unfortunate position of being factually correct but opposed to how most people view their participation in this activity. Maybe we could create a business where groups of people throw stones on a leather puppet and say it is good for their arm muscles and trains them in track and field.
- unconed 15y ago
  Tons of things in our society came from a religious background and were liberated from it. Galileo studied the stars and argued against the Pope to become closer to God, that doesn't mean astronomy is mysticism. For people who sit at a desk all day, like most people here I would imagine, doing even just one hour of yoga a week can have a huge influence on their physical well-being (not to mention posture). Doesn't need to be more than that.
  - Alex3917 15y ago
    Galileo was interested in understanding the mind of god. That's different than mysticism. All science is religious in that sense, but not all science is mysticism.

Alex3917 15y ago

The word yoga literally means 'yoke', in other words basically a connection to god. That's what those stretches are designed to do. It's a form of mysticism, like Kabbalah.

blackguardx 15y ago
I am an atheist and have never felt a connection to any god while stretching. You may have different experiences, though.
- Alex3917 15y ago
  It's a historical fact, it has nothing to do with your experience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
  - daveungerer 15y ago
    You may want to try reading the links you post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga#Reception_in_the_West http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga#Reception_in_the_West Let me save you the trouble while I'm here: "...legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises outside of counter culture or esotericism circles, and unconnected to a religious denomination."
AnthonBerg 15y ago
The Red Cross is a religious organization because Jesus - a well-known religious figure - was crucified. On a cross.
shiven 15y ago
You made my day!! Alex3917 you are now permanently listed under the birfer/truther/tin-foil-hatter category in my book! You, Sir, are simply HILARIOUS!
- gruseom 15y ago
  I really object to that. Alex3917 is one of the most well-informed commenters on here. That he takes unpopular and unconventional positions is cause for admiration, not rude ridicule. As for the point about yoga, it hardly seems odd to suggest that a system that's been around for thousands of years might retain some connection to its origins.
  - tptacek 15y ago
    Hm. I agree with you about the comment you replied to. That comment is so bad I flagged it. So the idea that anyone would downmod you for calling it out is dispiriting. But, much as I like 'Alex3917, I downmodded his yoga comment. I thought it was so reductionist that it sucked all the oxygen out of the room.
    - gruseom 15y ago
      Well now I feel guilty for communicating in abrasive shortcuts myself. "Reductionist" is probably fair. Alex can be a bit of a bombthrower, and not always in a helpful way. For me the line is drawn somewhere between http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932298 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932298 (unhelpful because indiscriminate and judgmental - and yes, reductionist. Nobody is a moron.) and http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932421 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2932421 (provocative but informed). I'm guessing the line draws itself a little differently for you. Sadly, the interesting question (what if anything is the religious significance of yoga in the modern West?) probably falls in the large category of stuff that is impossible to discuss online. It always appears possible, but immediately degenerates into binary twiddling where everyone takes their own pre-existing bitmask, ANDs it with what they perceive the competing bitmasks to be, and emits signals of "yes/like" and "no/dislike" that vary only in intensity. The informational content of this process is low. It's like addictive food that lacks nutrition. I have a theory as to why this is. High-value discourse -- in which people experience their overlapping divergences as something other than a binary opposition and come away from the encounter slightly transformed, which is a deeply human and satisfying experience -- requires rapport, and rapport is a somatic phenomenon. It mostly occurs when people are both personally acquainted and physically nearby. Online discussions, which have neither, are therefore inhospitable. We end up with a lot of verbiage that is cognitively sophisticated but emotionally/limbically primitive. I wonder if auxiliary in-person meetups of online communities will continue to grow as a way to mitigate this. In any case we should look for a way to increase the likelihood of rapport. I don't mean to try to bring it about (that would be awful) but to ask what conditions increase the probability of it occurring spontaneously. (Normally I'd edit this down but I'm late for brunch at my sister's house, so you get the overwrought version!)
rprasad 15y ago
Why are people marking him down for making a factually accurate statement? Yoga is a form of Hindu mysticism which was practiced by Hindu ascetics as a form of religous penance or as part of their meditations. Yoga came to the West as a form of mysticism, largely due in part to the influence of the Beatles and the Hippie movement of the 70s. While yoga in the West has largely been divorced from its spiritual aspects, many American Yoga classes still incorporate them, even those taught by non-Hindus.
nasmorn 15y ago
You are in the unfortunate position of being factually correct but opposed to how most people view their participation in this activity. Maybe we could create a business where groups of people throw stones on a leather puppet and say it is good for their arm muscles and trains them in track and field.
unconed 15y ago
Tons of things in our society came from a religious background and were liberated from it. Galileo studied the stars and argued against the Pope to become closer to God, that doesn't mean astronomy is mysticism. For people who sit at a desk all day, like most people here I would imagine, doing even just one hour of yoga a week can have a huge influence on their physical well-being (not to mention posture). Doesn't need to be more than that.
- Alex3917 15y ago
  Galileo was interested in understanding the mind of god. That's different than mysticism. All science is religious in that sense, but not all science is mysticism.