Cover Story by Callie Fahsholz The word "yoga" relates to the Hindu god Shiva, Professor Tadlock said.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Send mail to The Voice Yoga permeates church and culture Rosalyn Henderson, 72, leads yoga at the Unity Church in Portland, Ore. -Thomas Moss, photo During the 1960s, a new trend began to emerge in Western culture: yoga. Since then, the practice has grown in popularity through the New Age movement. Today, people practice yoga in gyms, homes and even churches across the country. Rosalyn Henderson is a yoga instructor at Unity Church of Portland on Southeast Stark. The Unity Church asked Ms. Henderson to lead the class. It is a love offering she gives that is open to anyone. To objectors she says, "To each his own." Don't tell her what is right for her, and she won't tell you what's right for you. "It keeps me young," she said. "I'm 73 next week. I think yoga has really helped. The older you get, the more you need it. It is very calming, and it makes you very flexible." The effects of yoga are subtle, Ms. Henderson said. After a time, your body will be more toned and relaxed. Ms. Henderson finds the meditative aspects inherent in the practices of yoga rejuvenating. Tonight, a small group of women meet at Unity Church. Ms. Henderson begins by leading the group in basic stretching. First, they stretch their arms, then do shoulder rolls as they slowly move down the body, holding each stretch before slowly releasing. Then they stand with their feet shoulder width apart, arms outstretched in front of them. "Left arm to right leg, hold...release. Right arm to left leg, hold... release," Ms. Henderson says as they repeat several times. Everything is in slow motion, emphasized by the instrumental music seeping through the speakers in the sanctuary. The only other noise is Ms. Henderson's soft voice, "Hold... release, switch, hold...release." "Let's do our chest expansions," Ms. Henderson says. The women link their own thumbs, with their arms behind their backs and stretch their arms up while bending their backs, very slowly, down and back up again. Now is the time for yoga breathing. Each woman lies on her back, closes her eyes and breathes softly. Yoga can be spiritual, Ms. Henderson says. "I am being very kind to my body [when I do yoga], which is the temple of God." After one last stretching combination, some having names such as "the cobra" and "stretching dog," Ms. Henderson sits up from her towel and says, "Thank you for sharing with me, girls." The women stand, smile and say, "You're welcome" as they pick up their towels. "But you can't get away without a hug," Ms. Henderson says as she reaches out to each of them. Speaker and nationally known yoga instructor Charles MacInerney is moving to make yoga available to the widest audience possible by keeping religion separate from yoga. Mr. MacInerey has spoken at Methodist, Presbyterian and Unitarian churches as well as at business conferences across the country. "Yoga does not teach who or what God is," Mr. MacInerey said. "Yoga teaches students tools that help them come closer to God." Michael Tatlock, worldview professor at Multnomah Bible College both agrees and disagrees that spirituality can be divorced from yoga. "It is possible to separate the two by just doing the stretches," he said, "but these inevitably lead to true yoga. "To truly divorce spirituality or religion from yoga, you can't even call it yoga," Professor Tatlock said. "Make up your own stretches and call it something else because of what the word references." "Yoga is a wonderful tool that people have used for thousands of years to calm the mind and body, improve concentration and increase awareness," Mr. MacInerey said. These conditions benefit all who practice yoga regardless of race or religion. The meditative aspect of yoga raises mixed responses from within the Christian church. "Many are merely repeating what they have been told by others," Mr. MacInerey said. "Some yoga classes are taught in a very New Age atmosphere, and some may even be psychologically unhealthy for certain individuals, but I would say the same for many churches." The tensions in the church spring from ignorance and innocence, Professor Tatlock said. A couple at his church dance for the Oregon Ballet and attend yoga classes to aid in their stretching. He said that many people, like this couple, are ignorant of the roots of yoga. The word "yoga" relates to the Hindu god Shiva, Professor Tatlock said. In Hinduism, yoga is the essence of salvation. "Yoga is used as a means to get out of the cycle of reincarnation and is advocated in the Hindu scriptures," he said. The Western form of yoga, he explained, is based in the New Age movement. Many people who begin in yoga will end up in Hinduism. "There is a great awakening of spirituality in Western culture," Professor Tatlock said. "We see people blending ways to clear their mind." But Mr. MacInerey would say that yoga could be used as an entrance to deepen your spirituality, despite your religious preference. "Borrowing and synchronizing is not good at all," Professor Tatlock said. "But we do need to slow down and take time for solitude." There are four different kinds of yoga, all of which work together, Professor Tatlock said. Hatha yoga is the most common kind of yoga. Each style of yoga takes a different path, Mr. MacInerey said. Hatha yoga is based upon mind/body practices. This area of yoga emphasizes exercise, the actual stretching involved. Those who practice Hatha, like Ms. Henderson, "are better able to function in their lives," Mr. MacInerey said. Raja yoga is the yoga of the mind. In Raja yoga you are getting in touch with mind and deity in order to become a master of self. Sidhi yoga involves psychic powers and is the spiritual aspect of yoga. "At these classes, " Professor Tatlock said, "you will see people levitate." The fourth dimension of yoga is Kudahine yoga and means "dynamic meditation." These classes will tell you that you have a serpent around your spine and you must release it. The Rajneeshees, who lived in what is now Young Life's Wild Horse Canyon Camp in eastern Oregon, practiced Kudahine yoga. The goal is to combine these four types of yoga to attain salvation, by Hindu standards. Professor Tatlock gives one warning about yoga: "We must understand what spiritual warfare is all about. Don't be afraid to know what truth is," he said. He wants Christians to understand that "the essence of the term 'yoga' means to have unity with deity and is a substitute for understanding that unity with deity comes through Jesus Christ." Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2003 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.