After I posted my article about yoga meditation, April Braswell, who runs the best dating and relationship site on the Internet, asked if people of different religions were comfortable doing the sivasana time that follows a traditional yoga session.
The answer is yes. Or, at least it should be yes.
Sivasana is a period of relaxation/meditation that allows your body to fully absorb the benefits of the stretches and exercises it has just experienced. Without sivasana, your practice is not as effective.
Sivasana has no religious implications whatsoever. Unless, of course, the yoga student wants to give this asana (refer to Yoga Meditation for a definition of “asana”) religious significance.
Neither yoga nor meditation has any religious connotation. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, meditation of any kind is not religious. However, it can be a very spiritual practice should the individual meditator choose to make it spiritual.
Yoga as practiced in the western world is actually asana. It’s one of the eight limbs of a very large body of work that encompasses an entire way of life. Asana is a very minor portion of this philosophy, and all it deals with are postures or poses that help ready the physical body for meditation. There is nothing religious about asana.
Meditation, while practiced by religious people and groups worldwide from a variety of traditions, is not by definition a religious practice. There are a number of benefits of meditation, many of which are directly linked to improvements in mind and body health. If a meditator chooses to bring spirituality or religion into meditation, that is the choice of the individual.
I hope this clears up questions regarding religion, yoga, and meditation. Whether you are religious, spiritual, atheistic, agnostic, or otherwise, you can practice meditation and/or yoga without any concern about it conflicting with your beliefs.
Guided Meditation with Cherie Miranda
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I wouldn’t have thought religion would have had an issue with these practices Cherie , but a well answered query from April .
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I am glad that you addressed this as I think that some folks believe that yoga and meditation are part of a religion and therefore would not be “allowed” by their own religion.
Sonya Lenzo
http://www.sunnyincostarica.com/dating/
I’m hoping you can discuss the 6 other limbs. If this is not your purpose could you recommend a book that would explain them.
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I was thinking that perhaps it wasn’t appropriate, but since meditation is a huge part of the overall yoga philosophy, perhaps I will write briefly about the other 7 limbs of yoga. When I say it is a huge and detailed philosophy/way of life, I’m not kidding. I have texts on it. I’ll have at least one book recommendations in my post(s).
Cherie ~
Thank you for taking the time to address the constant question between religion and meditation. I know many people who meditate and trust me, there is no inkling of a religious bone in their bodies
Stay Amazing and Do Great Things, Neil
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Hi Cherie,
I would agree with you that Yoga could be used universally no matter what your religious beliefs. In fact to me it seems like you could use it to heighten your religious experience.
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Thank you for pointing out that meditation and yoga have no religious connotations at all and can be practiced by people of any faith. Very helpful information!
Michael
Fly Me To The Moon 2
I certainly agree that meditation and yoga carry no specific organized religious meaning but the practice itself is, in my opinion, deeply spiritual.
Dennis
Rich Life Coach
Hi Cherie,
thank you both for the complement about my dating and relationships website and for addressing my question. I have done various kinds of yoga, and know a number of Christians, including Evangelical Christians who pursue and enjoy Yoga. I have found that those Christians who think that Yoga is wrong for Christians to do are typically unfamiliar with all the nuances of Yoga. When they hear the word “spiritual” it’s like they had a fight or flight knee jerk reaction to protect themselves and ran without reading and learning about it further. Thank you so much for debunking the myth and misunderstanding. Perhaps address this in your Guided Meditations FAQ page? I think it would put a lot more people’s minds at ease to know this and increase their comfort level about considering and using yoga meditation.
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
Dating and Relationship Expert Senior Dates