Yoga for Christians

Camille, my dear Yoga friend, and I, spent the weekend at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit attending a "Yoga for Christians" retreat.
http://www.trappist.net/

It was presented by Dayna Gelinas of New Day Yoga, and Father Thomas Francis, a Cistercian Monk. The focus of Dayna’s practice is, "to lead people, through yoga and centering prayer, toward a fuller life in Christ, led by the Holy Spirit, renewed in mind, and strengthened in body."
http://www.newdayyoga.com/

Frather Thomas' focus is on the "need to deepen our commitment to God" through Contemplative Prayer or "understanding and experiencing the central place of the Triune-God in [our] lives" (*).

Camille and I shared a room, ate many of our meals together, and sat next to each other during the presentations – and for myself, I had a wonderful time.

By far, this was the most beautiful and meaningful Christian experience I have ever had the joy of partaking in. Likewise, the retreat was educational. For example, I have long sought out those bible verses that relate to Yoga, breathing and meditation, and now I have many wonderful examples.

By way of comparison, I could discern little difference between Yoga as it is taught in an ashram and Yoga as it was presented by Dayna at the Monastery. Our rooms were clean and ample for our needs; silence/mauna ("instrospection and reflection") was emphasized and rewarding; ritual/puja ("worship, adoration") was loving, gentle and filled with divine energy; and the monks/swamis ("master of Self") embodied the difference between reading spiritual scripture and living a spiritual life.

Dayna's asanas were gentle and nurturing, relating the basic Yoga 'limbs', namely: asana/body; pranayama/breathwork; dharana/concentration, chanting; dhyana/meditation, prayer; and Samadhi/contemplation. The only term I was unable to immediately identify to its original Yogic model was "Centeredness Prayer". I was finally able to make that correlation during Father Thomas' presentation on Centeredness Prayer, which he likewise referred to as "Contemplative Prayer". Both terms are the English equivalent of Samadhi Dhyana, or "meditation on the triad, sameness meditation".

For example, Yoga is meant to prepare us for Samadhi Dhyana, which is the highest state of meditation/prayer, in which our spirit resides within its natural state – unfettered by body and soul – within the god-self, or, as Father Thomas expressed, "within God-Triune". To stress how identical these two ideas are, both of them – Centeredness/Contemplative Prayer and Samadhi Dhyana – are conditions that are present all the time because they reflect our natural and true being. So that when we learn the Samadhi/Contemplative practice, we open ourselves to our inner grace.

The only unfamiliar aspect of the weekend was the food in which we ate (which I can not say was the same for what the monks ate). The food, though sufficient for our needs, was overly processed, which is quite unlike my experiences in ashrams (Hindu monasteries). One of the five basic aspects of Yoga is "right diet", or Ayurvedic diet, which means eating pure/sattvic food, high in the lifeforce/prana. Food that is pure, close to the source, without preservatives or artificial flavorings calms the mind and sharpens the intellect. Such a diet is easily digested, supplies maximum energy, increases vitality, and eliminates fatigue, so has a profound effect on the physical and spiritual body. This is why Yogi’s for thousands of years have preferred a pure/sattvic diet to one that is denuded of the lifeforce. Eating like a Yogi helps us attain and maintain a high standard of health, a keen intellect, and serenity of mind.

Because I brought fresh fruit and nuts with me, this was a small matter in a sea of metta/loving kindness. In all, I always knew that Christianity and Yoga shared a similar ideal, I just never realized how much – let alone how much information a Monk would have on the subject. Father Thomas, for example, related during his presentation that he "read, reflected, responded and received" wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita and considered it 'one of the worlds greatest spiritual god-texts', and that he particularily enjoyed the writings of Sri Ramana Maharshi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi

In all, this was a blessed and joy-filled weekend with my own personal "trinity" of: Camille, Dayna and Father Thomas.

Om Peace!
Yogini Valarie Devi

*Angels: Our Guides to Contemplation for the Third Millennium – Trinitarian and Cosmic, by Father Thomas Francis, O.C.S.O., pages 3-4.