CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH YOGA
Finally, many Christians and Jews are admitting the superiority of the Hindu religion and its integral Yoga teachings and practices. As reported in the New Times (9/17/05), there is a new-wave of Christians and Jews incorporating Yoga into their religions. True, like the vast majority, these new-age Christians and Jews only know "yoga" as Hatha Yoga. The Hindu worshipful posture(s) of Hatha Yoga is, of course, only one aspect of the great Hindu religion but very important and profound. To aid the Christian and Jewish Yogis and Yoginis, we are offering a few new products to help them feel more at home with their yoga practice:
FULL-SIZE, ADJUSTABLE CRUCIFIX (with comfort straps): Provides vital traction for a healthy spine and enhances Kundalini Yoga practice. Stimulates the coiled serpent (Kundalini) energy within. Experience the Divine with everyone--the goal of all forms of Yoga/Hinduism. Extended hang time has also been known to produce ecstatic feelings of humility. Be a true Christian warrior, stand tall and stretch for Jesus!
YARMULKA LOIN CLOTHS: Add a few velcro straps, and this universal design (one size fits all) makes a sturdy loin cloth for all our Yogi friends. Experience the ultimate freedom in your practice.
SPANDEX TALLIT: Not wanting to exclude anyone, and especially the Jewish women, we offer our full-body, sexy, spandex Tallit. Inspired by the traditional * shawl, feel like the new-age Jewish Yogini you knew you could be! * We also carry a full line of 100% wool Tallits for the those extra cold nights meditating (on the Yoga wisdom of reincarnation, for example) in your cave.
FREE with every order (pick one-please!) our new Christian Yoga Testament or our Jewish Yoga Torah. (Please specify religion!)
Seriously, to those devout Christians and Jews, please forgive the above. However to all those "new-age yogis," "certified yoga teachers," and those who follow "Christian Yoga" and "Jewish Yoga," we certainly hope the above will cause you to reflect on the extremely unethical (and outright silly nature) of what you are doing. Some may not be aware of the other perverted "types of yoga" on the market today such as: hot yoga, power yoga, nude yoga as well as sexy yoga videos, all kinds of yoga business "stuff" and spurious yoga alliances with so-called "certification requirements." In these self-indulgent, fantasy creations, there are even so-called "registered yoga therapists" who of course are not religious and "certainly" not Hindu.
Please also realize that Hindus have for thousands of years been the victims of rape, in one form or another, by countless invaders. As Hindus, we also realize that many Hindus have been at fault for either promoting or allowing these misperceptions of their religion. We are working on this and hope you do the same.
We should all feel free to learn from other religions. We should also be strong within our respective religion and seek to learn it and clarify and even modify it when necessary. A true unity is found in (ethical) diversity and not in sameness (fundamentalism) and not in blindness (new-age, universalism). Like the saying "Be color rich," we can be religiously rich and avoid being religiously blind as well as entering into religious fundamentalism.
NEW-IRISH YOGA. At catalogfavorites.com, they send out a catalogue that includes a T-Shirt with the words, "IRISH YOGA." Pictured on this shirt are three male figures passed out with liquor bottles surrounding them. Mimicking Hatha Yoga poses, this highly insulting product offends not only Hindus but also the Irish people. Why not a T-Shirt entitled, "IRISH COMMUNION" with a drunken man hanging on a Cross?