Is Yoga Kosher? A Rejoinder in Support of Yoga for Jews

by Aliza Herbst

 

A 2015 study showed that 36.7 million people in the United States alone, that's 15% of the entire population of the US, practice yoga. An additional 80 million said they planned on trying yoga soon. At the same time there were 2.2 million Hindus in the United States and 3 million Buddhists. Even if all 5.5 million Hindus and Buddhists practiced yoga - doubtful, though it might be nice to think so - there were still over 31 million yoga practitioners unidentified with either religion.

 

And why has yoga become so popular? The best answers to that question comes from the people who are doing yoga. Some of the answers they've given are:

Research has shown yoga to be useful for those suffering from insomnia, back problems, digestion issues, asthma, and anxiety, as well as improving circulation and helping practitioners with weight loss.

 

While our minds complicate self-understanding, the body never lies. Yoga develops the body awareness that so many of us have lost through the circumstances of our rushed, daily lives.

 

My Israeli Orthodox women yoga students have happily reported:

Many have said that yoga renewed their ability to daven (pray) with kavana (focused attention and intention) after years of struggle. Students among them have said that their studying has become more effective and exams far less stressful. Several with chronic pain tell me that they feel a blessed respite for several hours, sometimes days, after each yoga session.

 

 

I thought and learned quite a bit about this often-asked question before deciding to open a yoga studio in an Orthodox community. Anyone who treads these stormy emotional waters would be well-advised to study both yoga and Judaism at length to have a deep understanding of both from which to approach a responsible answer.

 

Easy enough to see the statues of Hindu gods which are sometimes found in yoga and meditation halls and to turn up our noses with an emphatic "fey!" Easy to close our ears to the chanting of Om (which, incidentally, celebrates the creation of sound in the world), or to Hindu chants which are sometimes heard, and utter those death-dealing words "avodah zarah".

 

But are statues and chants crucial to the practice of yoga? Are they even mentioned in any of the original resource material about the eight limbs of yoga? Aha! No they're not.

What is mentioned sounds very much like it was taken from our own tradition of Torat HaMussar. What is mentioned is:

In the eight limbs of yoga there is neither mention of anything remotely resembling Hindu gods (or any other gods for that matter), nor any specific religion.

 

As observant Jews, our yoga practice may include some or all of the seven limbs of yoga other than that of the physical postures...or not. We may choose to incorporate the virtues defined as those of the historical yogi - compassion, truthfulness, non-violence, non-stealing, etc...or not. We may choose to use our yoga practice to solidify our relationship with G-d through breathing methods, focusing our energy on a single point and/or following rules to live a pure, properly balanced life with the occasional self-introspective turn inward...or not. We may choose to acknowledge, praise and meld with Ha-Shem through our yoga practice...or not.

 

First and foremost, my advice is to choose a teacher who reflects how we've chosen to experience our yoga practice.

 

Secondly, I would suggest that we keep our eyes trained on our choices and not the choices of others.

 

Why miss out on all the proven benefits of such an inexpensive, readily accessible practice because of teachers whose methods we wouldn't choose when there are so many teachers whose methods we halachically can choose?

 

As a world-renowned yogi once responded to the question of whether one must practice Hindu to practice yoga - "The practice of yoga is not the practice of Hindu; it is the practice of 'undo'.

 

We can allow yoga to help us undo the stress of our crazy, rushed lives; to undo the harsh inner judge; to undo mistrust of and negativism toward ourselves and others.

 

Best of all, anyone can undo - all it takes is a steady, persistent practice over time.

 

Aliza Herbst is a yoga and meditation teacher in Israel. She can be reached at yoga.aliza@gmail.com.