Yoga classes create controversy

Posted by admin on Nov 24, 2005 in News | 0 comments

New yoga classes are stretching bodies and minds on the Trinity Western University campus.

Kelsey Seifert, a 2005 TWU graduate now in the Masters in Counseling Psychology program, leads yoga sessions in Robson lounge on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. The free classes began on October 17, and are open to all students who would like to attend.
Hatha yoga, the type of yoga that Seifert teaches, consists of a series of poses that stretch and strengthen the body. In a typical class, the lights are dimmed and music is played quietly. Seifert demonstrates the poses and the class follows her verbal cues. The movements are slow and graceful, assuming people manage to maintain their balance. It ends with a period of deep breathing, and Seifert concludes by saying, “Namaste,” Sanskrit for, “I bow to the divine within you.”

Seifert said she offers this class as a service to students so they can investigate yoga in an accessible setting, rather than paying expensive fees at yoga studios. When Seifert first came to TWU in 2002, she unofficially taught a few friends in the Fraser study rooms. She did not publicize her interest because she anticipated a negative response.

Yoga’s origin in Hinduism has caused some Christians to respond negatively. In Hinduism, yoga is a spiritual discipline that trains a person to overcome the “illusion” of reality and the cycle of reincarnation. Some Christians debate whether or not yoga can be merely a form of physical exercise rather than a Hindu religious practice.

Seifert said that the yoga she teaches is “very westernized [with] very little remnant” of the original Hindu spirituality, and that it does not contradict her Biblical values.

“Kelsey assured me… she wouldn’t be involved in anything beyond the physicality part,” said Dale Baumgartner, Director of Recreation Services. The classes were approved by Baumgartner, but are not financially sponsored by TWU Recreation Services.

Students within the class say that they are drawn to the physical benefits. Kelly Li, a Communications student from China, attends the class to increase her flexibility and improve her posture.

“I think we are only doing the exercise part—that’s the purpose of my coming here. I know nothing about Hinduism,” Li said.
However, not all students agree. Jody Tyson, a Business student from Chilliwack, said, “I just don’t think it’s an appropriate thing for a Christian university. . . Doing it under the pretext of the yoga term has some different connotations besides the physical.”

This concern is echoed in the TWU faculty. Dr. Jonathan Dawn, professor of Religious Studies, spent many years amongst Hindus in Africa. He said that the North American view of yoga as an exercise program would seem “superficial” to Hindus.

“I just wonder whether we can baptize something out of a totally different worldview context,” said Dawn.

Seifert has experienced this tension. She received one e-mail from a student “vehemently objecting the existence of a yoga class in a Christian educational institute.” However, Seifert does not believe that yoga’s roots necessarily make it “evil,” but rather that “truth can be found in lots of different religions.”

In response to the concerns that have been voiced, Seifert encourages people to conduct serious research, think critically, and maybe even try it for themselves.