Christian Yoga??!!

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast� EM,

A decent lawyer and a wise judge would have all this nonsense tossed out.

March 2005
Choudhury faced a challenge in a San Francisco courtroom, where a federal judge was hearing arguments in a lawsuit that some legal experts say could define a new frontier in intellectual property. At issue: Can Choudhury take a sequence of two breathing exercises and 26 yoga poses from an ancient Indian practice copyright it and control how it is practiced?

The case, says UCLA law professor Neil Netanel, "really depends on an issue that isn't covered in the law: What is the nature of yoga?"
Some legal experts believe the case could have broader implications, not just for yoga but for many forms of physical exercise.

Stanford University Law School professor Paul Goldstein said a decision in Choudhury's favor would have "clear implications for any other activity that entails a combination of movement and environment," such as choreography or martial arts. "It could also have implications for basketball plays, or football plays, if it were decided that way."

FYI The case was resolved out of court - hence the judge did not rule on it.

praṇām

[Ekanta]

the postures:
http://www.yoga-108.net/bikram_postures.htm

If you look at posture 13 it means you have to pay $1296 a year to be allowed to sleep.

[Eastern Mind]

for basketball plays, or football plays, if it were decided that way."

FYI The case was resolved out of court - hence the judge did not rule on it.

praṇām

Vannakkam Yajvan: If football plays got involved there would be a huge gawfuffle ... more interesting than the game itself. I just can't see any judge ruling in the favour of this type of thing. But if he makes a list of an order of postures, and someone else takes the instructions word for word, and the pictures of the poses, then yes that would break copyright laws. But patenting a pose or copyrighting a pose is like copyrighting a word. If its part of a jingle in advertising, a non-word if you like, well that's different.

But thanks for sharing this.

Aum Namasivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté EM,

Vannakkam Yajvan: If football plays got involved there would be a huge gawfuffle ... more interesting than the game itself. I just can't see any judge ruling in the favour of this type of thing. But if he makes a list of an order of postures, and someone else takes the instructions word for word, and the pictures of the poses, then yes that would break copyright laws. But patenting a pose or copyrighting a pose is like copyrighting a word. If its part of a jingle in advertising, a non-word if you like, well that's different.

Sure, I see your point. Bikram Choudhury's copyright is that the poses are done in a 'hot room' and in that specific sequence. His copy right says no one else can call it 'Bikram's Yoga'. That is what he is protecting.

So if you viewed a sign that said 'Bikram's Yoga' taught here, and that location was not a franchise, then Mr. Choudhury could take issue and take you to court.

That is my understanding on how all this unfolded. You ( not you specifically ) cannot call ( plagiarize) the name since it is copyrighted. The pickle is this approach recieved lots of attention and various yoga schools wished to leverage this popularity by saying we teach this 'Bikram's Yoga' here. That is the infraction. That started the court case.

praṇām

[Shanti]

This article was in the Washington Post today
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...=moreheadlines

This is similar to the story I heard on NPR awhile back. At least it's gaining more news coverage.

[Sahasranama]

Discussion about Bikram and commercialism have been started elsewhere:
http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthr...ht=documentary

Let's keep this thread about "Christian Yoga."

[Shanti]

Sorry about that, I didn't see the other thread until now.

[Ashvati]

Am I the only one who thought of the position Christ is in when he's crucified being an asana for "christian yoga" and laughed at the image of a room full of upper-middle class white ppl in a gym practicing it?

[Surya Deva]

Namaste,

I am of the opinion that Yoga is Hinduism and Hinduism is Yoga. I even find it hard to understand how a Christian or Muslim could practice Yoga, for Yoga contradicts their beliefs. The word 'Yoga' itself explains what the whole process is about: self-realization, the union of the individual consciousness with the divine consciousness, the reconnection with the absolute reality. A Christian does not want this, a Christian wants to enter the kingdom of god and have eternal life in a earth-like paradise in the afterlife. Similarly, a Muslim does not want this, a Muslim wants eternal life in heaven with his 72,000 virgins and nubile boys. So why are they practicing Yoga?

I have recently been posting on a popular Yoga forum online where I have become infamous for my unwaivering view that Yoga is Hinduism and Hinduism is Yoga. Here is some of the things I have been told on this forum, some of these statements have been made by people claiming to be Hindu as well.

Yoga is older than Hinduism
Yoga is only a part of Hinduism
Yoga has evolved beyond Hinduism
Yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism

It becomes very apparent the people who endorsing these views are either Westerners who have economic and psychological interests in portraying Yoga as a secular practice, and people from other religions(mainly Christian) who want to enjoy the benefits of Yoga and deny its Hindu connections to feel more secure about their practice. I think, what is sad, is that in the West this has become a majority viewpoint. The official American body of Yoga has now released a statement echoing the above views.

In addition to this Hindu notions such as reincarnation, self-realization, karma and reincarnation are being adoped by many new age and liberal Christians. They claim that these teachings are already within the bible and have reinterpreted many verses in the bible to back this up.

In my opinion I see this as nothing more than very blatant plagiarism. However, a part of me is thinking, is this perhaps the lila of god in urder to bring dharma back on this planet. If we allow this deception to continue that Yoga is not Hinduism and allow them to integrate all our teachings into their religion then we will have a world where everybody is practicing Yoga and all religions are teaching proper dharmic teachings, without calling it "Hinduism" Perhaps this deception is needed.

[sunyata07]

Namaste Surya Deva,

I think the reason why some of the most basic and fundamental Hindu concepts (karma, reincarnation, God-consciousness) keep cropping up in other religious beliefs is because almost everyone sees the Truth in them.

I'm not going to go into a long discussion about how unhinged some Christian fundamentalists can be, but I will say that this rise in the number of Western yoga classes could be nothing more than a feeble attempt at reviving their religion. And they do this by hopping onto the bandwagon of indulging in the latest novelty in the West, whether that's yoga, Atkins diet or online dating. For the saner few, I can see how foreign terms in Sanskrit explaining spiritual concepts could seem intimidating.

Let's take a quick example. A good number of Christians that I know (and I can vouch for myself when I was still a Catholic not 2 years ago) believe in reincarnation. Strange, but for a considerable amount of them this is true. They even understand that karma means action, and the word itself has been adopted into mainstream English. But I want to point out how, here, language can morph so that the word fits the concept. Most people unfamiliar with a more detailed understanding of how karma almost see the term as being synonymous with retribution, when really it isn't all that simple. Language has a way of evolving, and I believe it's a very powerful way of shaping how people perceive something. To the extent that most people aren't even aware of this. Perhaps, you are right in saying some deception will be needed if we are to turn the tide against those falsely posing as yogis and yoga instructors, manipulating the teachings of a core element of Sanatana Dharma.

OM Shanti