TruthBook Religious News Blog

By Keleigh Friedrich

Indian yogi Paramhansa Yogananda, founder of Self-Realization Fellowship, argues that we are all one spirit. “When you experience the true meaning of religion, which is to know God, you will realize that He is your Self, and that He exists equally and impartially in all beings.”

Yogananda founded SRF in the United States in 1920, to make available worldwide the sacred spiritual science called Kriya Yoga—methods of concentration and meditation designed to attain “direct personal experience of God.” The yoga techniques are described in detail in Yogananda’s famous life story Autobiography of a Yogi.

One of the cornerstones of the SRF religion is that we are all connected by underlying unity, and that the benefits of yoga and meditation can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of faith. SRF honors a long line of masters, and addresses God as Heavenly Father and Divine Mother, Beloved and Friend. Sunday readings and service typically consists of a passage from the both the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita.

The service ended with a few moments of meditation, an offertory and a prayer for healing and world peace, closing with “Om, peace, amen.” Folks milled into the book shop, socialized in the dining area and ate brunch on the back patio. I talked with Michael, who hailed from Scotland, and a man named Robert, originally from the South, who explained that the organization is run by volunteers and loaded me up with information on upcoming events, like visiting monastics, India Night and weekend retreats. I told them I was sorry there wasn’t more chanting, but that I loved the sense of inclusiveness.

“Yoga means ‘unity,’” Robert said as he led me out to the creek. After pointing out the crayfish with the excitement of a country kid, he added, “With things like yoga and meditation becoming more mainstream, I’m hoping the world is catching on.”

Labels: God, Keleigh Friedrich, meditation, Paramhansa Yogananda, religion, Self-Realization Fellowship, yoga

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Saturday, January 19, 2008

Experts: Spiritual practice can improve health

By Shari Rudavsky
The Indianapolis Star

Numerous studies have suggested that spirituality can confer a wide range of benefits.

It can lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and confer a general sense of well-being, says Dr. Malcolm Herring, physician liaison for mission services with the Seton Cove Spirituality Center of St. Vincent Health in Indianapolis.
For instance, a 2005 study of 3,050 elderly Mexican-Americans found that those who attended church weekly or more regularly had a 32 percent reduction in mortality. A 2006 study of Danish adults yielded a similar result.

And it isn't just at the end of life that such behavior appears to have an effect. A 2006 study of British teenagers found that religious observance lowered youths' risk of developing a meningitis-like disease just as much as a vaccination did.

It's not clear that any of this is directly attributable to religion or inner peace. But in general, the calmer and happier people are, the less frequently they fall prey to infections, hypertension, headaches and nervous stomach, says Indianapolis psychiatrist Dr. Marvin Miller.

"Having a sense of meaning, which is often derived from having a set of spiritual beliefs, is really important," says Miller. "Almost every culture in our world that's been examined has some evidence of people searching for that higher power and the search to attach meaning to their lives, and I think that is healthy."

The definition of what constitutes that spirituality varies, experts agree.

For one person, it might be regular attendance at church or another form of worship. For another, it may be something else that provides a connection with others, such as volunteering.

For Nikki Myers, owner of Cityoga, a Downtown yoga studio, that tranquility has come through the popular activity that combines exercise with relaxation.

She first tried yoga more than three decades ago. But life sidetracked her, and she didn't get back into it until the early 1990s, after a debilitating case of sciatica sidelined her. Her doctor recommended she try yoga to de-stress.

Within three or four months, her sciatica had disappeared almost altogether, and Myers, now 54, had made yoga a part of her life.

For her, yoga and inner peace go hand in hand. "I know when my life is in balance, one of the key things that shows up is a sense of peace," Myers says. "Stress is such a huge factor in taking us out of balance."

Even before someone falls ill, religion or spirituality may help ward off disease, numerous studies suggest. Research has shown that older adults who attend church regularly are at lower risk of losing the ability to care for themselves over time. A 2005 study found that middle-aged and older Israeli adults who lived in communities that had more people with religious affiliation had a lower mortality rate than their less religious counterparts.

Labels: church, health, meaning, peace, religion, Shari Rudavsky, spirituality, yoga