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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion... |
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| Maliha |
| 06/02/03 at 20:56:38 |
| [slm] so today as i was feeling all tired and woozy and drained from the longest dayy ever... i picked up this health magazine thingie that talked about the super positive effects of Yoga :-[ I mean the way the lady went on about it, it sounded like a religious conversation..."I was led to Yoga quite by accident, but it changed my life...blah blah..and now i can say I am forever transformed by this inner balance, blah blah blah" anywhoo, what attracted my attention was the physical form, fitness, and sculpting it actually does for the body! so i wanna give it a try Inshaallah. (okay i did try before but i just couldnt' twist my body like a pretzel and ended up limping home ::) ) anywho i really, really want to try it now... but i was thinking, since people take it on as some sort of pseudo spiritual/ modern religious/new agish sorta way..is it okay for us to do it? with the intention of physical fitness? there is also other thingies in this same vein...Tai Chi (which i tried once and ended up making the whole class laugh...i was sooo sure i was "touching" the energy ::) ) and others... but they sound soo cool and interesting..besides the natural healing powers they claim to possess. anywho, i know i am breaking all the jannah universal record for how many questions you can ask in a day :P but please help:) Sis, Maliha :-) [wlm] |
| Re: Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion.. |
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| salaampeaceshalom |
| 06/03/03 at 04:27:48 |
| [slm] sis, This stuff is mega cool. But I remember when I went to a yoga class one time (which was really cool by the way, and I was so relaxed by the end of it, I felt like going to bed!!), our teacher was a spiritual type, and some of his stuff was a bit whack. And it was weird because he singled me out (I was the only Muslim in the class) and he said that I should recognise some of the postures because we do them when we pray. I was like ???, but I later realised what he was going on about (he wasnt Muslim, so I was surprised that he knew about some of our prayer movements. He later told me he went to a Muslim school when he was young, I think). I think u have to be careful who's teaching the class. I really enjoyed that session but some of the stuff he was saying (he liked to talk to the class as he was showing us the moves) sounded really weird and a bit too paganistic almost (is that a word?lol). Anyways insha'Allaah I'll be doing t'ai chi this weekend!! Can't wait! :-X Btw, I came across an article which I'll post here insha'Allaah (although it's more to do with martial arts, it does talk about mind, body and spirit, so I thought it may be relevant). |
| 06/04/03 at 02:56:16 |
| salaampeaceshalom |
| Re: Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion.. |
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| salaampeaceshalom |
| 06/03/03 at 04:40:01 |
| [slm] Self Development Through the Martial Arts By Hwaa Irfan Islamonline Staff Writer Al-jihad al-akbar – the greater jihad, is the inner battle; the invisible war towards self development and unity of mind, body and soul. Many Islamic scholars view this as the prime ambition in Islam, for without this inner jihad, man’s will over his personal and public life is meaningless as man’s physical tendencies and weaknesses can not be overcome. The modern exterior of life created by man has added ugliness where the signs of Allah (Glory be to Allah) through nature once added beauty, meditation and reflection. The Qur’an states “ …Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition…” (Surat ul Ra’d13 :11). However, before the external changes (political and social) can take place, the internal must transpire first, otherwise it is all short lived. In the past for Chinese Muslims, the martial arts were a means to bring the inner jihad into a tangible method of self development. Many reports have shown that the proper learning of martial arts has helped troubled youths claim and earn self-respect and understanding. The enemy within is tamed and understood. Ali ibn Abi Talib said, “A man’s enemies can be of more benefit to him than his brothers, for they draw attention to his faults from which he can then turn away (Haeri p.112).” Mind-Body-Spirit Union Martial arts is seemingly a physical art form that has undergone many transformations along the years making it appear to focus on defense and attack. Yet in its truest form, as in Islam, it uses the physical world of man to understand the non-physical world to create a mind-body-spirit union. Christian educator and theosophist Rudolph Steiner (1861-) once pointed out that a great debt was owed by western natural science to the spiritual stream of what he called ‘Arabism’. He argued that Western natural science was the product of the Christian Crusades and Muslim Holy War in a martial age (Boardman p.1). It was during the battle for Christendom in Northern Spain that the works of ibn Sina and others’ overwhelming belief in Allah (Glory be to Allah) affected and influenced such prominent Christian scientists of the times such as Roger Bacon. Crusaders witnessed Muslims as having a spiritual power and sense of unity that moved them with elemental force (Boardman p.2). Kung fu is part of our long history as Muslims in seeking to learn and develop within ourselves. Kung fu actually means the ‘mastery of a difficult task to a standard of excellence’ (Lohan p.1). It is the origin of most of the Asiatic martial arts, but focuses on the development of the complete person mentally and physically (Lohan p.1). The art of energy management, however, is not confined to Chinese martial arts forms which Muslims have helped to develop and even originate as some might claim! Energy as in the life force directed through the human energy field in Chinese is called chi and shan. In Islam it is nafas and ruh (Geocities p.2). Used in spiritual cultivation, the direction of the life force plays a different role – the inner jihad. Islam and the Martial Arts Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia practice Muslim forms of martial arts like Silat. In China, where the Muslim place of worship is called Qing Zhen Si (Temples of Purity and Truth), Muslims have contibuted to the development of chi kung and kung fu (Geocities p.3). Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was the founder of the famous Ming Dynasty, and although he never proclaimed to be a Muslim, his six most trusted commanders were. They were Chang Yuchan, Hu Dahai, Mu Ying, Lan Yu, Feng Sheng and Ding Dexing (Coral web p.1). They were all wushu (Chinese for martial arts) masters. As commanders they defeated rebellious activities including that of the Mongols. A significant number of Muslims died between 1644 – 1911AD in the attempt to restore the Ming Dynasty, which was instituted to bring harmony and fellowship amongst all the different groups of China (Kabiling p.2). The leaders of the Hui, a Muslim minority of five million, called on the people to learn wushu as a “holy practice in the struggle for survival and self-improvement.” During the Lesser Bairam (Eid ul Fitr) and the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) birthday, the Hui local mosques held wushu contests or exhibitions (Coralweb p.1). The Chinese martial arts technique called Tan Lui (spring leg) was actually developed by a Hui Muslim named Chamir from Xingjiang during the Ming Dynasty ( 1368– 1644AD) (Stark p.1). Cha Kungfu is a Muslim technique from Northern Shaolin also named after a Muslim Kung Fu master - Cha Mi Er. Another Muslim master was Cheong Ho, an admiral of the Ming Dynasty (geocities p.3). The Baijiquan ( 8extreme fists – rake hand) was first practiced by Wu Zhong, a Chinese Muslim from the Mong village in Kang country (Zheng p.2). In1936 , Zheng Wen Guang, a Muslim, attended the11 th Olympic Games as a specially invited member on the Chinese Wushu team (Xianding p.2). This is a glimpse at what once was. Not acknowledging our religion and the wealth that has been offered to us is a reflection of our inability to bring into focus the inner jihad, as we seek to develop understanding and further control over our lives. |
| Re: Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion.. |
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| BroHanif |
| 06/03/03 at 18:23:30 |
| Salaams, Thats a really good article on martial arts, salaampeaceshalom. Yet don't just limit yourself to Tai Chi do other forms as well. Tai Chi can be seem relaxing yet to others like me who sit on a chair for 8 hours tranna solve network problems and code its not practical. For me I find it spiritually better that I punch, kick and wrestle someone to the ground. You also need to think about yourlifestyle if you get tired easily or are not eating the rights foods this can cause energy problems as well. The least that you should do is go walking as that can boost energy levels really high. Salaams Hanif |
| NS |
| Re: Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion.. |
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| NinthMuharram |
| 06/05/03 at 06:43:27 |
| [slm] I was gonna reply to your post but i thought I'd wait until I actually started the class. So, today I just had my first introductionary yoga class!! The instructor is 6 mths pregnant and can still do all the stretching ..I can't even reach my toes! She kept telling us that it is all abt breathing - instead of using chest muscle, you change to abdomen muscle. If we don't get the breathing right, it is useless to do all sort of other complicated posture (ie headstand etc ). let's just hope I don't end up breaking any bones. I am suppose to start my Chi Qong class too. The Chi Qong association president here in M'sia is a Muslim doctor :). He writes abt it in our local newspaper.Not sure if they have it online. Another thing that I'm looking into is Pilates. Went to watch the demo session. Pretty interesting. This might the best for me to consider as a rehab/exercise/theraphy programs for my mom and husband since they are somewhat disable. Wasalam |
| 06/05/03 at 06:51:29 |
| NinthMuharram |
| Re: Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion.. |
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| Yasmeena |
| 06/05/03 at 12:45:03 |
| [slm] WOW!! I am sure glad that Tai Chi isn't haram!! I love Tai Chi! :-/ I had a back injury several years ago and a lot of exercizes I can't to. I turned to Tai Chi because it is slow, graceful and helps to keep the body fit. At the time I was a Christian and Everyone in my church told me it was "from the devil". That was their excuse for anything that wasn't sitting in church getting a sermon yelled at us by a rabid So. Baptist preacher. Sorry about that, MY opinion on that one, I don't mean to make anyone angry. Anyhoo, the Tai Chi really helped the constant pain in my lower back, 3 slipped discs that the drs. don't want to operate on for fear of making it worse. The stretching while twisting the body slowly in a flowing movement strengthened the muscles that support the spine. An added benefit is that the ab muscles also tightened. Yasmeena [wlm] |
| Re: Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion.. |
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| little._.sister |
| 06/06/03 at 05:19:49 |
| [wlm] yeah, I've heard that Yoga is supposed to be really good for your body and soul and mind ... well that's what I've heard anyway. I think my mum used to do it, or something similar anyway. I wasn't that interested though, I didn't feel like twisting and turning in funny shapes and staying put for half an hour ;D (nah, truth is I'm a lazy bone) wassalam |
| Re: Yoga, Tai chi, etc..in the realm of religion.. |
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| oneway2paradise |
| 09/11/03 at 18:56:11 |
| [slm] :-) I just wanted to point out that there are fitness yoga and classes combining pilates and yoga...sometimes called yogalates. ;D They are really popular in fitness centers/gyms. They focus more on the exercises than on the spirituality of it. They do include relaxation poses. Plus, they usually are for people of all levels and the instructors don't have to be masters of yoga to teach the class. They tell you all the levels of the pose...beginner to advanced and you do what you are able to do. It isn't healthy or safe to attempt advanced poses as a beginner. So, the point of my longwinded reply is.....try looking for a fitness yoga class or pilates. [slm] |
| 09/11/03 at 18:57:06 |
| oneway2paradise |
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