Exercise in Spiritual Regimen

[Jitendra Hydonus]

King James Bible

For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

1 Timothy 4:8
https://biblehub.com/parallel/1_timothy/4-8.htm#:~:text=“Physical%20training%20is%20good%2C%20but%20training%20for%20godliness,life%20and%20also%20for%20the%20life%20to%20come.

It is interesting to me to look at the Bible and that is in this last quote from the most used Bible, the king James version, and we can see that a dim view is taken  of exercise. Although if we take another view from the internet, this is what comes up;

As with many things in life, there are extremes in the area of exercise. Some people focus entirely on spirituality, to the neglect of their physical bodies. Others focus so much attention on the form and shape of their physical bodies that they neglect spiritual growth and maturity. Neither of these indicates a biblical balance. First Timothy 4:8 informs us, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Notice that the verse does not negate the need for exercise. Rather, it says that exercise is valuable, but it prioritizes exercise correctly by saying that godliness is of greater value.

gotquestions.org

In one version we see it says, that physical exercise is of some value, in another it says it is of little value. It is typical of the contradictions in the ‘Holy Bible’. In fact I just recently spoke with a man that has written  several books and he told me that the Bible was translated from Aramaic, wthich was the language of Jesus. And, ‘that many translations of the words were not correct, or were stated in the Bible different than originally intended. It appears to me that it depended on what a person may have as a personal view or bias that ended up in the Bible.

So what does spirituality tell us about exercise? Since little to nothing is mentioned about it in the Bible and what little was said was contradicted by another translation or perhaps it is more accurate to say another opinion. Should we ignore this important element of life? I intend to bring up this important question in this thread.

https://www.history.com/news/jesus-spoke-language

[Jitendra Hydonus]

As we know from health experts today; exercising is a very important part of healthy living. Since the disciples of Jesus and for instance St. Paul and the Old Testament prophets had nothing good to say about it; why is such an important part of living and good health completely absent from the Bible? In fact the word ‘exercise’ is mentioned as more less derogatory.

[mccoy]

Intuitively, exercise (barring extreme exercise) is good for health and spirituality as well. Exercise bestows a sense of calmness which is also conducive to meditation.

Yogananda was well aware of this, suggesting to carry out physical exercise and offering his own routine of physical exercise, which actually were more exercises to attract prana in the body and revitalize it.

Present science has proved that exercise is beneficial to health and longevity in many ways. Exercise also improves brain function and surprisingly, is the best preventive action against Alzheimer disease.

For the most of us in this forum, devotees no more in their early youth, exercise prevents physical frailty, which is conducive to injuries, disability and premature death.

It's a win-win situation, with benefits to physical health, longevity, mind, and spirit.

The main challenge is that until retired we don't have all day to exercise, so it needs to be optimized. What to do and for how long.

Both kinds of exercise are necessary: cardio or aerobic and resistance exercise (with weights or free body). Also, stability exercises (against falls) and stretching exercises (yoga postures) are very useful. The specialistic literature suggests specific schemes for aerobic exercises to improve healthspan and longevity. Ditto for resistance exercises.
The first rule of course is moderation and not to be injured.

Presently, I'm lifting weights for an average of 90-120 minutes per week, plus I'm doing zone 2 for 60-90 minutes per week. I should add some exercise to improve my VO2 max, that is respiratory efficiency. I should also start back with energization exercises, which I interrupted due to nagging rib aches.

Meditation-like, as I said the body is quieter, heart rate is lower, breath rate is lower, all beneficial aspects.

Meditation itself constitutes a stress-relieving technique which improves our health and longevity, in addition to pushing our spiritual evolution.

[mccoy]

As we know from health experts today; exercising is a very important part of healthy living. Since the disciples of Jesus and for instance St. Paul and the Old Testament prophets had nothing good to say about it; why is such an important part of living and good health completely absent from the Bible? In fact the word ‘exercise’ is mentioned as more less derogatory.

I do not regard the Old Testament as an example of good holy scripture. It's very confusing, often because of the translation problems you already mentioned. But it also seems to praise extremely brutal actions, which is weird, maybe it's all a metaphor. Probably. But very confusing objectively.
The New Testament, right, I don't remember much about exercise, except that Jesus and the disciples were walking all the time to different places, so actually exercise was an inherent part of life back then; there were no machines, everything was done by human labor, so there was no need to exercise, except for athletes, gladiators, soldiers and so on.

I don't know about other scriptures praising physical exercise, except the writings of Yogananda.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

As we know from health experts today; exercising is a very important part of healthy living. Since the disciples of Jesus and for instance St. Paul and the Old Testament prophets had nothing good to say about it; why is such an important part of living and good health completely absent from the Bible? In fact the word ‘exercise’ is mentioned as more less derogatory.

I do not regard the Old Testament as an example of good holy scripture. It's very confusing, often because of the translation problems you already mentioned. But it also seems to praise extremely brutal actions, which is weird, maybe it's all a metaphor. Probably. But very confusing objectively.
The New Testament, right, I don't remember much about exercise, except that Jesus and the disciples were walking all the time to different places, so actually exercise was an inherent part of life back then; there were no machines, everything was done by human labor, so there was no need to exercise, except for athletes, gladiators, soldiers and so on.

I don't know about other scriptures praising physical exercise, except the writings of Yogananda.

Yes Paramahansa Yogananda had his close disciples practice yoga postures, which he often displayed at public occasions. He also invented the energization exercises which I attempt to practice every day quite religiously. Besides that he recommended one half hour of vigorous exercise a day. I can say I have had many friends tell me that I most likely survived melanoma and high blood pressure because of yoga, and it is taught in the SRF lessons by Paramahansa Yogananda, and is blessed by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Amma also includes stretching exercises in her IAM technique. Hatha yoga is taught at all her retreats. She often gave similar bleedings to devotees that cured them as I’ve experienced fro her and Paramahansa Yogananda.

Hatha Yoga - after all - was developed to help devotees to a be comfortable with long hours of meditation. Yogananda stated that a bent spine is the enemy of meditation. He also included food to gain weight for those to thin and exercises to lose weight for those to heavy.

Eastern thought has been way ahead of Christianity in the science of exercise and energizing the body. Spirituality is combined with the exercises and enlightened experiences are at times a result of such practices. In fact in my younger years I had multiple kundalini experiences due to practicing hatha yoga which were so euphoric I could not stand up, most often from the Salute to the Sun, although other postures and stretches saved me from being incapacitated in a motorcycle accident.

The statement from Christianity to ‘ love thy father with heart soul and mind is important, but we can also love God in our physical routines. Both Paramahansa Yogananda and Amma have exercises and energy routines to do so; Reading the SRF lessons and learning the IAM techniques you will be exposed to such helpful life saving techniques. And no doubt there are many other Eastern Gurus and sages who encouraged it.

Beyond what I have just said, I also practice mantras with jogging and swimming. As for instance Hong to the inhalations and Sau to the exhalations.

Matthew 22:36-40

[Jitendra Hydonus]

I find it fascinating that oftentimes we suddenly have a remembrance from youth that fits in with current events or life events that grew out of such experiences. While practicing the energization exercises recommended in the Self Realization Fellowship, i suddenly had a flashback of practicing isometric exercises as a kid with small iron blocks on roller pins that I maneuvered to strengthen various body parts. Somewhat like the energization exercises in which we also send various amounts of energy to body parts and in the process we are using an act of will and developing will power, which affects all other activities as well.

I find that memories from childhood take me back to activities done in other lives, that bubble up and surface again this life.

[mccoy]

My memories from my youth are of brutal physical exercise with very fast recovery, something I would love very much to exhibit now.
I used to do energization exercises at least twice a day on top of cardio and gym. Good ole days!

[Jitendra Hydonus]

As we know from health experts today; exercising is a very important part of healthy living. Since the disciples of Jesus and for instance St. Paul and the Old Testament prophets had nothing good to say about it; why is such an important part of living and good health completely absent from the Bible? In fact the word ‘exercise’ is mentioned as more less derogatory.

I do not regard the Old Testament as an example of good holy scripture. It's very confusing, often because of the translation problems you already mentioned. But it also seems to praise extremely brutal actions, which is weird, maybe it's all a metaphor. Probably. But very confusing objectively.
The New Testament, right, I don't remember much about exercise, except that Jesus and the disciples were walking all the time to different places, so actually exercise was an inherent part of life back then; there were no machines, everything was done by human labor, so there was no need to exercise, except for athletes, gladiators, soldiers and so on.

I don't know about other scriptures praising physical exercise, except the writings of Yogananda.

Well if it is any consolation Amma was asked if the Bible is true and she answered; “Some of it” sometimes I think that Steven King wrote the Old Testament.

[mccoy]

Well if it is any consolation Amma was asked if the Bible is true and she answered; “Some of it” sometimes I think that Steven King wrote the Old Testament.

Ah Ah, some of it, right, probably she meant that some of it is literally true, whereas most of it constitutes a work of fiction hiding very deep metaphors. I agree, no other way to explain a scripture resembling in some parts a novel by Stephen King.