David Quinn
Truly Catholic schools have the resources to help students tackle worries, writes David Quinn
The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Phonsie Cullinan, has issued a letter to primary schools in his diocese cautioning them against using yoga and ‘mindfulness’, especially during religion class.
He warns “yoga is not of Christian origin”, and that mindfulness must be of the Christian kind, that is, directed towards God and not towards ‘mindlessness’.
Bishop Cullinan was responding to a request from a number of parents who have observed that both yoga and mindfulness are becoming more widespread in Catholic schools, which is true.
Is the Bishop’s warning warranted? Well, what is yoga to begin with? Certainly, Bishop Cullinan is correct when he says that it is “not of Christian origin”. It has its origins in Indian spirituality and is related to Hinduism.
In fact, the Indian Supreme Court recently had to consider whether yoga is inherently religious and therefore if teaching it in Indian public schools on a compulsory basis would violate Indian secularism. The court in the end ruled it was not a matter for it to decide, but it was interesting that such a case came before it at all.
Court case
Five years ago, a court in California also had to decide whether yoga exercises in public schools violated the secular character of such schools. The case was taken by a Christian couple, but it could as easily have been taken by an atheist couple concerned that yoga could be used as a gateway into Indian religion.
In the end, the court ruled: “While the practice of yoga may be religious in some contexts, yoga classes as taught in the district are, as the [lower] trial court determined, ‘devoid of any religious, mystical, or spiritual trappings’”.
Yoga as used in Irish schools consists mainly of stretching and breathing exercises. It can be directed towards a religious end, but it need not be.
An NHS guide in Britain says: “Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility and breathing to boost physical and mental wellbeing. The main components of yoga are postures (a series of movements designed to increase strength and flexibility) and breathing.”
We also have to know that Jesus is correct when he says that worrying won’t add a single hour to our lives”
Some Christians (and Muslims) believe that the purely physical and mental aspects of yoga cannot be separated from the religious aspects because of its origins in Indian spirituality. Therefore, they believe alternatives should be found that have no such connection.
Obviously stretching and breathing techniques can be found that are not linked to yoga. It’s extremely doubtful if Bishop Cullinan is against pupils learning relaxation techniques.
But his point is that Christian prayer is also a form of meditation, mindfulness and relaxation. It is God, after all, who tells us, “be still and know that I am God”. Prayer aims at making us mindful of God, to centre ourselves on the ‘Ultimate Thing’, and to hand over our lives to him.
This is a hard thing to do. Our minds are full of worry and we like to maintain control, or at least the illusion of it. But at the end of the day, God wants us to know that he is in charge and to hand our worries over to him.
This is why Jesus says in the Gospels: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Of course, we do have to try and provide ourselves with the basic necessities of life, but we also have to know there are more important things, eternal things, and that Jesus is correct when he says that worrying won’t add a single hour to our lives.
It calls to mind a scene in Bridge of Spies, a Cold War drama with Tom Hanks, when he says to a Russian caught for spying and facing the death penalty: “You don’t seem alarmed.” The spy responds in a deadpan way: “Would it help?” Obviously, it wouldn’t.
Christianity is…a strong belief in God that puts everything in perspective”
It is incredibly hard even for people with a strong religious faith not to worry. But at the same thing it is true that the more you put your trust in God, the less inclined you are to worry. Your Faith tells you that ultimately everything is in his hands, even if you don’t understand what is happening to you right now and don’t feel in control.
Bishop Cullinan has decided to train his sights on yoga and mindfulness, but what he really seems to be saying is that truly Catholic schools with a proper Catholic, Christian view of things already have the resources to help pupils deal with their worries, which do seem to be mounting. The points race, the incessant demands of the consumer society, family breakdown, the smart phone and social media culture which has us measuring ourselves against the ‘perfect’ lives we see posted there, all of these things add to anxiety.
Christianity is obviously not a system of ‘therapy’ first and foremost, but a strong belief in God puts everything in perspective and teaches us to hand our worries over to him.
In fact, at the end of the day, the presence of yoga and mindfulness in Catholic schools is probably a sign that some of these schools don’t have, as it were, a deep enough faith in their own Faith, and its ability to teach us a right view of life, a balanced view of life, based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.