| Yoga and Spirituality |
| Yoga and Spirituality |
In her book “The Incorruptibles”, Joan Carroll Cruz describes several amazing people whose bodies haven’t followed the normal course of decay after their death. Their bodies maintain lifelike characteristics such as flexibility and lack of discoloration sometimes years after death. Ecclesiastical authorities have verified all of the cases in the Joan Cruz book, not only scientifically but also. These are people who have lead exceptionally spiritual lives and include, St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, St. Francis Xavier and St. Rita of Cascia.
Paramahansa Yogananda brought Kriya Yoga to the United States in the early 1900’s and died in 1952. In the back of his book “Autobiography of a Yogi”, an explanation and a statement are included by Mr. Harry T. Rowe, Los Angeles Mortuary Director, and Forest Lawn Memorial Park. In his statement it says, “The absence of visual signs of decay in the dead body of Paramahansa Yogananda offers the most extraordinary case in our experience…No physical disintegration was visible in his body even twenty days after death…” “No odor of decay emanated from his body at any time...”
Techniques of relaxation and meditation employed in the science known as Yoga have been accepted and adopted by western medical practitioners over the last half of the twentieth century. Yoga is most commonly associated with the physical postures, called Hatha Yoga. Breath control techniques called Pranayama are also at the core of most Yoga practice. This discipline can greatly enhance a person’s spiritual pursuit as evidenced by Paramahansa Yogananda.
There are several local sources of information on Yoga and classes are widely available. If you are interested in the Kriya Yoga practice promoted by Yogananda information can be gained from two sources. Ananda is an organization devoted to sharing Yogananda’s teachings. http://www.ananda.org/meditation/support/ Self Realization Fellowship also provides instruction in his teachings. http://www.yogananda-srf.org/.
 |