Bobby’s India Pilgrimage
I went to India for two primary reasons: to expand my knowledge of yoga and to deepen my spiritual practice. Looking back, I realized this trip could better be described as an Ignatian Yoga pilgrimage.
Why I am involved with Ignatian Yoga
As someone who is in love with love, I am passionate about both yoga and Ignatian spirituality. Who would have thought that combining these great loves of mine: practice of yoga and Ignatian Spirituality would be such a natural fit and such a big hit on a college campus?
A Lenten Journey with the 8 Limbs of Yoga: Week 7
Happy Easter! Review of the Past Week: We started this week by offering two additional forms of contemplative prayer from the Christian tradition. These continue to relate to the fifth, sixth, and seventh limbs of yoga, which we introduced last week. They are are pratyhara, dharana, and dyhana (withdrawal of senses, concentration, and meditation). As we…
Responding to the Abuse Crisis
The same day as the release of the Grand Jury report in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, August 14, I moved to Berkeley, California, for the final three years of Jesuit formation to become a Catholic priest. On August 15, I began a five-day training with Off the Mat, Into the World, an organization bridging yoga, self-inquiry,…
The Development of Ignatian Yoga
I attended my first yoga class in 2009 while serving as Campus Minister at UofD High in Detroit. I had recently returned from two years as a Jesuit Volunteer in Belize and was on the fence about entering the Jesuits. I was immediately intrigued by the way this new “American fad” transported me into a…
Teaching Yoga as a Ministry of Consolation
Orignally published: http://alanharas.blogspot.com/ Recently I was listening to a podcast interview with James Flaherty of New Ventures West, where he talked about the human nervous system as designed for the savannah, not the continual influx of stimuli that is now the new normal. He said, by the time we wake up, and go through our email, social…
Ignatian Yoga Newsletter October, 2017
We live in an uncertain and unstable time. With the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, mass shootings, and political polarization there is growing anxiety, fear, and disconnect — a disconnect between groups of people and disconnect within ourselves. Seeking a way forward, I keep coming back to Ignatian spirituality and yoga. For the past eight years,…
Ignatian Yoga at The Center in Hollywood
Originally published: thejesuitpost.org/2016/10/ignatian-yoga I’m tired and sore as I sit in Catholic liturgies and retreats. I have become more and more aware of how my body and breath are overlooked. I want a Church that takes the connection between the body, mind, and spirit more seriously. I envision a Church that recognizes the importance of…
When Yoga and Ignatian Spirituality Meet
November 20, 2015 |by Bobby Karle, SJ Video: Gabby Demattais Originally published: thejesuitpost.org/2015/11/when-yoga-and-ignatian-spirituality-meet I had recently come back from two-years in Belize as a Jesuit Volunteer and was discerning entering the Jesuits when yoga and Ignatian spirituality proved to be valuable resources in my life. They gave me direction and clarity during my most significant…
Yoga vs. Church
Joe Hoover, SJ Originally published January, 23, 2012: https://thejesuitpost.org/2012/01/yoga-vs-church/ Mass in the side chapels of urban parishes tends to draw pretty much the same crowd. A thin somber college student wearing outdated clothing, and not ironically, walks into the nave and kneels perfectly before sliding into the pew. Later in the communion line he will…