Mar Thoma church service includes Yoga

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram, June 23, 2015: The Sunday service at a Mar Thoma Church June 21,  in Kerala included a yoga session on the first International Yoga Day yesterday, setting itself apart from mainstream Churches.

An in-house yoga guru led the session at Ebenezer Marthoma during the service in Punaloor, some 70 kilometers from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

The chanting included "Amen" - word uttered at the end of prayer, meaning "so be it" and Yeshu (the name of Jesus Christ) giving "Om" a miss.

The church set itself apart from other mainstream churches by initiating its members into various asanas on the first International Yoga Day - an initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yoga guru, KK Johnson, is a practicing Christian who first was introduced to yoga in a Christian ashram in Manganam nearly 30 years ago.  Johnson, 55, says he never found a contradiction between yoga and his faith. Following  naturopathy with an interest in yoga,  he  trained schoolchildren and many others in yoga. Johnson, has taken it up as a profession.

The priest, Revered KC Thomas, 44, who demonstrated the movements and breathing patterns to the congregation with ease, had learnt yoga at the Marthoma Seminary in Kottayam more than 20 years ago.  Overwhelmed by the response from everyone  as a church, he felt faith is in congruence with nation’s progress and being an eastern church, yoga is close to culture.

Jobin George, a young school teacher, was among the elated youth in the church, who was seen following the yoga guru with utmost seriousness. He said he never thought  he would be exposed to yoga in church. In today’s stressful situations in life, this will go a long way.