As Orthodox Jews do yoga

The newspaper The New York Times told the story of a family breslovskih Hasidim Rachel Abraham and Kohlberg, discovered yoga room 30 kilometers from Jerusalem

There is a prejudice that ultra-Orthodox Jews are conservative lifestyle. It is true, but only partly. Among Orthodox Jews, there are those who study oriental systems like & quot; Qigong & quot ;, acquainted with the worldview of the Qur'an and ... seriously engaged in yoga.

Despite the fact that the spouses Kohlberg observe all the commandments of the Torah, as well as standards of living in the community breslovskih Hasidim, they did not manage to soften the hearts of the rabbis and get their approval for the teaching of yoga, which is still considered that in those parts kind of & quot; Idolatry & quot ;, which bears to the same & quot; dissolute character & quot ;.

Gym yoga is located on the second floor of the house Kohlberg. Classes come different people: according to Rachel Kolberg, most of its visitors are local ultra-Orthodox women, both Hasidim and Litvaks.
Unlike minority - namely, religious repatriates from English-speaking countries, they do not always have the idea that all is yoga and why it is needed. Often they resort to yoga, to improve their health.

Kohlberg cherished dream - to change the attitude of the community to introduce yoga and ultra with my body. Here is what Abraham Kohlberg: & quot; They can be difficult to repeat the motion, because often they do not even know how what part of the body is called. They come in a hall in everyday clothes and insist not to shoot tzitzit and change into a tracksuit & quot ;.

For spouses no contradiction between Judaism and yoga, one complements the other. & Quot; When a person makes sure that he puts the heel, looking at a certain point, and I ask him to concentrate completely on the other parts of the body, he begins to see what is usually hidden. This is the spirituality & quot ;, - Abraham says Kolberg.

An interesting question: where we started and Rachel Abraham, with Judaism or with yoga? Rachel was born in the USSR and in 1990 at the age of 17 years, immigrated to Israel, where he was fascinated by yoga and met her husband.

In 2000, Abraham and Rachel, along with three year old daughter went to India to study yoga Iyengar. Living far away from the centers of civilization, and Rachel Abraham noticed how important tradition in the life of India, and it made them think about their identity.

During Easter, Abraham and Rachel went to a nearby town, where there are the Israelis to conduct the Seder with them. There they met breslovskih Hasidim, who remained on the Seder. The moment they found the answer to your question. After the holiday Kohlberg decided to observe the Sabbath, and when Rachel's second son was born, they returned to Israel and joined the Hasidic community breslovskih.