Geshe Michael Roach and Yoga

Geshe Michael Roach and Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Yoga teaches a basic principle of mind/body unity: If the mind is chronically restless and agitated, the health of the body will be compromised, and if the body is in poor health, mental strength and clarity will be adversely affected.

Yoga is a valid and very powerful technique to work on the energy chanels within the body. Yoga is mostly found in Indian Hindu tradition, however there is a small amount of yoga also found in some Buddhist texts. It is not common, however, for Buddhist teachers to spend a considerable amount of time teaching yoga.

The beauty of yoga is in its versatility, allowing practitioners to focus on the physical, psychological or spiritual, or a combination of all three.

The physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation practices of yoga have been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, regulate heart rate, and even slow down the ageing process.

Why would Geshe Michael Roach Teach Yoga

With the preliferation of excellent yoga teachers around today, why would a highly trained Buddhist Geshe concentrate on teaching Yoga?

The most pleasing answer to this question would be that, due to the huge interest in yoga in the west, it is a perfect vehicle to introduce those already interested in spiritual practice to the Buddhist teachings. This seems a likely reason for Geshe Michael Roach being so interested in teaching yoga.

The other possibility, which is presented here merely for consideration, is that Geshe Michael Roach has burned a lot of bridges with the rest of the Buddhist world through his outward behaviour with Christie McNally. In fact Geshe Michael Roach is no longer approved to teach in centers belonging to the FPMT centres, one of the larger and more credible Tibetan Buddhist organisations, numbering over 140 projects worldwide.

With the huge interest in Yoga in the west, teaching this discipline may have seemed the most sensible way for Geshe Michael Roach to ensure himself a growing student base.

We urge anyone considering studying with him to read more about the Geshe Michael Roach controversy,