In the photo above, at right, wearing a saffron T-shirt and pants,
Fr. Thomas Ryan sits on his heels in a Buddhist position before starting his class.

Fr. Ryan is a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor. In 1991, during a year of sabbatical in India, he was initiated in yoga and Buddhist meditation.

From September to May he teaches four or five 10-week sessions of yoga and meditation for an average of 30 persons per class at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in midtown Manhattan. Each session lasts an hour and 45 minutes.

He pretends to integrate Yoga into religious Catholic piety and spirituality.

Fr. Ryan is the director of the Paulist North American Office
for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations.

Below, at left, Fr. Ryan in a stretching position;
at right, Fr. Ed Novak, a priest in Ryan's community, imitates another pose of his master.

National Catholic Reporter,  September 9, 2005

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