Yoga, an increasingly popular exercise, can be used not only to improve flexibility and mental clarity but, in the case of Janet Wilson, also as stepping stone in a journey from a devout Catholic family to Orthodox Jew.
Speaking with Israel National Radio's Eve Harow, Janet, a former New Yorker, tells how she was raised and educated in a Catholic surrounding. Although her parents were strictly religious, Janet left all organized faith behind when she went to college in the west Village in Manhattan. It was there that she met her husband, a lapsed reform Jew.
Meeting him and his Jewish roommate were Janet's first connections with Judaism. After getting married against both families' wishes, Janet and her husband moved to Binghamton, New York where Janet got a job teaching early childhood. It was then that Janet "fell in love with Yoga" and became a regular at the Himalayan Institute in Pennsylvania.
Janet describes yoga as not just a way of life, but a philosophy. She says that in yoga, "you look at each experience in life as a way of teaching and working on yourself," adding in retrospect that it sounds very much like Judaism. The fact that Janet identified many parallel concepts between Judaism and yoga made her transition into Judaism much easier. But in this stage in their lives, Janet continued to embrace yoga.
On a weekend yoga seminar, Janet happened upon the book Jewish Meditation by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. Janet's husband had never been exposed to the more spiritual side of Judaism, and this revelation inspired them both to explore Judaism deeper.
When their son was born soon after, it was important to Janet's husband that the child attend a Jewish day school. She explains that when something major happens in a person's life, "it brings you back to who you are."
Janet's family became involved in the local Reform synagogue, the Jewish day school and eventually the local Orthodox synagogue. Before long, Janet made the decision to convert.
Janet wasn't without her doubts. She had left her organized religion of Catholicism and was conflicted about entering another. But, her love of spirituality, originally directed towards yoga, was now directed towards the G-d of Israel and Judaism. In the above interview, she recalls her struggles the night before her conversion and says that only then did she make her final decision.
It had always been Janet's husband's dream to live in Israel. The family came on aliyah [immigration] to Israel recently.