Smarter Ardor
  • Blog
  • Smarter Living
  • Homemade Fun
  • About

Practice & Prayer

10/15/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
“Trust the Earth to support you,” he says, “notice any sensations that arise in the body, acknowledge them without judgment, and let them go.” I exhale deeply, settling into Savasana, our final resting pose. I am not laughing.

A decade ago, when I first started practicing yoga and Pilates, I could be heard telling people while rolling my eyes, “I like yoga, but I’m not into all that meditation stuff. All that ‘check in with your hamstrings,’ and zen business. I just want a workout.”

It took me years to muster the courage to attend a fitness class of any kind. But Daniel had found a fitness routine that worked for him, his diligence rewarded with results, while my “squeeze it in when I can” approach wasn’t working. I started feeling resentful, and I knew that was trouble. So I began attending a yoga class that has childcare. Hallelujah, amen.

Wrangling my children to get them to yoga—or, honestly, anywhere—can be a challenge. So by the time I bust my empty stroller through the doors into the fellowship hall at the church around the corner, I am usually a few minutes late. Our instructor anticipates this, and he waits. Soon we’re settling in and finding our seats, closing our eyes and breathing deeply. “Finally, take the biggest breath you’ve taken all day, maybe all week,” he says, and I always think, i​t’s like he knows me.

It has only recently occurred to me that, in some Christian circles, yoga is maligned, due to its Hindu roots.  I have read the reasoning, and I try to get the case against yoga, but I just can’t. I see some suggest  “just do the stretching,” like younger me tried to do.

Older me, who manages a home, and work from home, and three children and three meals a day says, “honey, don’t miss out!” My muscle tone has benefited from yoga, for sure, but now that is only maybe half the reason I fight to get there each week.

Picture
I find now that practicing yoga is like worship, like prayer. What it is to me doesn't have to be what it is to you, but here is what I mean. My life is often chaotic and noisy, happily crowded, but in my practice, it is still; it moves slowly. When I focus my energy on this moment, I am unable to worry or fear. When I push my body past limits I had previously imposed on it, I celebrate its maker and the ways he is evident in me. When I fall short, I am reminded that we use the word “practice” for a reason. What a beautiful symbol for life: we are never mastering, never failing or succeeding, always practicing. When I say “Namaste,” a word with no English counterpart, I acknowledge the beauty of the spirit within me and that which is in you.  

Like so many things I had once thought were separate, maybe body and spirit aren’t meant to be so disengaged. Maybe spiritual practice and our physical selves are natural partners, just as I’m finding ministry and loving others to be. 

As we lie in that final posture, he talks us through our muscle groups, encouraging us to release tension where we find it. When he arrives at our hands, he says, “check for any clenching or grasping, notice it, and let it go.”

​I lie with mind at peace, grateful heart and open hands, breathing in the gift of this moment, hopeful I can take it with me off the mat.

2 Comments
Elizabeth
10/21/2015 09:04:19 am

You're breakin' my heart! I miss this class so much! He does such an amazing job and clearly knows his students. Like you, I was turned off by the spiritual side of yoga but have learned that whatever Being we worship can be worshipped in that moment. For me that is just worshipping everything that being there means: being healthy, being kid-free, being not-at-the-stove, being off my phone. The list goes on. Thanks for the great post. Hoping to get back soon!

Reply
Christina link
10/22/2015 11:16:52 pm

I'm sorry! There's a studio nearby that offers drop in Zumba (not for me), Pilates Barre (not sure if it's for me) and yoga (for sure for me). A couple evenings per week and on Saturday mornings. Maybe we could meet up for that?

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    About Me

    Christina | Virginia Beach
    Psuedo Yankee, city-loving former working mom of four finds herself home with the kids and transplanted to the somewhat Southern suburbs. Finding her feet while still attempting to harness the power of the passion of her youth for useful good.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2020
    February 2020
    March 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

    Categories

    All
    Anklebiter Anecdotes
    Bendetto
    Careful Feeding
    Charm City
    Complicated Joys
    Family Affairs
    Family Conference
    Festival Of Estrogen
    Grace For Moms
    Help Yourself
    Inanity & Insanity
    Looking Up
    Making It Home
    Mothering Missteps
    Moving Onward
    Music City
    Part Time Lover
    Part-time Lover
    Part-time Lover
    Soapbox
    Stumblings
    Su Casa
    The Village
    This City Life
    Wanderings
    Wifedom
    Worklife

    Links

    Grace for Moms

    MOPS International's Blog

    Amber Hudler

    Smarter Ardor.
    Copyright © 2011-2018.
    All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from lungstruck, Orin Zebest, yaquina, warrenski, Jing a Ling, The Shopping Sherpa, Sir, Rony, orangeacid, adrianvfloyd, SierraTierra, benjaflynn, Homeandgardners, eye's eye, katerha, LivingOS, wolfB1958, andyarthur, Jeremiah Ro, alextorrenegra, ShironekoEuro, mabahamo, iMorpheus, openuser, kamshots, nickHiebert, VinothChandar, Yashna M, mike138, Dougtone, cogdogblog, x1klima