shanti,

.....thanks for your interest.....

In 1 Cor. 6:19-20, St. Paul tells us "Your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit...." This is the attitude we keep in mind in our practice of Christian Yoga.

Christian Yoga has several distinct steps: creating a sacred space by lighting a candle or gazing at an icon....developing an awareness of our breath.......performing the classic yoga poses as we keep in mind appropriate Scriptural phrases, and, finally, concluding with an exercise of deep relaxation.

An example of this would be: One may think or say aloud: "To you, Yahweh, I lift up my soul." (Psalm 25:1) as one stretches into cobra pose.
(Christian Yoga, The Body at Prayer by Barbara Moeller, M.A.)

This practice is a way of opening oneself to the
Divine both within and without. It can enable one to be open to developing a greater spiritual awareness and directly experiencing our living God. I've heard of people who have had very intense encounters with Jesus the Christ through this method of prayer.

As for me, I am just a beginner. I love the stretches and health benefits of the poses.
It feels very good to pray with all of me and open myself to the possibilities of this sort of relationship with the Divine.

Amber--thanks for the tips. I've been doing yoga for some time now, but have never done it in a Christian context. If you've read any of my other posts, you might know that this could be "eaxctly what I need"

I have some Christian music which might help, and I plan to see if our library has that book.

thanks,
shanti

Originally posted by shanti:
Amber--thanks for the tips. I've been doing yoga for some time now, but have never done it in a Christian context. If you've read any of my other posts, you might know that this could be "eaxctly what I need"

shanti,

I haven't read any of your other posts but I am happy to hear that it might help you.

If you can't find the book at your library, you might want to try ordering it from the following address: http://www.lourdeswellnesscenter.org/
I think it's less than $10.

Amber, as your opening post points out, offering ourselves as bodily beings to God is a thoroughly Scriptural idea. I use a few simple yoga stretches to get the day going and find that it helps me to be more alert during prayer, and is in itself a form of prayer offering to God.

For those interested in a good read with practical guidance on this topic, I'd recommend Thomas Ryan's book, Prayer of Heart and Body: Meditation and Yoga as Christian Spiritual Practice.

shanti,

This info may also be helpful to you.....On November 8 and 9, 2002, there will be 'A Celebration of Women's Spirituality 2002' Conference at the Washington National Cathedral.
In the conference brochure, a yoga workshop is listed by an instructor who attributes her yoga practice "with facilitating her return to Christianity." Sometimes, tapes are made of workshops at conference proceedings. It might be worth asking about.

www.nationalcathedral.org/sacredcircles

Phil,

Thanks for the additional reading suggestion. The body is very much involved in the spiritual
journey process.

Amber, I've been meaning to thank you for the information about the National Womens Spirituality Conference. It's too far away for me to attend, but I appreciate knowing that it exists. I will go to the web site for more info.

I'm assuming that it's a yearly event, so who knows, maybe some day I'll be able to attend.

shanti