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Yoga Teachers And Invitational Language

2023-10-21T23:47:59+00:00

I had an experience in a yin yoga class recently that has me reflecting on the power I have as the teacher in a yoga class or the practitioner in a yoga therapy session. In this class, the well intended teacher, set us up for a wonderful hip opening session. She encouraged us to find our breath, even counting the inhalation and exhalation, and then she told us to settle in and find stillness. Notice I said told, not asked. This was a command. Be still. Her follow up language was something along the lines of “ I know you will [...]

Yoga Teachers And Invitational Language2023-10-21T23:47:59+00:00

EMBODIED :: POSTURES OF PRAYER & PRAISE

2023-10-21T23:49:08+00:00

Postures of Prayer & Praise are “outer representations of an inner reality” In Luke 10, when the lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, he asked him how to inherit eternal life. Like a learned rabbi, Jesus turned the question back to the lawyer, who answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus confirmed his answer as true, with a command and a promise: “Do this and you will live.” When I teach on embodied prayer [...]

EMBODIED :: POSTURES OF PRAYER & PRAISE2023-10-21T23:49:08+00:00

RECLAIMING YOGA AS A CHRISTIAN HEALING TOOL

2023-10-21T23:49:26+00:00

For real change to take place, the body needs to learn that the danger has passed and to live in the reality of the present. ~Bessel van der Kolk, MD (pioneer in the field of traumatology) in The Body Keeps the Score I have already written about my journey listening to the voice of God as I’ve explored yoga as a creative Christian practice. I also want to share another reason behind my exploration of yoga as I’ve sought the Lord’s will and wisdom in this somewhat tricky and controversial issue as a follower of Jesus Christ. I am deeply passionate about [...]

RECLAIMING YOGA AS A CHRISTIAN HEALING TOOL2023-10-21T23:49:26+00:00

The Four Agreements

2023-10-21T23:53:45+00:00

I first saw the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz collecting dust on a shelf at my first job at the Yoga Garden. I vaguely knew what the actual four agreements were. What I did know was that this was one of the yoga books. I would not exactly say that there is a yogic literary canon, but most people accept this book as one of the common texts for yoga training. When I finally decided to pick this book up off of my own shelf, it collected dust for about a year. I was amazed at how fast I flew [...]

The Four Agreements2023-10-21T23:53:45+00:00

The Comparison Trap…A Distraction from Your Dharma

2019-04-04T14:52:44+00:00

  Psalm 139:14  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com “If you’re your authentic self, you have no competition.”  — author unknown Last year I was in a particularly challenging yoga class after taking several months off from any physical activity.  I was especially happy that I completed the entire 75 minute class without croaking.  As I rolled up my mat, feeling very content, I heard the teacher and a student discussing what a “beautiful practice” a particular student had.  Enter my ego.  My satisfaction with my practice [...]

The Comparison Trap…A Distraction from Your Dharma2019-04-04T14:52:44+00:00

Meditation and Prayer

2023-10-21T23:57:03+00:00

  Prayer is a huge part of the Catholic church. There are a ton of prayer practices that are recognized by the Church such asking a saint to intercede, praying a rosary, saying a novena, etc. The entire liturgical celebration is in itself a prayer. But what exactly does it mean to pray? The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says, “Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times)” (CCC [...]

Meditation and Prayer2023-10-21T23:57:03+00:00

Where is Your Focus? The Transformation of My Yoga Practice….

2019-01-16T00:31:41+00:00

A few months ago, I was in yoga class practicing a balancing pose.  Normally I find a focal point on the wall to help maintain my balance.  For some reason, I became fixated on a crazy design on someone’s shirt.  That person fell, and, of course, I lost my balance as well.  I felt the Lord say gently to me, “If your drishti is on man, you will fall.” Drishti is a yoga term which means focus or concentration.  It not only refers to focus while you are holding a posture (or asana) in yoga, but also refers to focus when [...]

Where is Your Focus? The Transformation of My Yoga Practice….2019-01-16T00:31:41+00:00

When You Need To Be Still

2018-12-03T12:59:34+00:00

As I sit here staring at this blank computer screen, I haphazardly look over to my left. Our Christmas tree is standing there. Still. Warm. Inviting. It's hard to look away. My eyes just want to engage in the beauty of this tree. No ornaments are even hung yet. But, it doesn't matter. She is glowing with colorful lights. Inviting anyone to come and sit next to her warmth. [yes, I do believe our tree is a "she".] There is nothing really special about this tree. Average height, average breadth. Yet, it is hard to look away. She's just quite a breathtaking [...]

When You Need To Be Still2018-12-03T12:59:34+00:00

Restoring the Broken to Beautiful

2018-11-15T15:52:33+00:00

  Several years ago I embarked on a year-long project called Create-a-Day. Like a One-a-Day Vitamin, it was designed as a daily dose of creativity, in order to inspire others and to direct viewers to people and projects where creativity was making a difference in the lives of others.  With the publication of my second book in the Bible Studies to Nurture the Creative Spirit Withinseries, I will again be undertaking a year-long project starting September 4th to coincide with the release of my new title, The Creator’s Healing Power—Restoring the Broken to Beautiful. This project will be called… “Kintsugi of the Soul”  [...]

Restoring the Broken to Beautiful2018-11-15T15:52:33+00:00

The Most Underrated Spiritual Discipline

2018-10-20T19:48:18+00:00

We all know that we’re supposed to pray. We all have our own prayer “tactics,” such as prayer lists, prayer apps, prayer walks, prayer meetings, praying out loud, writing down our prayers, writing down the prayers we say out loud, and saying out loud prayers which have been written down. In spite of all these tactics, I believe prayer is THE MOST underrated spiritual discipline. The simple fact is, I take prayer for granted. Because Christ has opened the way into the Holy Places, I can pray freely at any time of day. I can pray in the car, as I’m [...]

The Most Underrated Spiritual Discipline2018-10-20T19:48:18+00:00
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