Eyes closed. Mind silent. God is here. And once again I feel His familiar love warm me and a smile come to my lips like I am seeing my beloved friend walk into a room. Except He has always been there.

I have come to learn that we are all different and we all connect with God in different ways. There are many ways to worship Him beyond the Sunday morning musical experience.

Reflecting on my week, beyond worship songs, beyond Bible reading, even beyond my attempts at short prayers throughout the day, I feel closest to God through meditation and yoga.

While all of these forms of worship are parts of our spiritual journey with Christ, it is instrumental to our faith to know ourselves and how best we grow in faith and connect with God.

Before I begin a class, I have the opportunity to set aside whatever mood I am in, in that moment. I take the time to breathe away any negative energies I have picked up from people or experiences and just be.

Just to be present with your Creator, Savior, and Lord. To not have to perform or think or act or speak. But just to breathe. Letting each breath be a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has given.

To just be is to connect in a way that teaches us we are loved just as we are. We are created in His image and His Spirit is alive within us.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. All of creation is so vast and complex to me. From the smallest painted beetle, to the depth of the planets and galaxies, God made it all.

I keep this in mind when I am presented with new information that appears outside of my comfort zone of belief. I have always encouraged Christians who take mainstream yoga classes to be discerning of the philosophy rolled into the exercise routine. But one thing I have learned in my 11 years inside the world of yoga is that there is a lot of science behind what is done. Continue Reading…

Inside the term christian yoga, there implies something in need of restoration with the original practice of yoga in order to be a Christian. It is a complicated and sometimes very controversial subject. I have had conversations, some of them just one way voices, from both Christians and Hindus on the subject.

Yet one thing I have recently understood about it is that yoga is not a religion. I don’t deny that yoga is spiritual. Which is what makes it so beautiful to me in my Christian faith. Continue Reading…

I have to be honest with you, yoga makes me uncomfortable. I have been teaching for 7 years and practicing yoga for 12 years. The impact that yoga has had on my life is huge! But I can see how people can make yoga their religion. Yoga helps you to live your best life by giving you the skills to take charge of your physical, mental, and emotional health. That coupled with the sometimes necessary modern medicine can give you the impression that all you need is found within yourself.

I can’t deny the testimony I have through the practice of yoga.

But I get so absorbed in my own yoga culture that I create within my classes that I forget what everyone else is experiencing outside of a Christian yoga class.

It’s not until I go to a class or read a book or other article, that I start to feel uncomfortable. Continue Reading…

Prayer is powerful but prayer is oftentimes difficult. I don’t know about you but sometimes my brain is so busy, I can’t focus on what’s in my head and my heart. Verbalizing is difficult. Recently I found myself resorting to simply sitting and breathing to slow down the chatter in my head and then simply holding the image of the person’s face in my mind who I was wanting to pray for. Because God knows our thoughts and each word we speak before we speak it. (Psalm 139:4)

It makes me wonder, what is our purpose in the prayer equation? If God already knows each word before we speak it, each thought we have. And we don’t even posses the capacity for the words required for prayer. The Spirit has to intercede for us. ( Romans 8:26) Why do we pray? Continue Reading…

I am an extrovert. Which means I get energy from being around other people. Yet, I also interpreted that to mean, I never needed quiet time to myself. But I am going to share with you a little of what I have been learning about myself in hopes it may bring some of you to a realization as well.

We relate to people in different ways. But some, like me, have an above average sensitivity to others emotions and hurts. While this is a good thing that God has given me, it can take a toll on a person to feel so deeply for other people that it almost becomes your own emotions and your own pain. Continue Reading…

One thing that we lack, and our souls long for in our western culture is spirituality. We are so used to the structure of religion that we forget the complexity of the spiritual being God has created us to be. We get so lost in the beautiful anonymity of the fast paced Sunday morning, that we forget to rest in His presence. I don’t know that we will ever understand the depth of the soul as God has designed it. But that is one thing I love about my Creator. He is a God of mysterious ways. He is a God whose ways transcend what we understand. And even though our human nature seeks to control and understand even the concepts of spirituality, the truth is we can only rest in the peace of faith. Continue Reading…

What is a mantra? Oftentimes in my classes it is a scripture verse or prayer. But traditionally, it can be as simple as a word or syllable that creates a therapeutic effect in the body and mind through the repetitious vibrations it makes with the voice.

Repetition is an important part of learning. Anyone who has sought to teach anything, understands that. But recently, I realize how much repetition it takes to truly hear what is being said or taught. How often do we read scripture in the Bible, slowly and truly, letting the truth of it sink into our bones? Continue Reading…

It was a dark hour. In many ways. Thousands of miles away from home with an infant who wouldn’t sleep, was the situation I found myself in a few weeks ago when we flew to Kansas to visit family. There is just something so discouraging about an endless, dark night. Every new parent, insomniac, or anxiety stricken person can relate. Faced with the task of getting my child to sleep in his bed and not my arms, I felt spent.

Yet, just when you have lost your motivation to keep going, God has a way of reminding you why you are still standing.

It’s a meditation I shared in my yoga class recently.  A mantra I have adopted when faced with new challenges as a mom. To some, it may have seemed odd or out of place. Not everyone can jump inside my head and understand why I choose the mantras I do. Love endures all things.And right on cue, my child is screaming from his crib.

Love. It is a seemingly simple concept until we get into the grit and sweat of it.

Love endures all things. The reality is there are many seasons of love but what makes it true is our faithfulness through every one.

Think about the relationships in your life. How does this truth apply to your friend, spouse, child, and God?

And my son just broke a key off my keyboard so . . .that’s all for now. Deep breath. Love.

Being a new mom, I have experienced many anxieties. It is a side of myself I didn’t know could exist. This anxiety was magnified recently when my little one started sleeping upstairs in his crib.

The first night he did well. I, on the other hand, did not. I couldn’t shut my brain off. My heart was pumping with adrenaline, and I was glued to the monitor. Finally after 4 am, I was able to relax enough to sleep.

The next day, as I prepared to put him down for a nap, I reflected on my mental state then compared to the night before. I felt a lot calmer. The difference being, it was daytime. I was up and so was the sun.

It is funny, the things that we fear in the dark. The light not only reveals what is hidden but brings comfort to those who are afraid.

And I thought about the passage where Jesus says we are the light of the world. It gave me new perspective to not only think about being someone to reveal Christ as Truth to the world but also to show them the comfort and confidence that we receive through the knowledge of Christ.

His perfect love casts out our fear and gives us confidence in His grace.

Take a quiet moment today to reflect on Matthew 5:14. Start your meditation by simply being still and connecting to your breath. Let it connect you to your body and the sensation of your breath. Clear your mind and accept the silence. Then take each word of the 16 word verse and meditate on them individually. Next, reflect on the whole verse and think about light and what its function.

 How does that add to the meaning of this verse and how does it apply to your life?