What do we do that isn’t an obligation? Some days everything feels like a chore. Yet there are things that we choose to do with our lives because we have a burning passion for them. For me, yoga is one of those things. Even if I am not teaching, I will find myself always doing yoga.
This is what I know. I am a student of life. I am a student of yoga. As long as I am burning with a passion for yoga, others will take hold of that passion too. Continue Reading…
Peace is a word you hear a lot in yoga culture. I teach peace in my classes. I use scripture to remind my students of the peace that comes from God. But what does it look like to live a life of peace?
Maybe someone who is not easily angered? Someone who is patient or someone who is happy and content? Yet I have been thinking about peace a lot lately and I realized that peace does not exclusively relate to our current conditions. Continue Reading…
If you had to choose one word to assign to yourself, what would it be? If there was just one statement you could make to the world, a permanent mark for your body what would it say?
This is something I have been thinking about recently, as I have reflected upon myself as a Christian, yoga teacher and my plans to continue that journey for the rest of my life.
Permanence is a scary word, especially when we are young and prone to change as we grow and discover our passions and visions in life.
Yet, the older we get, the more we welcome commitment into our lives: marriage, a mortgage, a career, children. We find that loyalty and faith are beautiful and fulfilling things when we choose the right person or ideas to be loyal to.
Excuse my ramblings to reflect a moment on what commitments you have made. Do these commitments define who you are? If you could pick one work to mark on your body, what would it be?
Have you ever been caught off guard by a song or a quote, maybe a story from a friend or passage in a book. You are carrying on your normal day to day business and a simple statement turns your world around. That is inspiration. It is so easy to become consumed with the mindless routine of your day. You wake up, do the same workout, eat the same breakfast, and go to work to do the same things, then come home and get ready to do it all over again. It is enough to make anyone numb to the vibrance of God and the world around us. Sometimes our minds are spinning with too many things to stop and think about one simple and beautiful truth.
But inspiration comes in many forms. It makes you swallow hard and choke on truth. It cuts deep through the numbness of life and shows you something deeper, something pure, something holy. It’s how I feel when I read Kisses From Katie, a story about a teenage girl who leaves everything in America to devote her life to Ugandan orphans. And it’s how I felt today when I heard the words of an old song on the radio. It’s a moving song about darkness and despair and a woman’s refusal to give in to it, but instead to help others with the eyes, the hands, the heart of God. See lyrics
Part of what makes the holidays so sentimental are the traditions we count on from year to year. We cling to those traditions, because they remind us of the people with whom we formed them and the countless memories we acquired with them. Certain songs, smells, movies, or tastes, connect us to another time in our lives. Continue Reading…
Discernment has always been an important virtue to me. In fact, it is a big part of my vision with Christian Yoga Studio. Each day, we encounter so many different messages. From the people we interact with throughout the day to news stories to commercials, our heads are stuffed full of many voices and perspectives.
Yet I also realize a message or two will sink in and before we know it, we have adopted something new into your philosophy of life. That is where discernment must come in, and though I do not always come down on the same conclusions as Sri Swami Satchidananda, I am enjoying his commentary on Patanjali’s yoga sutras. In regard to discernment, this is what he has to say. He says that scripture, (the basis of our beliefs and worldviews) is always the same. But the presentation of scripture varies depending on to whom it is presented.
In the same way, the Apostle Paul said, “I have become all things to all men.” Saying that different social circles require different presentations to reveal the same truth. Truth is one. People are many.
What does the Divine Light do to you? Do you attend a yoga class or meditation without seeking anything? Maybe at first you may practice for exercise, but most people soon become absorbed in the culture. Surrounded by yogis, changed by their rituals and beliefs, you can not help but be curious.
Raja Yoga seeks to transform a person on all levels of humanity. Both mentally and physically, as well as emotionally. A completed, metamorphosed being is the goal through the practice of yoga. The transformed yogi is full of harmony, peace, and selfless dedication to all created things. These are the qualities we see in many wise yogis.
How can we too possess this kind of control over our emotions and harmony with the world?
Even more so, how does this look for Christians? We have an even deeper motivation toward these qualities. Christ, the Son of the Divine God came to Earth to suffer so that we can be transformed. It is out of our overflow of love for Him that we love others. Our joy and peace are because He has won our souls for us. He is our Hope and our Promise forever.
Meditation is for the purpose of clarity. At least this is one of the purposes. Through this clarity of your mind you achieve awareness of yourself and the world. And, the Yoga Sutra would say, you achieve Vidya or wisdom.
Let me share something with you that God is showing me. Now I have to admit, it’s a little deeper than anything shared in the past but here we are together. Me feeling reflective, humbled, and empowered by God. You feeling curious, receptive, and hopeful. Continue Reading…
We always heard when we were little, patience is a virtue. This is true but the older I get, the more I think love is the more difficult of the virtues. There is only so much I can do about patience.
Let me explain what I mean. Continue Reading…
