Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Jesus loves yoga.

A few months ago, I clipped a photo out of "Backpacker" magazine. The photo showed a blonde-haired girl, standing on a yoga mat in front of her tent and all of her camping gear. Behind her were snow-capped mountains and tall evergreen trees. She was standing in "exalted warrior", a yoga pose in which she had her head and arms lifted towards the clouds.

I clipped the ad out of the magazine and pasted it in my journal, scribbling the caption, "My Prayer Life" underneath it. Because that's how I want my prayers to feel...like they're being exalted right up to God from this beautiful locale, while I'm isolated on a mountaintop with my camping gear. Just me, God, and yoga.

So last night, I had a brainstorm for my Monday Night Group. "We can do yoga!" I thought..."and...we can talk about prayer!" So we did talk about prayer, and we talk about how we can listen and speak to God, and how we should be reverent, and then, we did the P.M. Yoga video together, where, if our heart is in the right place, we could, really be listening to God and showing him reverence.

And I was thinking about how awesome it would be to spend these next few months with my girls exploring the variety of ways in which we should and could worship. This week we did yoga. Next week we're baking cookies. The week after that, maybe we'll paint something, and then go hiking, and then write poetry, and then sing, and then, and then, and then.

Brother Lawrence writes about how to "Practice the Presence of God," by making prayer a continual flow outward from our spirit--a continual flow from our day...and I'm curious to see--can these girls find and seek God just by practically understanding how He is a part of the miniscule pieces of their day and how something as simple as mopping their floor can glorify God? It's too early to say if it will become something really reverent and worshipful or if it's merely a good "hook" tactic to get girls to Bible Study.

I do know that three girls I talked to today who didn't make it to Bible Study last night said, "How did it go? I'm sorry I missed!" "It was awesome," I said, "We did yoga and talked about prayer. Next week, we're baking cookies!" "That's so fun!" they said, "I can't wait to come!"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Practicing the presence of God is such a life skill, that if these girls can learn it, or even get a taste of it, it will truely bless their lives. Besides, it is how God created us, so people will be drawn to it. Keep it up friend.
~PeC

Anonymous said...

More and more I am seeing God in the little things, so its wonderful to see you and your girls having those thoughts mirrored in your lives also. What a great teaching tool! -- Aunt Danie