I’ve long said that practicing Yoga brings me closer to God. Yoga may have Eastern religious beginnings, but I quickly found that it was a clear route for my Christian mind to center on God and to listen to Him whispering to my heart.
One of my yoga teachers once explained the meaning of the sanskrit word, asana. The name of almost every yoga pose in sanskrit ends with ‘asana’, and she was explaining that it basically means ‘pose’ or ‘position’.
a·sa·na - (Sanskrit) a posture or manner of sitting (as in the practice of yoga). Any of various bodily positions assumed in yogic excercise.
She went on to explain that the tradition of yoga is not about the poses themselves. The poses, or asanas, are a means to an end. They are a way to tire out the body, and get it ‘out of the way’ so the mind can meditate.
It made total sense to me.
At the end of a yoga class, laying in the final pose of relaxation, my mind is always able to focus on God, and to stop trying to control everything myself, but just listen to what He’s laying on my heart.
It’s a feeling I don’t experience anywhere else.
I believe that same experience can be achieved with any kind of physical activity to tire out the body.
The trick is to take the time to let God speak to us once we have the body tired and ‘out of the way’.
Make it a practice to have five to ten minutes of just quiet meditation and prayer after exercise.
I want to hear more of what God has to say to me. I need to see exercise as a means to an end: Prayer.
So will you Count Me Accountable?
About Michelle
Thanks for this post. I just finishing writing about my need for making changes to my morning routine and have always had trouble working in some exercise. This gives me a fresh perspective on the ultimate benefit of getting the body moving. Exercise bringing me closer to God – I can get into that!
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