This is why I yoga
The very first time I ever did yoga was somewhere around the time my twin boys were six months old. Our church was offering it for free and I heard it was relaxing and required zero experience. Apart from simply trying to get my bearings straight after being home for almost 180 days straight learning how to manage two babies at once, I was an easy participant. The teacher told me what to do and I did it -- all while she played soft worship music in the background and read Scripture over us when it fit.
I noticed my toes weren't painted and that I came without a mat, but it didn't matter. What did matter to me was when the teacher dimmed the lights at the end and had us do corpse pose - that is, laying completely flat on our backs with our palms out by our sides and facing up. We were commanded to close our eyes and breathe deep as we allowed our bodies to recover from the stretching work we had done over the past hour or perhaps recover from life alone.
It was magical. I went a few more times and enjoyed it all the same. I did my due diligence every time attempting Warrior pose and cobra or whatever the teacher asked. I twisted and tilted and stood firmly on one leg with branches waving overhead. I was obedient because I knew what was coming if I was patient.
The corpse pose. My chance to nap.
Essentially this is what life is, I suppose. The day is full of twists and challenges. Some strengthen you while other moments wrangle your body and soul into a tightly wound knot. Almost every day I am met with an opportunity to try to grow or stay the same. I have four kids, but for the most part it's way more than that.
I have a brain and a body that's always moving, a husband, family and friends. I have a job and a house and eyes that see what my life could look like if I had this or that. When given opportunities to face my fears or anxieties I aways have a choice. Sometimes I take the easy road, sometimes I try to go one extra step further. Depends on the day and the hormones and the mood.
Sometimes I take the harder road and succeed. Sometimes I try the crow pose in a window of a Lululemon in New York City and stick it for two seconds.
But sometimes I like to just lay flat on my back and breathe. Relaxation or sabbath is important for all of us. Running at full speed for too long is taxing on you. And not just because it's hard on your knees. And sometimes we can go the other way and lay flat for too long, too -- unwilling to test our resolve or be who we believe God has called us to be.
Yoga and the little I have done over the years has strengthened my body. It's challenged my thinking and focused my faith. In fact, this past week at church I was reminded of the Scripture that says,
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket.
Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. ”
I love the beautiful conclusion of yoga that says "the light in me honors the light in you." My prayer is that as a Christ-follower, those who see any light in me knows that it only shines out of my faith in Jesus Christ. I am well aware that any light left to my own devices would be burnt out. I'm staring at a chandelier right now over my dining room table and four out of six bulbs are out and I have no nearsighted plan of replacing them.
When I get to do yoga I am always thankful for the body God has given me, for its ability to grow and remain strong enough to care for the little ones in my life. I use the practice as an opportunity to spend time with the one who created me and the one in whose image I was created.
Life appears to not get any easier. I thought being a parent would be like playing the board game Life. A cute board (house) with cute places to go in a cute little car. Turns out the plastic pieces can choke my baby and the gas it takes to drive a non-cute minivan costs real money and the children we bore have emotions and lives that need shaping and food and clothes and school supplies.
It's a lot of work, but with a lot of reward. I try not to forget who my greatest advocate and partner is through it all. Believe me, there's only one guy willing to bear my weight and smoosh his ankles all the live long day.
Day after day, what I keep learning is this: your life matters and God created you for a purpose. The minutes are long but the days are short. It's worth it to take some risks and embrace the unique person God created you to be. Also, to find time to rest and take a sabbath weekly.
My people are watching me to see how to live. My prayer is always that my kids absorb my strengths and somehow manage to detour around my flaws. Because Lord knows, they are watching me and prone to repeating every little thing I do. An honor and a responsibility.
When I yoga it's to clear my mind and strengthen my body and -- when the gettin's good -- to take in a short nap.
Why do you yoga?
xo