Psalm 118 (voice translation)

v22 The stone that the builders rejected

has become the very stone that holds

together the entire foundation.

v23 This is the work of the Eternal,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

v24 This is the day the Eternal God has made;

let us celebrate and be happy today.

Happy Easter Sunday!

Jesus did for us what we can never do for ourselves.

Scripture

Jesus: I am the true vine...

(John 15:1)

Reflection

Reading these words of Jesus always reminds me of His first miracle when He turned water into wine. Wine comes from grapes and grapes grow on a vine. I will take this a step deeper and say grapes cling to the vine for nourishment. What would life look like if we would all cling to Jesus like a grape on the vine? To be nurtured and supported through our growth and aging.

I'm not a bible scholar so I'm not sure why Jesus' first miracle recorded is Him turning water into wine at a wedding, but for me it is a reminder that Jesus can do the extraordinary in our ordinary daily moments.

Life Force

In all traditions of yoga, expanding prana (sanskrit word for life force) in your whole self is the overall goal of the practice. The Hebrew word for breath is ruach. The same word is used for Spirit. Breath and Spirit being our life force. God's breath breathing us. God's Spirit breathing life in us. It's beautiful!

How can we expand Jesus in our whole self in our yoga practice?

Invitation

Ask Him to join you when you practice. Breathe the peace of Jesus. Rest in the strength of Him. Move in ways of Him. Let Him into all your tightness, pain, injury, memory, wound, grief, fear, stress, worry, and trauma. He cares about all the big things and even the little, ordinary things.

Intention

Start your practice with an intention that helps you connect to Jesus. Examples may be: worry less, ground my anxious energy, breathe peace, trust you more, be present, embrace your love, think less, feel more. As you practice, weave this intention into your breath, movement, thoughts/emotions and stillness. Use the intention as an anchor point to keep coming back to your friend Jesus who you invited to be with you.

Breath Prayer

Pick a breath prayer. Yoga traditions will call this mantra. The sanskrit word is broken into the root words 'manas' meaning mind and 'tra' meaning bridge or connection. Mantra is a tool to navigate the mind, protect the mind from negative thinking, and connect the mind to deeper consciousness and spiritual realities. This is a background for you because I know this word is used very commonly now in our culture.

Breath prayer is an ancient form of prayer used by the desert fathers and mothers in the early days of christianity. A historic form of this prayer method is the Jesus Prayer. It goes like this:

Inhale: Jesus Christ, Son of God

Exhale: Have mercy on me

Breath prayer is easily adaptable and I find it very accommodating to the physical practice of yoga. It puts spiritual meaning into mantra. Simply choose a word or phrase to silently repeat on inhale and exhale. Breath prayer sinks into your soul by using the very breath God gave you to silently, internally repeat your heart's prayer. That's it. It's simple. If you're confused, you're overthinking it :)

This type of meditation with Jesus gets into your neurobiology. It redirects your mind to the things of Jesus. It brings you into the wonderful mystery of God's Spirit and has the ability to transform your inner life to one that knows God's will for you and helps you live your everyday moments for the person God created you to be. Breath prayer is one of many tools that can be practiced to renew your mind as Paul urges us to do in Romans 12:2.

So let's take a fresh breath and let God renew our attitude and spirit (Ephesians 4:23, voice translation).

Breath Prayer Liturgy

Our yoga practice is not the only time we can pray this way. It is more common to sit silently as the contemplative prayer practice was traditionally experienced. As lavish as this is for my soul, I don't always have the time. So I use the prayer method to ground me to God and connect me back to my purpose. This is a practical way to embody our spirituality in our reality. You can do this when you're driving, waiting in line, cooking your family dinner, preparing for a test, on a walk. It's a bridge so we can be in two places at once--daily tasks and with God. Folding the laundry and being with God. Breath by breath, we let our body and mind become God's home.

Breath prayer can be especially helpful in the uncertain and anxious moments like lying wide awake in the middle of the night, waiting to hear from your doctor, receiving an unwanted diagnosis, loss of a loved one, grief resurfacing, reading the news, anticipating a difficult conversation, thinking up your next worry. Your breath is there breathing you whether you think about it or not, so why not infuse it with the healing Spirit of Jesus.

Jesus.

Practicing yoga is wonderful when we have the time in our schedule to do so, but sometimes (all the time) we should be living our yoga. Expanding Jesus in our entire inner life and outer life. How can you commit to making Jesus a habit?

As you move through the invitation of Easter season, reflect on your response. Rather than Easter Sunday being the end of the lenten and holy week season, let this be the beginning of a new season, a new way of life, a new creation in you, a renewal of living daily life. Training ourselves to live with Jesus beyond Sunday into day to day, moment to moment, ultimately breath by breath remembering that Jesus holds all things together (Colossians 1:17).

Friends, take what works, leave the rest. I'm sharing from my experience. Let God meet you where you are, and He will.