Lynn Singer: Turning Grief into Healing

When Laura Lynn Singer—Lynn to her friends and students—says that Christian Yoga has given her an opportunity to find peace, you can be assured that she does not make this claim lightly.

Struggle and Pain

As a single parent from a broken marriage, Lynn struggled to raise her six children in rural Alaska.  She walked through a time of betrayal and anguish with the discovery that one of her children had been the victim of abuse. After this, Lynn was diagnosed with cancer which she battled with chemotherapy and radiation.

But none of these trials compared to what was to follow. Lynn experienced every parent’s worst nightmare when she lost her son, Jordan, in a horrific automobile accident.

“I was in a very dark, very lonely valley for a long time,” Lynn says. “Although I had given my life to Jesus as a teenager, this experience made it difficult for me to quiet my mind and listen to the Lord. I was angry and felt that God had betrayed my trust in Him. How could He allow this to happen? Why?”

God Had Not Abandoned Her

Lynn found yoga after a Christian grief counselor suggested that a visit to Yahweh Yoga might help her work through her pain. This experience, Lynn believes, was God’s way of reaching her.

One day, after counseling, Lynn decided to visit the Yahweh Yoga studio. “There was a class in session,” Lynn says. “Afterward, I just burst into tears and said: ‘I just lost my son.’ DeAnna, Courtney, Janet, and Jenni were all there and they just hugged me and prayed with me. This was the beginning of my return to life.”

Yoga classes became Lynn’s refuge and a place where she could still the gnawing pain and seek God’s peace. “Faith began to rise in my heart,” Lynn says. “It took practice for me to quiet my mind, but Christian Yoga helped me do so.”

Hearing God’s Call

After taking classes for a while, Lynn once again felt God’s call to take her life in a new direction.

“I was exhausted,” says Lynn. “In addition to my grief, I was working 12- to 15-hour days as an RN on a Med-Surg floor. One night Deanna asked me, ‘Have you ever thought of teaching yoga?’ Actually, I had thought about it, but had just dismissed the idea.”

Lynn knew what to do with this question: She prayed about it. “As a prayed, I knew that God was calling me to give back to others and to be available to for Him to use especially for those who have and are experiencing grief related to the loss of a loved one,” she says. Lynn graduated from Yahweh Yoga’s teacher training program in 2008, and now teaches Rest, Relax, and Restore classes at the Yahweh Yoga studio in Chandler, Arizona.

Helping Heal Others

To help others navigate through grief, Lynn offers her students a one-hour respite from the cares of this life. She explains: “He alone is the healer of the heart, the mind, and the body. At Yahweh Yoga we facilitate each person’s very personal journey into His presence.  This is done through providing an environment of praise, worship, fellowship, and fun along with our Yoga Practice.”

Of course, Lynn has experienced physical benefits from her yoga practice, too. She has increased flexibility and strength. “I am 54 years old and was recently was able to scale three different routes up a 45-foot rock wall which I never could have done before beginning yoga,” she says. “It does feel great to be strong.”

Lynn uses her newfound strength to help others navigate through sorrow. “It is my joy to be a part of providing a sanctuary of hope and peace for those who are distressed, or experiencing despair and depression related to grief,” she says. “I can truly say that God is faithful, He is my refuge, and He is good.”

If you would like to take a class with Lynn, please click here.