Living Intentionally: Envious No More

By Joan C. Webb, Author/Speaker, Life Coach www.joancwebb.com

“If I live intentionally, being true to my own personality, serving out of my God-given giftedness and passion, I no longer feel the urge to envy anyone else’s career, marriage, talents, body or mission.”

The day I jotted these liberating words into my journal, I sighed with relief. Although I rarely voiced envy, I was secretly disappointed that others had fulfilled their dreams but I had not. I wanted to honor God as the woman He created me to be. Yet I wasn’t certain how to do that and I was afraid to even try.

Afraid that God (and others) would think I was selfish if I took the initiative to nurture my interests and gifts. Afraid that events in my past may have canceled out my credibility. Afraid that I might misinterpret God and make “wrong” decisions.

Then I met a new friend, Carol Travilla, and together we embarked on a journey to discover how to live courageously and intentionally for God. We learned that being “intentional” means becoming proactive instead of having a knee-jerk reaction to situations.

We met other intentional women with hearts for God. We’re all learning to accept what we cannot change about our season and circumstances, making courageous and deliberate decisions about the things we can change. At the same time, we’ve decided not to let the attitudes and pressures of other people unduly influence us. We long to be focused and directed, not floundering or driven. (And that’s a bold goal in this action-obsessed culture!)

Gradually we recognized other perks from learning to live intentionally such as stress reduction, increased self-respect, healthier relationships and less over-commitment and burnout.

How about you? Perhaps your circumstances are not exactly as you envisioned they would be at this stage of your life. Yet when you come as you are to partner with God, you can be assured that He is in the process of fulfilling His commitment to guide and produce good in you. (Eph. 2:10) You will gain courage to be yourself and stop playing the “comparison game.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (New International Version)

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (New International Version)

Run in order to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to get a gold medal that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

Take care of yourself and respect your temple.

Boat Pose

Step By Step

• Sit on the mat with legs out straight.
• Press hands on the mat a little behind the hips, shoulders back and wrap around the spine, fingers pointing towards the feet and arms strengthen.
• Lift up through the top of the sternum and lean back slightly.
• Bend knees to a 45 degree angle lifting feet off of the floor; feet are active.
• Come onto sits bone.
• Stretch arms out along side the legs parallel each other and the floor, palms in and stretch through the fingers. You can also reach over your head to the heavens in praise.
• Extend legs out straight, pointing toes and if possible rise above eye level. Take the pose to your level. If you wish to straighten the legs go for it.
• You can also toe lock your big toes with your peace sign fingers and extend the legs to wide V or straight.

Benefits

• Strengthens the abdomen, hip flexors and spine.
• Stimulates the kidneys, thyroid, prostate glands and intestines.
• Helps relieve stress.
• Improves digestion.

This is an excerpt from our guide to self-care, Christian Yoga: Restoration for Body and Soul.

An open letter from DeAnna

Dear Friends,

I feel called to post something for times such as these. This summer has been very interesting (not always in a good way) for me, my family and my friends. So many are suffering, ill and stressed.

I’m writing because for the first time in my life I got depressed watching the news last night. Things are truly getting very rough for people; I know vital, intelligent people who are ill and can’t afford medication, who are abandoning their homes and moving in with family, who have been unemployed for months even though they are diligent about seeking employment in this “jobless recovery”, who have suffered deep disappointment.

For me, I believe that staying steadfastly centered with Christ and relying on His promises for miracles and not forgetting them is what will ease the pain and stress of the struggles so many of us are experiencing.

Practicing Christian yoga regularly at anytime, but especially in times like these, is utterly important in keeping ourselves centered in Christ and not buying into the “world” and its (all too real) doom and gloom. Being of and maintaining a sound mind that relies on His promises of miracles for us takes focus, fellowship, prayer and regular practice.

As we return October 1st to our studio class schedule, if you are in a situation where you cannot afford classes, please just let us know and we will scholarship you until you can.

If you are in a situation where you can afford our low prices it will help us be good stewards in the operations of Yahweh Yoga and we are so grateful for you. Either way, let’s come together to regularly practice in October in a way that is stronger in fellowship than ever before, fasting, praying, building health and mind/body/soul strength together so we remained bathed in our full confidence in Christ knowing He never lets go of us.

As believers the one thing we know is that we can count on and expect His miracles in His timing and that if we stay there in our minds and hearts, we will move through times such as these with full confidence in God, less stress on our minds and in better health and expecting miracles to help heal and prosper us. Praying, fellowship, eating well and light, sweating, meditating….all these things work together to help us endure these times together in love and much less stress.

I for one, cannot wait to see you and practice with you in October, I have missed you over the summer. Until October 1st then…let us remember together:

“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will he hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” John 5:14-15

“We need to remember that God always keeps His promises. He will never forsake you nor leave you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NIV, bold)

“Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.Tell the nations what he has done. Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about all his miracles. Be glad that you are his; let those who seek the Lord be happy.
Depend on the Lord and his strength; always go to Him for help.
Remember the miracles He has done;remember His wonders and His decisions.
You are descendants of His servant Abraham, the children of Jacob, His chosen people.
He is the Lord our God.His laws are for all the world. He will keep his agreement forever;
He will keep his promises always.” Psalm 105, Verses 1-8 (New Century Version)

Christian Meditation: Focusing on God’s Word

Many questions come to us about the practice of meditation.

While the outward appearance and technique of Christian meditation and eastern meditation may be similar, there are profound differences in the object and purpose of our meditation.

Richard Foster explains the difference very clearly in his classic on spiritual disciplines, Celebration of Discipline:

“Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind. Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind. The two ideas are quite different. Eastern forms of meditation stress the need to become detached from the world. There is an emphasis on losing personhood and individuality and merging with the Cosmic Mind. There is a longing to be freed from the burden and pains of this life and to be released into the impersonality of Nirvana. Personal identity is lost and, in fact, personality is seen as the ultimate illusion. There is no escaping from the miserable wheel of existence. There is no God to be attached to or to hear from. Detachment is the final goal of Eastern religion.

Christian meditation goes far beyond the notion of detachment…No, detachment is not enough; we must go on to attachment. The detachment from the confusion all around us is in order to have a richer attachment to God. Christian meditation leads us to the inner wholeness necessary to give ourselves to God freely.”

~Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster

Meditation on God’s word is a practice commended to Christians through out scripture. Joshua 1:8 records God instructing Joshua to “study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.”

Meditation is a key part of our Christian yoga practice and the means through which our practice is given its spiritual dimension. Through Christian meditation and contemplation we quiet our hearts and minds and we come into God’s presence, ready to listen and receive, ready to be filled with Him.

Are some yoga postures offensive to God?

Since some of the yoga moves started out as Hindu prayer moves, aren’t they wrong to do, or wouldn’t they be offensive to God?

This question comes to us from Cecely, who is often asked this question in her role as a Christian Yoga teacher. This is a very common question about Christian yoga and makes some assumptions that are not true.

Postures are not worship

The first misconception inherent in the question is that it assumes that hatha yoga postures are all postures of prayer or worship. While some postures do assume prayerful or worshipful positions, they were originally developed as physical exercises to prepare the body for extended periods of stillness and contemplation.

Activity itself does not have meaning

The second assumption this question makes is that any action or activity can have a fixed and exclusive meaning, intention and object regardless of who performs it and the context it is performed in.  If we follow this line of reasoning, then it must be that anyone who eats bread and drinks wine at the same time is participating in communion, knowingly or not and therefore doing it inappropriately. That does not make sense, of course.

What about the prayer posture?

The prayer posture, with your hands pressed together in front of your chest, standing or seated, is sometimes objected to by Christians, assuming that is exclusively an act of prayer to Hindu deities.  But this is a posture of prayer in most faiths and cultures.  It is also the sign of greeting in Thai culture. Again, if we follow the reasoning of this objection, then millions of people are unwittingly praying to a Hindu deity several times a day. It is superstitious thinking that underlies a question like this.

Only you add meaning to your postures

God made our bodies and He designed the ways they move best. Postures and exercises that enhance our strength, balance and flexibility are exercises that are part of His design. A posture is only invested with meaning by our intention, our faith and our theology.

When I bring my hands into the prayer posture, I address my prayer to God in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.  When I lift my hands in a posture of worship, I am worshiping my God, the one true God.

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Do you have a suggestion for a topic about Christianity and yoga? Please share your question with Jenni and watch this blog space for answers to select questions.

Please note: While we endeavor to answer as many questions as we can, we cannot promise a response to every question. If you thirst for additional learning, please refer to our book Christian Yoga: Restoration for Body and Soul, or our Christian Yoga Philosophy online course.