Whatcha Waiting For?

By Joan C. Webb, Author Speaker/Life Coach www.joancwebb.com “I thought I would make intentional decisions about what I would do with my life after my son left for college,” said Susan, a business owner from Minnesota. “Then it dawned on me: ‘Why not make the most of these years . . . before he leaves?’” How often have you said (aloud or silently), When I finish school. . . or After I get married. . . or When the kids are all in school. . . or As soon as I get that promotion. . . or When I pay off the bills. . . or If my spouse would just shape up. . . or When my children are on their own. . . THEN I’ll get serious about making goals and partnering with God to follow-through? Today is a gift from God, worth enjoying, savoring, planning for and living. Puts a new spin on the verse, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”*, doesn’t it?

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118: 24 NLT

Secure your own mask first before assisting others

Although we never anticipate a change in cabin pressure, should one occur, four oxygen masks will fall from the compartment above. Place the mask over your nose and mouth and breathe normally. If you are traveling with small children please secure yourself first and then assist the child. Finally sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight!

The flight attendant paused at my seat. We were traveling with our three children and she wanted to be sure that I understood that I must put on my own mask prior to helping the children.

I assured her that we were very familiar with the rules and turned to look into the injured and incredulous eyes of my son and daughter. “That’s not right,” my son said accusingly. “Parents are supposed to look after kids first.” My daughter was deeply perplexed and somewhat anxious, “Why should grownups get the oxygen before kids? Will there be enough for us?”

I reassured them that it was very important for me to make sure that I got the mask on quickly or I might pass out before I could help them and they would not be able to help me. They were relieved once they understood. As we settled into our flight it occurred to me that these instructions would serve us all well in life…

Although you never anticipate that you will crack under pressure, should this occur, there will not be an oxygen mask falling from above. Breathing normally will be impossible. If you are traveling with small children, or anyone else, you will be unable to assist them let alone yourself…

So often we look into the eyes of those depending on us, our families, the PTO, the church, the boss… and we can feel the pressure starting to squeeze the life out of us. We know we are starting to run out of air but somehow we muddle on, asthmatic and wheezing in our increasingly feeble efforts to meet everyone’s needs. Some of us secretly enjoy being martyrs. Some of us are just tyrannized by the urgent and the immediate. But we’re all desperate for someone to give us permission to look after ourselves, for instructions to secure our own mask first.

If there was ever someone relentlessly hounded by the needs of others it was Jesus. The crowds were always chasing Jesus, wanting him to teach them, to touch them, to heal them, to feed them. However, we read that Jesus made a regular habit of rising early and seeking time alone, meeting with his Father in prayer. He modeled the discipline of solitude for his disciples and in Mark 6:31-32 we see a beautiful picture of this:

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

What do you need to do to make sure you have enough air to keep going? Are you looking after your body well? Are you eating well, sleeping enough? Exercising? But, most importantly, what about your soul? We all benefit from some solitude for the sake of soul care.

In the frenzy, we need to find a quiet center where we can be still and know that God is God and ask Him to search our hearts and know our anxious thoughts. Our moments of solitude with God may be brief at times but they will sustain us - He will sustain us. The moment you step out of your quiet place, everyone will be clamoring for you, but you will be far better equipped to rise to the challenges before you, with compassion and grace.

So stop a moment. Grab that oxygen mask firmly and secure yourself, body and soul, before you attempt to assist others. Finally sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight!

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.