Cat / Cow pose

Cat / Cow

Step By Step

• Come into Table Pose.

• Knees under hips and wrist under shoulders.

• Allow the breath to guide the movement of the body into the poses.

• Inhale as the belly drops, heart and head lift and the tailbone presses up and out. (Cow Pose)

• Head draws down and chin tucks.

(Cat Pose)

• Exhale as back arches and belly button draws towards the spine.

• Gaze at your belly button.

Benefits

• Strengthens abs and back.

• Good way to connect to correct breathing.

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

Increase muscular endurance with the Side Angle Stretch

Side Angle Stretch Pose helps you get strong.

Side Angle Stretch has these benefits:

• Stimulates digestion.
• Stretches the shoulders, chest, and groin.
• Strengthens arches, knees, thighs, calves, and ankles.
• Increases muscular endurance.

Side Angle Stretch Pose Step-by-Step:

Step one: From Warrior Two with right leg forward, place right hand by the right foot.
Step two: Tuck your tailbone under and roll your shoulders back.
Step three: Extend the left arm up over your head.
Step four: Take your gaze up to your left hand.
Step five: Spread your fingers and lift your heart.

You may also take the bind, too, as shown in the image below:

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

Christian Yoginis Lift Their Hearts to the Lord in Camel Pose

Get your strength on with Camel Pose!

Camel Pose has these benefits:

• Stretches the entire front of the body & deep into hip flexor, ankles, thighs, groin, abdomen, chest and throat.
• Strengthens the back muscles and legs.
• Improves posture.
• Stimulates the organs of the abdomen, digestion and circulation.
• Increases spine flexibility.
• Great for your thyroid.

Camel Pose Step-by-Step:

Step one: Kneel on the floor with knees hips with apart and thighs perpendicular to the floor. Shins press firmly into the mat toes tucked or feet flat with toes active and pinky toes pressed into the mat.
Step two: Inner spiral thighs, firm buttocks but don’t harden.
Step three: Hands rest on the back of the pelvis.
Step four: Base of the palms on the tops of the buttocks, fingers pointing down. Use hands to lengthen down through the tail bone. Then lightly from the tailbone towards the pubis. Heart lifts and opens.
Step five: One arm at a time, extend up through the body and then draw hand to low back or to the heel.
Step six: Heart lifts and head drops back.
Step seven: Maintain a relatively neutral position, neither flexed nor extended or allow the head to drop back.

Note One should be able to swallow comfortably.
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This is an excerpt from our guide to self-care, Christian Yoga: Restoration for Body and Soul.

Research confirms it: Yoga is excellent to tackle stress

Did you know that according to Mayo Clinic research, yoga is a great way to beat chronic stress and anxiety?

Ohhh, the price of stress!

A 20-year study by the University College London found that unmanaged reactions to stress were more of a risk factor for cancer and heart disease than either cigarette smoking or high-cholesterol foods. According to a 2006 study at Rockefeller University in New York City, stress can even shrink your brain cells and prematurely age your immune system. (Reported in Twin Cities Business Magazine)

The Jesus Christ advantage

For believers, I think that Christian yoga is even more effective than secular yoga in combating stress because by taking the time on your mat to remember who you are in Christ, remembering His promises of comfort and safety and adding the benefits of regular yoga practice simply produces better results than practicing yoga without HIM at the center.

I believe it takes 100% full confidence in God and His Word and regular (3 x per week) Christian yoga practice.

Anger and stress are incongruous with God

Many believers say they have faith, yet they walk around stressed, angry, resentful, bitter.

This is incongruous with having 100% faith in God and His Word. When we believers realize that each of us makes a choice moment by moment as to what thoughts we will believe in, the true power God has given us is obvious.

If we choose to hang out in anger, stress, resentfulness and bitterness, then who’s fault is it really if we are stressed? Each person has to be responsible for what they think, eat and do. We are not promised a rose garden, but we are promised that God will never leave or forsake us, that we are to give Him our burdens, trust and love Him with all our hearts, souls and minds and to leave the driving to Him.

But do we? NO! We forget and it is my humble opinion that the road to peace within is paved with a combination of taking the time to be constantly reminded of God’s promises of safety so we stay in our right minds.

Take responsibility for your stress

By choosing to practice Christian yoga regularly, we are reminded of God’s promises and inspired to stay on course with healthy eating and to move our bodies in a way that gets out the kinks… we are taking responsibility for our stress levels in the most positive way possible. Even those who are physically challenged can practice some form of Christian yoga.

So in this busy holiday season, I would like to encourage you to practice Christian yoga, if not with us at our Chandler studio, then somewhere where you can enjoy healthy yoga and Christian fellowship. There are wonderful teachers worldwide.

As a community of believers, we encourage you to deal with the natural occurrence of stress in a way that honors God and keeps us at peace within healthy bodies.
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One of our favorite poses to de-stress is the Child’s Pose. Read more about how to do this post in our new series: Christian Yoga pose of the Week.

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.