Fitness and Faith

For those of you who know me well, you know I am a progressive Evangelical Christ-follower who is a member, along with my husband and 2 daughters of a multi-site, inter-denominational church.

You might know me as a moderate Democrat politically speaking.

You might know me as a Special Education PreK teacher who specializes in speech/language delayed children and children with emotional/behavioral issues.  You might know me as someone who is learning more about children on the autism spectrum.

Perhaps you know my entire testimony of being a childhood sexual abuse survivor and someone who almost married the wrong person! If you don't know that entire testimony, you aren't a super close friend as I have only shared that entire part of my life with a very few select friends and family.  Most people know parts of it.  

You might know me as an avid hiker and a collector of Adirondack history and hiking books.  You might know me as a voracious reader of all kinds of genres.  You might know me as a pianist and former worship team vocalist.

You might know me as a small group leader of women's Bible studies/book studies.

You might know me as a wife, mom to 2 daughters, sister, aunt, cousin, friend.

But did you know I practice simple yoga stretches??

Did you know I do NOT follow Yoga as a spiritual practice but more as a fitness tool?

I'm here to explain WHY I incorporate yoga into my daily routine.

Here is a simple definition of the practice of "yoga": "a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation." (taken from the Oxford dictionary).

The word "yoga" in Sanskrit means "to join, or to unite"

As a Christian/Christ-follower, I am not convicted that by doing yoga poses/stretches is detrimental to my spiritual health.   You see, many people believe yoga is a religion!!  It is NOT.  It is a practice.  There are three world religions connected to the practice of yoga and people who follow those religions usually incorporate yoga into their lives:  Hinduism, Buddhism and Janism. Here is a simple explanation.  (Click on the words in bold print)

I know that centering my mind on my self is not what God wants for me because the Bible tells us to center our thoughts on Jesus Christ.  The Bible tells us to "die to self".  (much of the practice of Yoga has the person center their thoughts on "self".  to empty their minds.).  I tend to empty my mind of any stressors in my life by praying and releasing them to God the Father.

But the Bible also commands us to be good stewards of our physical bodies.  And for me that means working out most days during the week.  I tend to work out with cardio exercise 3-5 times a week depending on the week.  But I MUST stretch every day because I am also a survivor of Lyme Disease (2001-2003) that went undiagnosed and misdiagnosed for 8 months.  It left me with pain in my joints, arthritis, and sometimes deep muscle aches. It's become healed up over the years but I also have degenerative disc disease due to all the lifting of children for my career as well as all the mountains I've climbed.  Therefore, I use Yoga as a stretching program. My doctor and chiropractor says it is best for me, along with certain cardio exercise (biking, swimming, kayaking, hiking, power walking, jogging).  I am no longer allowed to do pilates or aerobics or any kind of jumping.  So Yoga it is! 

I simple engage in the stretches  and try to pray during the meditation time.

I begin my day at 5:30 a.m by going to the bathroom, drinking a 6 oz glass of fruit juice or water with my probiotic and tumeric supplements.  I then head back to the bedroom and while my husband is in the shower, I do my stretches.

I begin with what is known as Deep Breathing.  I simply stand in a relaxed first position (ballet) pose and breathe in and out for a few minutes.  Then I open my Bible app and read my morning devotional while in the "child's pose" (my head is up for this).  Here is a photo of the standard "child's pose": 

image courtesy of yoga basic)

After I read my devotional, I then lower my head and pray for the day ahead.  I talk to God/Jesus.

Once I am done with that...about 2-3 minutes total....I then rise and do this pose:  (this is called the Tree Pose and is good for balance and flexibility)

I do this pose for about 1 minute as I'm not super good at it yet.  While I am in this stretch, I am still deep breathing.  I tend to think about the Scripture I just read or sometimes I pray for my daughters during this time.

After the Tree pose, I tend to go right into the Warrior Pose as shown below.  This is one of my favorite stretches.  It really opens up my hips, chest and back.  I have arthritis in my hip and back from the Lyme disease so this really helps me to keep those joints fluid.  I highly recommend this pose if this is all you can do in the morning.

Another pose I try to do each morning, is the Cat to Cow Pose.  It looks like this:

image courtesy of PopSugar site

This is a fantastic pose, especially if you have lower or mid-back pain.  In fact, if you combine this pose with stretches that go with a fitness (therapy) ball, you will have significant less back pain and after a time, NO back pain!!  I am at the no back pain right now and I'm so grateful.  Even now with no back pain, I still do this pose every couple of mornings and sometimes before bed.  

These are the 4 main Yoga stretches I do daily.

Do I chant to an idol while doing them?  no.  I am not Hindi nor Buddhist. 

I sometimes put on music if I'm home alone but most mornings I just do the stretches, read my Scripture for the morning, and pray to center my mind on God and what He has in mind for me that day.  Because I work full time, life is busy.  After I do my morning work-outs, I have to get in the shower, eat breakfast, get dressed, get in the car for a 20-25 minute commute.   By incorporating these stretches into my life, I have a less stressed out approach.  Doing these stretches forces me to be mindful of my body and how it functions.  I want to be the best I can be physically, emotionally and spiritually.  

Some people cannot engage in yoga as a Christ follower and that is ok!  You might be convicted that it is tied too closely with far eastern practices and you need to avoid that.  But my faith is very firm and rock solid.  I know who I am in Christ and that God is the ultimate Healer.  For people who are not Christians, they can see that I can embrace this amazing way to stretch my body and still follow godly principles and the discipline of prayer, meditation, and Scripture reading.

This also opens up the door for conversations with non-Christ followers about how God has changed my life and healed me in so many ways. 

I want to thrive in all areas!!  We weren't made to just survive in this world...we were made to thrive!!  

Working out daily....with whatever is safe and recommended for you by your health practitioner, is vital.  It helps us physically, emotionally, mentally and yes....even spiritually.