Yoga

So I'm a week behind in actually writing this post but such is life sometimes.  This week I began my three weeks of exploring what it means to move and pray.  Over the past six weeks I have explored what it looks like and means to pray my prayers to God through painting, to listen to what God is saying to me through sculpture and now it's time to attempt to be pushed out to pray for others through movement.  A little weird at first I must admit, but surprisingly awesome.

When first crafting this class I thought it would be amazing to work with some kind of dance instructor and explore prayer through that creative medium but dance instructors are in short supply here in Kittson county so I redirected to other types of movement.  This week I decided to start with something I know at least a little about; yoga.  I first started doing yoga a few years ago, not that I'm an expert by any means, but I do have some of the basics under my belt.  Two years ago a yoga instructor planted a seed that has intrigued me ever since; dedicating your practice to someone or something.  At first I didn't quite understand what this would look like, feel like or do and it was clunky to say the least.  What exactly happens when I dedicate my practice to someone else?  Is it some kind of magical transference?  Well, probably not.  But what I have found out since is that it's an ancient Buddhist practice that seeks to send the benefits of the practice, the centering, calm and cleansing, to that which you have dedicated your practice to.  It gives you something or someone to focus on and send your light and love to.

To be completely honest, I had forgotten about this part of yoga practice until recently and decided to give it a shot again but in more prayerful focus.  So I began by sitting on my yoga mat, breathing and deciding to dedicate my practice, to pray, for my husband.  He was a natural choice as he has been so amazing to me throughout our entire relationship but especially through this pregnancy.  Now came the hard part.  I'd decided to dedicate the practice to him but what does that really mean?  Do I just focus on him, holding him at the forefront of my mind and trying to send him the good vibes that come from yoga or do I actively pray for him, intercessing on his behalf to God?  I couldn't pick so I just began my pratice and hoped for the best, trying to keep focused on him through all the breathing and stretching.

The interesting thing was that it was much easier than I thought it would be and it actually made my practice more enjoyable.  It was as though we were sharing in this yoga practice together, which any of you who have taken a yoga class know that it's way better with a friend than by yourself.  What also surprised me was that in focusing on Frank made it easier to hold poses for longer amounts of time.  I had him to focus on rather than my aching/shaking legs or my horrible lack of balance now that my proportions are off.  And it was incredibly joyful to go through the movments and think that in some small way I was sharing the peace and calm that I was feeling with him. 

So I didn't actively pray for Frank but I did focus on him, keep him at the forefront of my mind and not just focus on myself.  As I went through my yoga practice there were moments where this came naturally and there were moments where I worried that this wasn't actually prayer.  But when I had finished I realized that it was prayer, and maybe a powerful kind of prayer, that I had never known before.  It was prayer that didn't need words but instead focus and attention and movement.  It allowed me to get out of my own way, out of  my own inward and at times selfish focus and spend time focusing on someone else, someone that I love very much.  It was not asking for my own wants and desires for him but instead just lifting him up to God.