When someone begins to speak of the spiritual elements of Yoga or meditation, some automatically label them a hippy or perhaps “out there”. However, it is so important to realize the practical implications of how yoga and meditation can be used for spiritual strength and growth. I am recent to the practice of yoga and meditation in my own life. I grew up in a tradition where it wasn’t really talked about much. Much more was made of the mind and belief, than the spirit and essence. Neither emphasis is wrong; however, both are needed to have a vibrant spiritual life.
Many in the Christian faith have also strayed from Yoga and meditation, because they assume that it can only be used with faith traditions such as Buddhism or Hinduism. However, all faiths practice of form this: whether it was the Sufis in Islam or the mystics in the Christian faith. I want to give you just a couple of practical ways in which I use Yoga for spiritual strength and to grow closer to the heart of Jesus.
1. Pure Yoga- Sometimes the greatest benefit in our spirituals lives is not doing anything, but rather letting go of our thoughts, worries, stress, and doubts. Yoga and meditation are great tools for doing this. A simple focus on breathing can do wonders in quieting the mind. We know that God is spirit and he speaks through a still small voice. Sometimes, we simply have to be quiet enough in our minds to allow that voice to speak to us.
2. Prayer Yoga- This is something that I have found to be helpful. I have always been a person that hated praying down a list for everyone. It seemed like a draining mental exercise, one which I soon got distracted and started thinking about other things. Though the practice of yoga and meditation, I allow myself to pray for others but in a more “spiritual” way than mental way. When I am doing yoga or meditation, I allow my mind to just float to a mental picture of other people in my life and without words, but with all my being pray for blessing on them. If you allow this to coincide with your breathing it can be even more powerful. I try to bring friends, students, family, colleagues, and even “enemies” forward in my mind. At the end of doing such an exercise, the love of God is more apparent in you. After all, one of the ultimate goals of prayer is to change us as individuals. When we do this, we are filled with more compassion and actually become the blessing we are praying for.
3. Meditation on Jesus- In my mind, I put myself into the stories of Jesus from the gospels to let the power of them infiltrate my soul. Perhaps, I put myself at the cross to just sit in the Savior’s sacrifice for me. Or, I put myself in the arms of the father, who has just welcomed back the Prodigal Son. Perhaps, I see myself as a sick man who Jesus is touching with his presence and his physical touch. Through visualization, we sometimes can comprehend and understand much more than we can merely through words. We don’t just think of the stories of Jesus, we place ourselves in them and experience them.
These are just a few of the practices which I have found helpful. There are many more that are available. Everyone has their own unique way of spiritual growth, for me this has been one of the most helpful. I know this will not be for everybody, but I think it could be a help for many-especially for people like me who tend to be overly analytical-and find God in a unique way when we learn to slow down our thinking and listen for his voice and feel his presence.
