The Way I Look at Yoga

Over the last month, I have been doing quite a bit of yoga as a way to integrate stretching and strength-building into my daily routine.  My lower back had really been hurting...tight and tense...and I knew I needed to strengthen my abdominal muscles to help do a better job of supporting my back. 

At the beginning, any kind of aerobics was out of the question because of the state that my back was in.  So I looked through our TV cabinet and found an old VHS tape, Rodney Yee's A.M. Yoga. Now that everything is on DVD he actually has an A.M. & P.M. Yoga you can get, which I would like to try soon.

I had taken yoga classes before when I lived in Fresno and remembered how much I loved it.  Very calming, yet requiring you to use and acquire strength.  Back then, I didn't really give much thought to what I was doing.

Picture from YogaLifestyle.com

Now, years later, I found myself on the floor in front of the image of Yee in his black Speedo on a desolate Hawaiian beach wondering what I was doing.  What was yoga anyway?  Isn't it some sort of spiritual practice? Something NOT related to Christianity?

I continued to do the exercises in the yoga tape and decided that I really did love this stuff because of how it makes my body feel.  Immediately afterward, I feel stronger and limber. There is no mention of religion or religious practices...at least not in the tape by Yee.  Really, in the U.S., yoga is mainly sought after as a means of exercise and relaxation.  Yes, they use the practice of meditation, but I believe you can make that what you will.

As I do my yoga, I find myself praying to my God...the Creator of Heaven and Earth...who sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be born and later die for our sins so that those who believe will have everlasting life...who left the Holy Spirit to be with us as a Helper (you may wish to read the Book of John in the Bible, if you haven't already).  As I am told by the instructor to place my hands on my abdomen, my heart, my throat, my neck, and my eyes I give thanks to my God  for my breath and my life and my health.  As I move onto my feet and hands to stretch the length of my back I give thanks to my God that I am able to do so. And once we reach the end of the session and sit in "meditation", I spend quite a bit of time in quiet prayer to my God about the day that is about to begin.

I love it, and I will continue to do yoga because I see the physical benefits of it.  It doesn't have to mean anything other than what I make of it in my mind.  It really does feel good!!!