Yoga

I’ve recently started learning yoga. And those who know me would know just how far away from my comfort zone that is. To help minimize my anxieties about it, I got myself some one-on-one classes. That way, I thought, my instructor could help me at my own pace and I wouldn’t be distracted by comparing myself to others.

I began my classes fully committed to being the most obedient student I could be. I would literally just wait for her to tell me where to move which part of my body, when to inhale and exhale, and more importantly when I could end. I attuned my ears to whatever my instructor said and cleared my head of everything but that moment.

For someone who has never had an exercise regimen in her life, I sometimes wonder how I survive the hour. I marvel at how my body is stronger than I thought or more flexible than I thought. At the coaching of my instructor, I learned to be more patient with myself, to brush off my embarrassment if I couldn’t balance or lift as well as I had hoped.

I’ve come to think of it as another way to pray – to praise God with the movement of my limbs and with the depth of my breathing. It has become a special moment between God and me. At the end, I cannot help but echo the Psalm: “I praise you, O Lord, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

In reflecting on this new way to pray, I was amazed at how completely I trusted someone I had never met before, how quickly I could tune out all other sounds except my instructor’s voice, and how unquestioning I was at her every directive. If I were as docile to God’s promptings, I’m sure I would have saved myself (and others) a lot of heartache.

The truth is, it’s a lot easier to train our biological ears rather than our spiritual ears to listen. The noise from the outside is a lot faster to sift through and to sort out. The noises inside us – the insecurities, anxieties, questions, and selfish desires can so easily drown out the “still, small voice” inside waiting to give us peace. Among other things, learning something new has taught me that no matter how old I am, or how much of life I think I’ve figured out, I’m always a beginner at something. There’s always something new to learn and some new experience to discover even in the mundane. And when I do take the time to listen, I discover that God is always finding new ways to get my attention and to get me to fall in love with Him anew.