Day 62 of 100 intentional reflective steps.
Yoga was introduced to me while in the hospital. It turns out the intense concentration on your body and muscles is good for the the brain in people with PTSD. I love the stretching and intensity of it. It is good discipline for me to work hard at being calm, patient and settled while working out. It takes an immense amount of discipline to continue to practice and coax your brain into slowing down and focusing. It’s good. I’m in better shape than I have been in for years.
However, whenever I tell people that I am a regular “yogi” or that I practice so frequently I often get crinkled eyebrows, frowns and judgement. Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice which originated in ancient India. There is a broad variety of yoga thought, practices, and goals. But since its roots are in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, it has been offensive and tabu for the Christian world. How dare I submit myself to such a practice?
I practice because it is excellent for my body and my brain. And I do meditate. I meditate on the things of God, gratitude, love and faith. I breathe in the fruits of the spirit: breathe in love/breathe out hate, breath in joy/breathe out sorrow, breath in peace/breathe out war.
There are those who judge my exercising in a place where there are edifices and images of gods. But these are not my gods. My God lives in me, walks in the door with me and my Bible says “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” I do not bow to any other person or god.
I hear the judgement. I feel it. It’s ok. I don’t have to convince you.