Thanks to my yoga practice, though, I now experience a more intimate and joyful side of God. When I stand in Tree Pose on my mat, I sense God’s nurturing presence beside me. When I raise my voice to chant Om with the other students at the beginning and end of class, I feel the vibrations in the back of my throat as if God’s voice has flooded my spirit. In poses like Camel or Revolved Triangle, when I need to trust in something larger than myself to reach into the unknown, I sense God’s support almost like an invisible hand holding me up, helping me keep my balance. It’s this support, as well as my sense of God as an intimate presence—not just beside but also inside me—that I feel, thanks to my yoga practice, in every moment.
Practicing yoga helped me learn a new form of prayer. With each pose I learned how to express gratitude to God without words for granting me this body, this life. My yoga practice reminds me that God is the source of all energy. As I move from pose to pose, I can feel that energy flowing through my muscles and bones, carrying me from one pose to another, radiating outward in love and joy after my practice is over. I can feel the same energy flow through my lips and heart in everyday actions, too.
Practicing yoga has expanded my understanding of God in ways that I never expected. Instead of viewing God as a figure whose power is limited to the stories of an ancient book or restricted by the stereotypes and clichés that I was taught in my youth, I now appreciate God’s presence as limitless, a source of abundant energy flowing through each of us, granting us limitless possibilities.
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