2.25.2010

Wednes+1day Prayers: Setting Intentions

I've started going to yoga immediately after my mid-week runs. I love yoga, and doing after runs helps with my silly running injuries. (This way I s---t---r---e---t---c---h after runs.)

I've been in a funk lately (thanks, btw, for the support-- and Kristin, you were right-- a good night sleep made a big difference). I'm reading church theology and doctrine (interesting, helpful, important), and I'm bringing Great Big Personal Unbloggable Questions to prayer, which makes for a heavy combination.

So last night at the beginning of class, our yoga instructor reminded us to set an intention for class-- a place to direct our energy. One came to me quickly, and I held it through our vinyasas. At the end of class, not only did I feel like I'd offered prayer with my whole self, I also felt like that whole self was lighter.

It reminded me that, in addition to the searching we do (and I'm a notorious sleuth), sometimes just engaging in a practice without asking questions is vital. I need this in my life. I need a place where I go to God without trying to figure it all out.

In that spirit, rather than asking for or offering a specific prayer/request this week, I'm just going to encourage practice. For me, physical practice is so, so helpful. Quietly seated centering prayer might also apply here for some, but engaging my body feels particularly right to me-- bringing my whole self to God, giving my body as well as my spirit as an offering to God.

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"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
-Saint Molly Ivins