Early this week I invited you to sit and ‘draw’ with me. At that time I used a practice from Richard Rohr to facilitate this creative endeavor. Today, I want to invite you to continue that creative process and also to try something different. . . something restful. . . something unexpected.
Most morning I begin my day with either a Peloton spin class on our stationary bike or a session of yoga. I vacillate between the two practices without a particular pattern. I exercise based more on feel than on schedule or routine. So today, after a very busy week getting ready for a presbytery-wide event at Calvin Church on Friday, I felt some yoga was needed to help begin my day. The type of yoga I chose was called “Restorative Yoga.”
These types of classes are shorter and ask the individual to sit in relaxed postures for longer periods of time. We use blankets, pillows, and blocks to achieve a restful state that helps calm the nervous system and provide regeneration for the mind. My morning class was a 20-minute one that was taught by a favorite instructor.
After about 10 minutes, the instructor invited us to lay on our side. I chose the left side first. . . I pulled my knees in line with my hips and relaxed my legs so that they are in a 90 degree angle. My head rested on a folded up blanket and my left arm was extended straight out in front of me. Then my right arm was to lay down on the left. Forearm to foreman, making sure to keep my shoulders aligned upward toward the ceiling (can you see the posture?) We laid there for 4 minutes breathing slowly. It felt good and I could feel my shoulders relax from the gentle pressure of being stacked. Next, we switched sides. . .
Here things got interesting.
I mirrored the shape on the other side of my body. Knees at 90 degrees to my hips. Head on a blanket. Right arm out. Left to lay on top of the right. Forearm to forearm.
At first this went well. I could feel my shoulders on this side again relax and my hips open a bit. Then I noticed a pain at the base of my neck right near my shoulder. I tried to relax. . . the pain didn’t go away. I moved my left arm slightly to try and alleviate the pain—but that didn’t work. The tension was there. I breathed longer trying to relax the muscles in my back, but I couldn’t. Laying on the floor, the muscle in my neck wouldn’t calm down and it was beginning to actively hurt.
Throughout the morning that feeling has been with me. It is almost a headache but not quite. Tension in my neck that won’t budge. It felt so good to complete the yoga class but as I rolled onto my side, and then sat up, I wondered, are there places in our Christian faith for a practice like this that would help me discern fatigue?
As I began I didn’t even notice the knot in my neck as I got out of bed and started making coffee and breakfast. Only by slowing down, by relaxing, by noticing, by feeling and breathing, did the place of tension grow in me. I became aware of exactly what was happening in my body. Now I cannot shake the feeling or revelation. I feel it. I am experiencing it.
We are often so busy in our day that we cannot, or feel that we cannot choose to, spend time in reflection and awareness. But God is there. God is present to help us learn lessons such as this. I wonder what might happen in your life when taking a moment and notice what is happening around you? Perhaps God is inviting you to draw inward and learn more?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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