Prayer and Yoga

Yoga means union, bringing together thought, word and deed – mind, body and spirit as one. Movement and prayer are often combined in worship: bringing our hands together, bowing our heads, kneeling. By reciting the Lord’s Prayer through a Yoga sequence called the Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar, we embody the prayer. Each movement is keyed to a line of the Lord’s Prayer in a way that deepens the meaning.

Between each line of the prayer, there will be a pause to inhale, so that the words are spoken on the exhale. Breath in Latin is spiritus.

Breathing is part of the process of delivering oxygen to the body and removing carbon dioxide waste. The process of gas exchange occurs in the lung capillaries. The exhale engages the parasympathetic nervous system, a complex biological mechanism that calms and soothes us. The heart circulates the flow of dissolved gases around the body. Think of the lungs as the wings of the heart.

As we bring our hands to our heart in the beginning, our palms touch, igniting acupressure points. Raising our arms overhead to greet the Heavenly Creator, opens our hearts, stretching the intercostal muscles around the ribs allowing us to breathe more deeply. As the lungs open, the aerobic activity of the heart increases and energy flows.

Bowing the head or folding forward stretches the spinal cord, cuing the parasympathetic nervous system to relax the body. Calming the body is necessary to answer the biblical call to “Be still and know...” The bowing movements in the sequence are keyed to parts of the prayer that offer respect or obedience.

The gentle lunges in the sequence are keyed to verses in which we ask for courage in faith or deed. The bending of knee traditionally shows humbleness of heart and grace called forth. These poses strengthen the legs and lower back, developing stability.

Our bodies and minds mirror each other: When we think happy thoughts, it shows on our faces with a smile; sad thoughts are reflected there as well. When we feel confident our posture is tall, head erect; when unsure, our chest collapses in and shoulders round.

The “standing cobra” in the sequence is meant to pull our shoulders back to build that confidence in mind as well as stature. We are opening our hearts to the “kingdom within.”

At the conclusion, as the Prayer is completed, the palms are once again brought together at the heart, thumbs pressing lightly against the sternum, a place called the ‘sea of tranquility’ in acupressure. The words of the Lord’s Prayer, coupled with the Yoga sequence, take meaning all the way to the cells. Yoga is not just about standing on one’s head, but about being able to stand on our feet when the ground is shaking and remain firm in our faith.