Replenish
Replenish
“For I [fully] satisfy the weary soul, and I replenish every languishing and sorrowful person.” [Jeremiah 31:25]
Last week I was having a week. You know that feeling? Where you’re just about ready to snap and the coffee table books not aligned beautifully on the glass top, every time I walk past causes my eye to twitch. Yes, that kind of week. My schedule for yoga training is a little tricky to understand and fit around my other commitments also the course requirements are a little unclear- I thought the Danish were meant to be excellent at efficiency and simplicity? (For context my yoga training is with a Danish Christian yoga teacher training school- the only one in Europe crazy enough).
On top of that, I experienced my very first trolling experience. It was insane - am I an influencer now? Where are my free gifts from sponsors? Sadly no where in sight but the point is: it was part of a series of moments that week where I found myself really emotionally depleted and overwhelmed. Cue left temple tension headache, tightness of chest, sweaty palms, and last but not least: belly twisting in uncomfortable knots endlessly. On both those occasions that week, where my head was spinning from everything I was trying to juggle and my heart was broken by someone’s well meaning but unkind attitude towards my dream: my amazing friend was coincidentally there at just the right time to lift my spirits, listen to me vent and remind me of truths that I needed to hear.
I was amazed once again and so grateful for the the power of community. Having someone to hear my frustrations and hurts, show deep empathy and a desire to understand me, remind who I am and Whose I am was so good for my soul. Similarly if I had a friend who was in the same boat I had been in last week, I would to want to offer the same emotional support and the relief of safe space companionship.
Why does it stop there though? Why do I not sit with myself more often and, like I would a friend in need, take myself out for a coffee, give myself a safe space to breathe and listen to me. Why do I not carve out time when I am at the end the of myself and feeling emotionally spent? Make a cup of tea, in my favourite mug, sit myself down and let myself feel what I’m feeling and more importantly get to the root of how I got into this entangled emotionally fraught place in the first instance. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I often over complicate what self care has to look like: wanting to have the perfect playlist with the perfect sunny weather or moody atmospheric weather (whichever one, as long as the playlist fits y’know?). Or even, the right cosy spot in the house with the perfect amount of mood lighting to candle ratio, hashtag all the hygge. Replenishing my soul could be simply writing down, stream of consciousness style, all the things clogging up my heart and brain, draining and distracting me from being present and feeling lighter. Simple.
When offering me feedback a few weeks ago, one of my dear friends said, “I just don’t get how I can simultaneously feel energised and relaxed at the same time after a doing a yoga class”. It is to date, one of my favourite pieces of feedback about yoga. That’s what I just LOVE about it about so much, what I hope you find too as you continue to practice- this wonderful 30min safe space where somehow, not just your body but your soul is replenished as well.
Taking it a step further, God promises to fully satisfy the weary soul and replenish every languishing and sorrowful person. Are you entering this weekend or upcoming week with a sense of dread or apprehension? Or maybe as restrictions ease you find yourself getting busier and busier trying to juggle the myriad of social and work obligations that was life before a pandemic. How ever you find yourself, this is just my gentle encouragement that every breath can be a prayer every moment holy. God is near and eager to replenish you.
breath in
Gods goodness : Trust that he is more than able to satisfy whatever need or emotional state you find yourself in today in this moment on the mat
breath out
Any tension and anguish you may be holding in your heart allow the weigh of weariness to fall from your shoulders into his arms as you move and breathe here on the mat. There is sacred space here on the mat, for you to feel unburdened.
Enjoy your practice! (its 24mins long)
(Christ-)Mindful Tip:
Namaste.
“bowing to you”
Therefore, Namaste when used in a spiritual yoga practice often means "bowing to you". In Hinduism, it reflects the belief that "the divine and the soul of a person is same in you as it is in me”, hence the often quoted translation: "I bow to the divine in you”. Today in modern day sanskrit “Namaste” literally means "greetings to you." among Hindi speakers throughout the world, “namaste" is a simple greeting to say hello, like ciao or bonjour, in Italian and french respectively.
If you wanted to engage with the deeper spiritual interpretation of the “namaste” i.e. I bow to the divine in you, it might be worth looking at the following passages from scripture and seeing what you think of them in relation to the idea of divinity in-dwelling in you. One of my favourite quotes is by Mother Theresa she says “if there is no peace it is because we have forgotten we belong to one another”. The soul of a person is the same in you as it is in me, we belong to each other.
“For the full content of Divine nature lives in Christ, in his humanity.” [Colossians 2:9] ‘divinity’ is related to, or proceeding from a deity. The root of the word divine is literally "godly," and as Christians we know and believe that that “the full content of divine nature lives in Christ.”
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” [1 Corinthians 6:19]. As Christians we know and believe that the Holy Spirit is no less Divine than God, the Father or Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
“This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you; the hope of glory. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.” [Colossians 1:26-28]
The whole ethos of ImagoDei Wellbeing & Yoga, is that the hand print of God is in every single person, all of whom Jesus came to die for; whether they acknowledge it or not, there is a touch of dignity and divinity in everyone. More so in you and I as followers of Jesus because his Holy Spirit dwells within us. There is nothing new under the sun and where the concept of divinity makes us squirmy because it has been co-opted by ‘new age mysticism’ it simply: doesn’t have to be. Therefore Beloved friend, namaste I honour the dignity and divinity within you, it is the same in you as it is in me.