A Poise of The Soul

In 2010 I enrolled in a six-week Introduction to Yoga class offered at a studio near my home.   After more than 12 years of practicing the liturgy of the church as a priest (a job that usually has one dressed in special garb and looking down on people) it was interesting to start practicing yoga by sitting on a mat on the floor (in shorts and a t-shirt feeling fat and stupid) and looking up.

I finished that introductory yoga class, signed up for a couple more and despite periodic absences, some of them relatively lengthy, after three years I can now say that I am a practitioner of yoga (translate: I can attend a yoga class and not feel like a fool).

The associations I’ve made between practicing yoga and practicing church are legion.  I could go on and on here but suffice it to say that one of the earliest memories I took away from that introductory yoga class was that if I was going to succeed (as problematic as that word may be for yoga) I was going to have to practice: go to class, pay more attention to my intentions, live in a healthier way, etc., (translate: make a commitment).

Last year I started talking to a couple of people who practiced both yoga and church (the spiritual and religious?).  The result is a service at St. Alban’s Parish that combines yoga and worship.  The service makes its debut this week and will continue every fourth Friday through June.

We’ve got a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PoiseoftheSoul. Become a friend on Facebook and share your thoughts, spread the word or join is for  A Poise of the Soul on Friday, January 24, at St. Alban’s Parish in Washington, DC; Nourse Hall, 6pm – 7:30pm.

Happy Monday,

Jim+