Prayer

Prayer probably has a different meaning for, elicits different feelings from, and takes a different form for each of us. We each have a unique relationship with and story with/about prayer. If you ask me today, I say that prayer is an opening. It is opening, listening, receiving.

“Openness is like the wind. If you open your doors and windows, it is bound to come in.” — Chögyam Trungpa

When we do our yoga asana practice on our mats, we are opening the physical body, uncovering space, and practicing receptivity because when we listen, we listen and receive not only with our ears, but with every single cell of our body. In this state of openness and alignment, coupled with a quiet mind, we open to the present moment and listen. And because we are fully here and awake, we can hear the divine truth within. We practice on our mats and then continue our practice out in the world so that we might walk around and go about our daily lives always listening, perpetually receptive, in other words, in a constant state of prayer.

“…slowing down and opening up allows us to enter a state of wonderment and humility in the face of the vastness of creation. This state is one of worship, a silent and embodied worship that is not necessarily shaped by specific ritual. Rather it is shaped by our intention and our willingness to understand on a profound level our small place in the Universe. This embodied worship allows our kinship with all beings and all of nature to become more than just apparent to our conscious mind. This kinship is now lived from our very cells.”

— Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga

We spend so much of our day charged with speed and complexity. When we meditate, (which can be just closing your eyes, turning your attention inward, finding stillness, and breathing) we embrace the stillness and simplicity if only for a little bit. When the mind wanders, as the human mind does, bring it back to the breath — inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale… Yes, that simple. Follow the breath as it brings you back to the present moment over and over again.