Scripture
I will praise you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
Psalm 63:4 NRSV
Spiritual Focus
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” Martin Luther
Devotion Last week we talked about mudras, hand positions that help us reconnect and redirect our energy and emotions in a more positive direction. Used as part of our yoga practice, our hands help us center into our inner sanctuary. More commonly, we use our hands to express our emotions to the world around us. Our hands are one of the body parts we engage when we wish to express the feelings in our heart. Hands raised in praise, a simple peace sign, hands shaped in the form of a heart—all communicate something about us to those around us. When we deliberately practice loving hand gestures, our hands become the hands of God that serve our neighbor.
As we move forward on our spiritual journey and begin to see with our eyes what God sees, and hear with our ears God’s voice—as our hearts are opened we witness the very essence of God’s love. What does God’s love look like? Getting our hands dirty, maybe. Holding a baby—what joy! Holding up a friend or a stranger who is suffering. These are all ways to give away God’s love, with our hands and with our hearts. Opening our hands to receive God’s love, holding God’s love in the sacred space of our hearts, and then handing it over to our neighbor constitutes both a practice and an opportunity that presents itself every day, offering us the opportunity to live our life with intentional integrity and grace.
Breath Prayer
Inhale Lift
Exhale My Hands
Focus Pose: This week add mudras to all of your seated poses. Two simple mudras I use often are hands on my knees, palms either up or down. Use the palms-up hand position to receive needed energy or when you feel yourself to be in particular need of God’s love. Use the palms-down hand position when you need grounding—perhaps based on doing too much, thinking too much, . . . or too much of whatever! To determine which mudra would be most beneficial in your practice, ask yourself, What do I need, right now, this moment? You may find the answer right there in the palms of your hands.
