Oh how I wish I could believe this some days! Don’t we all have life experiences that inform us on worrying? I don’t know about you but I have worried for no reason many more times than when my worst fears have come true. We have biblical teachings, Old Testament and New that consistently tell us not to worry. Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount or on the Plain depending on what gospel book we read from, tells us not to be anxious about anything! So why then is it so hard to let go of anxiety? I know we can easily give many reasons for our anxiety, but at the core of our anxiety is fear. Most of the time our fear is connected to loss, loss of our freedom and our independence. That is where the Good News gets radical, that is where God calls us to trust and be interdependent, live into God’s promised Presence that we experience in the life, love and mission of Jesus.
On Super Soul Sunday this past week, a show where Oprah interviews famous people on matters of faith and spirituality. Oprah was interviewing the pastor of a large international church, Hillsong. I happen to know a little bit about this church. They lean Baptist in their theology and while not outspoken about it, they haven’t been affirming of faith inclusive yoga. Oprah asked the pastor if he had any spiritual practices that help him deal with the trials and tribulations of living life faithfully. His response was that he needed to come to a place of peace, practice peace, he then quoted the famous scripture used by almost every faith based yogi I know, Be Still and Know that I AM God. He went on to say that getting still gave him the peace he needed to trust God with his whole life. It calmed his fears.
Getting still and practice were words that caught my attention. Practicing stillness and God’s Presence is the best way I know to combat anxiety. In stillness and breath we connect with God and let the peace wash over us. When we practice this we are trusting God with our all. When we practice this we are not only able to manage our own anxiety but we become a non anxious presence to others.
Being a non anxious presence is one of the greatest gifts of faith inclusive yoga. In our breath, on the mat we trust God to manage our fear and anxiety, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. What we learn there we take off the mat into the world calming our fear/anxiety, while becoming a non anxious presence for our neighbor. This is the integration of faith and yoga that benefits the whole world. Anxiety can be contagious, a non anxious presence is contagious too, so let’s us practice stillness, God’s presence, for ourselves and for the sake of the world.
