Scripture
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” . . . His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
John 2:1–3, 5 NRSV
Spiritual Focus
“Abundance is not something we acquire, it is something we tune into.” Wayne Dyer
Devotion
Sitting around a table over a cup of coffee, a conversation broke out among friends about how much is enough? The question was prompted by one who was planning to work indefinitely because he didn’t think he’d ever have enough to feel comfortable retiring. As his story unfolded it became clear that he had lived with meager resources at some point in his life and never wanted to go back there. No amount of money would make him feel secure. He had developed a condition known as an abundance block—you may know it as a shortage mentality—that prevented him from tuning in to the abundance that was all around him.
In the story of the wedding at Cana, we often focus on Jesus’ first miracle: the abundance of fine wine produced from plain water. But it might surprise us to recognize, when we listen closely a second time to the whole story, that there is abundance throughout. We see it in Mary’s radical hospitality. The mother of Jesus intervenes and as a result changes the outcome of what would have been an irremediable faux pas for the wedding party: running out of wine. We see the abundance of faith Mary had in her son to remedy the situation. And, as noted, we see Jesus respond abundantly, providing a profusion of the finest wine with which to satiate all the guests.
In the yoga world we have an ethical concept, a niyama, called santosha—the practice of contentment. To be content with the plenty that surrounds us, we must first recognize it. But our faith-based yoga practice teaches us to take santosha a step further: when we tune in to God’s abundant nature we come to understand abundance as something to be shared. Sharing our multiplicity of blessings, our abundance, (no matter what form they take) with our neighbor increases both their contentment and our own.
Breath Prayer
Inhale I Am
Exhale Content
Pose Focus: Sunflower flow, a variation of utkata konasana, is a joyful asana. Start with legs wide, feet turned out, arms reaching upward as though to gather light from heaven. On an exhalation bend your knees (they remain over your ankles) as you drop your bottom and circle your arms down to gather up your harvest from the earth. Your back stays long and straight. On an inhalation circle your arms back up toward heaven as you straighten your legs. Enjoy the abundance of light and earth energies that awake during this flowing asana.
