Scripture
God is not a God of disorder but a God of peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33 NRSV
Spiritual Focus
“Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” Author unknown
Devotion
Peace is a matter of the heart. Giving and receiving, sharing the peace, is a first step toward visualizing what peace could look like when practiced in our chaotic world. When we watch the world through the lens of the nightly news, when we experience chaos in our own or another person’s life, we are moved to search for a place of stability, order, and peace. The peace for which we yearn is indwelling, infused within us by a loving God. Instilled peace moves us from the notion of peace as an isolated, disconnected expression to an established way of living.
Recognizing the peace within our self and carrying that peace into our everyday life takes practice. But when we practice instilled peace we are able to extract order from chaos—in essence experiencing God’s very nature. In our yoga faith practice we use the time on our mats to experience peace in our calming breath and slowing heart rate, inviting us to reconnect with God’s promise of order drawn from chaos. This is a practice that lives off the mat and into the world, so that when we feel God’s peaceful imprint upon our heart we are enabled to extend God’s peace out into the world.
Peace BE with you.
Breath Prayer
Inhale Peace in Me
Exhale Peace in You
Focus Pose: Seated forward fold, pashimottanasana can be one of yoga’s most calming asanas. Practice it this week, whether from a chair or on a mat with knees soft and with a calming langhana breath—extending your exhalation relative to your inhalation. Enter into the pose with an even breath count. Perhaps your breath count will proceed in this manner: two-count inhalation followed by a four-count exhalation, three-count inhalation followed by a six-count exhalation, and so on, until you find your deepest exhalation. Breathe with steadiness and comfort, and sink deeper into the pose with each exhalation, savoring God’s peace.
