Without Me, You Can Do Nothing

When I used to teach high school English, I found that using analogy was the best way to explain incomprehensible topics to young, budding minds -- and oh the fun I had jumping around my classroom, excitedly drawing pictures of complex machines, The Grand Canyon, a Mother walking her baby, and the like - while sweating through my shirt (#embarassingbuttrue) - on my white board.  It was in these moments when the light behind the eyes of so many students would illuminate.  Hearing "Ooooooh!  NOW I get it," was honey to my soul.  It's what got me out of bed in the morning in a very stressful work environment.

This is exactly why Jesus used parables to explain the mysteries of the Universe to us.  How do you explain Grace (aka Life Force Energy or Prana) tosheep who are only concerned about where to get their next meal and not getting eaten by wolves -- why, in a good analogy of course! 

For the next two months, during Yoga Church, we will take these parables and look at the deeper meaning of them when understood from a yogic lens.  What is Jesus saying in these simple morsels of wisdom that can teach us about the complex nature of our spirits, our chakras, and our life force?  These parables are the keys to the kingdom.

We begin tonight by studying his teaching of the vine and the branches where he attempts to explain how connected we are - like fish in water - to the life force energy of God all around us (and how, just like a light bulb needs electricity to be all that it was made to be, we all need this Force to really come alive).
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Through my yoga practice, I've learned that tapping into this field of Grace(which I view as literal stardust swimming within and around us), takes regular practice and effort.  But, for me, it's the only option. Our world is in crisis and being a person of light feels like being "a sheep among wolves" as Jesus predicted it would be.  But, getting on my yoga mat and coming into stillness, deepening my breath, opening my body, and quieting my mind is how I start to welcome the mystical force of Grace back into my life.  And the more I practice this, the more I build up one powerful, bad*ss immune system that gives me the strength and protection that I need to go out and face a toxic world.  Jesus tells us that the more we build this up, we "can walk among snakes and scorpions" and remain unharmed.  How amazing is that?!

Tonight's practice will be slow, mindful, and gentle in order to help you build up this invisible yet tangible field of protection called Grace. And I promise you, it will give you a peace that this world cannot provide.