Several times a week, I willingly enter a small, 105-degree heated room and engage in a physically and mentally grueling set of 26 postures with nearly 20 other sweating participants for 90 minutes, concluding with a final deep savasana (dead man’s pose) in which i find myself completely exhausted, drenched and yet strangely renewed. These days, I claim Bikram yoga as one of my main spiritual practices, along with prayer and going to church. This popular, more recent branch of Hatha Yoga, often referred to as “hot” yoga, was designed to systematically move fresh, oxygenated blood to one hundred percent of your body, to each organ and fiber, restoring all systems to healthy working order. Oh, and did i say it’s practiced in a 105-degree room? It is not for the faint of heart — or anyone who hates to sweat. I alternatively love it and dread it, but am confident it has kept me healthy and sane through major seasons of upheaval in my life.
I mention all of this because beginning this week at Patheos, we are launching our exclusive 11-week Future of Religion series, beginning with the Future of Hinduism. I’ve invited our Faith Forward bloggers to pop in throughout the series and make some connections between their faith and the featured “faith of the week,” from Hinduism to Islam, to Mormonism, to Paganism. How are you inspired or challenged by another particular religion? What questions/challenges does a particular religion raise for you? What gifts does another tradition offer you as a Christian?
Yoga, originating from India and a central practice of Hinduism, has blessed me with a practice that helps me to be completely present in the moment, clearing out the toxic thoughts that have accumulated throughout the day, and leaving me feeling renewed for the life that awaits me outside the yoga studio. As I got ready for my yoga class last night, I thought about this unique gift from the Hindus and how it contributes to strengthening and grounding my life as a Christian. We don’t have a similar practice in Christianity that seeks to integrate body, mind and spirit in such a deliberately physical way. I’m aware of teachers of Christian yoga, who take traditional yoga postures and give them explicitly Christian language (for instance, the child’s pose can be a pose that embodies surrender). I’ve found such Christian yoga sessions to be deeply meaningful and cathartic at various times in my life. But there is nothing like Bikram yoga — with its focus on breathing, stretching and stillness to help me stay grounded and present and courageous in any given moment. If i can get through Bikram’s 90-minute torture chamber, as the teachers jokingly refer to class, I can meet most any challenge with my feet firmly planted on the ground. And I know for certain when I am fully connected mind, body and spirit, I am much better able to love others (and myself) in the world. I am a better Christian because of a Hindu practice called yoga.
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