BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD   Psalm 46:10

Pause. Be Still.  Breathe in God’s breath, God’s energy, God’s peace.  Being still is a challenge.  We do not live in a world that supports stillness, but our yoga practice certainly does.  We begin and end our yoga practice in stillness.  We hold poses in stillness. We bring our attention to our breath and we quiet our minds and our souls. While stillness may not come easily in our every day lives, it it a goal of our yoga practice.  The beauty of yoga and meditation is that, through stillness,  we become more sensitive to the presence and the peace of God. And that peace will flow through us to others; for remember, we practice yoga both on and off of our our mats. 

As I gaze out the window, the wind is blowing hard, the trees are swaying like they might snap in two, and the leaves are falling in buckets.  The weather is anything but still.  I am reminded by the chaos outside that this will likely be a chaotic week for our nation. The strong winds of power are bearing down causing a collective buzz of discord and anxiety to reverberate throughout everything and everybody.   As people of faith we have a choice.  We can join in the buzzing and the reverberating ourselves, our we can consciously step aside and practice stilling our minds. bodies, and souls.  I personally have committed to using this verse as my mantra this week: Be still and know that I am God. As things around me threaten to spin out of control, I will remind myself to be still, to breathe, and to know that I am not god, but that I can rest in the protection of The One Who Is. 

I observe a pile of leaves trapped in a whirlpool  on the driveway and I know that I do not want to be caught up in the political whirlpool this week. I will choose to be still. To breathe in the Presence of peace.  And exhale light and love to a world that desperately needs both.  Be still and know that I am God…