Christian Yoga for When You Need A Shake Up: Part 1

Welcome to Part 1 of the Christian Yoga for When You Need a Shake Up video series!

This video series is inspired by the book 40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole and this specific practice is based on Days 4 and 5 of the book. Over the course of this four part video series, we'll press in to shake off the dust that's been accumulating in our hearts, reignite freedom and passion when that familiar boredom and staleness sets in.

This 30 minute Christian yoga practice is full of deep breathing and quiet moments, a handful of simple flows to get you moving, and an invitation to wrestle with some of the harder questions in life.

We examine the story of John the Baptist, specifically the later part of his life when he finally meets Jesus (the Messiah he'd spent his entire life prophesying about!), baptizes Jesus, loses many of his own disciples to Jesus, and then finds himself sitting in a prison...a long cry from the crowds of people he used to attract. Prior to sitting in prison, John had boldly declared that Jesus was the one they'd been waiting for! But as he the days stretched into months in prison and Jesus was out performing miracles and training up his own radical disciples, John sent a message to Jesus inquiring, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3)

In her book 40 Days of Decrease, Alicia writes, “From within prisons of pain or persecution, injustice or accusation, limitations or unmet longings, we, too, can wonder if Jesus is truly who we thought He was. A key invitation of our spiritual journey is to be emotionally honest about our uncertainties.”

So in this yoga practice, we challenge our hearts to be honest about the doubts, questions, and confusion lurking in the dark. We trust that God is big enough to handle them, that he won't punish us for asking them, and believe that, like his response to John, he'll lovingly affirm His calling in our lives.