Happy Holy Week, My Dear Friends,
I have been thinking of you and praying for you during these weeks of Lent and these days of unknowns. I hope you are being gentle with yourself and giving yourself as much grace as you would your dearest friend or the smallest child.
I’m writing to invite you this year’s Body Prayer practice. Several of you already know and love this pray-filled yoga experience. The 40 Sun-Salutations can be as gentle or as challenging as you’d like. Either way, it will definitely be intense — if you let it!
Many of you have never been able to attend, but now that it’s online and you find yourself at home, you have an opportunity to try it out.
Hosted by my friends and teammates at Mind Body Align, Body Prayer 2020 takes place on Zoom this Good Friday, April 10, from noon-1:30. Register by visiting mindbodyalign.com and select “schedule.” Or just click here.
There is no set fee. We offer this experience for donation to the Mind Body Align Charitable Fund, which supports projects that nurture and empower members of our community to lead happier, more fulfilling lives. Some examples include, but are not limited to: alternative wellness, women’s entrepreneurship, yoga for under-served populations, healthy foods initiatives, arts & culture, and professional development. You choose the amount you donate, from $0 – $10.
Body Prayer is a God-Centered Yoga practice that embraces the fluid movements of the sun-salutation as a way of offering our whole selves to God, body, mind, and spirit. This particular session of Body Prayer falls on the Christian observance of Good Friday and one day after the Jewish Celebration of Passover. This presents a wonderful opportunity to make this a prayer of thanksgiving, though any form of prayer is encouraged: a prayer of praise and adoration, prayer of petition, a prayer of contrition, a prayer of blessing and others.
Our practice will begin with a moment of silent dedication followed by a few warming postures. After this, we will move into the sun-salutation practice, which consists of four variations progressing from gentle to more challenging and back again for a total of 40 in all. Remember, this practice will be as gentle, as challenging, or as moderate as you choose. We will end with a few restorative postures and deep relaxation.
Body Prayer is an all-embracing event; people of all faiths and spiritual traditions are welcome, and no prior yoga practice is required. Indeed, no prior prayer experience is required either!
Registration and the Online Platform for Body Prayer 2020
You may register up to an hour before our start time and will receive your link to the Zoom meeting 1/2 hour before the class begins. Just click here.
This event will take place on the Zoom platform. If you’re not familiar with Zoom, please check it out now so that you can be ready. Once you join the meeting by clicking your invitation link in your email, you will be able to choose to turn on your video or not. I’ve lead online classes in the webinar format in which there is no interaction. This will be my first experience leading class in a meeting format which gives us all a chance to see and hear each other. I will open the meeting about 10 minutes to noon to give us all a chance to say hello and figure out any technical difficulties. Please remember to always leave your audio on mute. Only unmute yourself when you are actively speaking. This cuts down on all the wild and crazy sounds happening in our homes, like kids, dogs, appliances, etc. So, “join with audio,” and then click or tap the microphone icon to mute. If your zoom settings are already set to “always enter meetings on mute,” then you’re good to go.
Please email me with questions!
Setting Up
When you’re ready to join the practice on Friday, take time to clear out any clutter and set up your space with a fresh flower or two from your yard. If you’d like to create a small altar, that’s great, too. Gather any blocks or blankets you’d like to have handy, as well as a sheet of paper and a pen. We’ll have time to write our prayer intentions at the beginning, and if you like, you can write or draw your reflections afterward on your own. As far as the other people in your home are concerned, you have some options: 1) invite them to practice with you, 2) set some agreements around respecting and honoring your prayer practice time, or 3) with a smile, embrace whatever chaos presents itself!
I sincerely hope to see there!
Many blessings and peace be with you,
Amy
Generous Wisdom | Spacious Heart 