This morning, as I was greeting students in a Vinyasa (flow) yoga class, I noticed a woman in the back unrolling a bright pink mat. Immediately drawn by its vibrant color and wanting to introduce myself to a new student, I approached her. She was kind enough to let me snap a picture.Let Love Flow! Isn't it a great maxim? I think this is the kind of motto I can employ as I work to combine my ministry in the Episcopal Church with my yoga teaching.
After all, they're both about flow.
We know about the importance of blood flow for our physical health and well-being. That's why we exercise, eat right, and watch our blood pressure, etc. But what about our love flow? How often do we take into consideration the healthy maximization of inflow and outflow of love? Does love tend to flow freely out from us, or are we cautious and tentative? Does it flow back to us from others with ease? Or are there barriers?
The poet Rumi wrote:
Yes, Rumi! All the barriers. They are legion. They are different for each of us at different junctures of our lives. Also, they are more common than not.
Of course, we have the words of Jesus in John's Gospel:
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. ~~Jn. 13:34-35
What are we waiting for? What are the barriers to the love flow we desire...with God, with beloved friends and family? With our neighbors, and those we might consider enemies...
What practices or changes might facilitate a healthier love flow?
Perhaps this Advent will be the one. We might, at long last, forgive someone or allow someone to help us for a change. Maybe this Advent, in this wilderness of a life, we will finally let go, a little, our tendency to control, any unrealistic expectations, and trust that God's really got us.
Spiritual Practice: Loving kindness meditation. Also, yoga.💛
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