Day 4
Worship with your BODY
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19
Our body is the temple in which God chooses to make His Spirit at home for this side of eternity. We are not to worship our bodies, but we are to worship WITH our bodies. Your body was created to move. There is life in movement. Think about it – when your heart stops beating your blood stops moving to the places it needs to go and your body dies. The movement inside your body creates a constant integration of life flowing through you. As we discussed before, you are covered by the blood of Jesus – He is the life in your veins – as you move your body in worship, something so beautiful and mysterious happens in the integration of His blood with ours. When we worship with our body, the Truth of who God is and who we are in Him is integrated in our mind, our heart, and our spirit.
“Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1
Worship is an act. When we physically act in worship and move our body into a posture of submission to our creator – there is a shift that takes place in us. This is where our worship moves from the inside out; the posture of our heart, our mind, and our spirit is demonstrated in our physical body. The opposite can also be true. Often when I’m too stubborn, too busy, or too emotional to sit in the silence with God, I come to my yoga mat and submit my body in a posture of worship before God, and He comes and does what only He can do. As I move my body He reminds me of who He is. He centers my thoughts on the breath He gave me, and as I continue to move and breathe He frees my spirit to worship Him in truth. Worship is woven together and multiplied through the movement of our physical body.
Sometimes it’s laying flat on our back, sometimes it’s kneeling with our head down on the ground, sometimes it’s standing with our arms lifted high, sometimes it’s dancing like nobody’s watching, sometimes it’s running as fast as we can, and often for me it’s rolling out my yoga mat and flowing through my practice. Worshipping with our bodies will look different for each of us because we are all created uniquely and beautifully. The movement doesn’t need to be grand or use much energy; it just needs to be authentic to you and your body. In Holy Yoga we talk about “listening to your body,” because your body is smart and is constantly communicating with you about what it needs. And what your body needs today will be different than what it needs tomorrow, and that’s okay. Move your body and worship with everything you’ve got today!
ACTION
- Read
- James 2:22, “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”
- Acts 17:38, ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’
- Practice
- Set aside 15 minutes today to move your body in worship. This can be anything you need today: maybe you go for a run, maybe you walk through the park, maybe you close the door in your room and have a dance party, maybe you go to a workout class, or maybe you try one of the holy yoga videos on my YouTube channel
- Before you do your chosen worship activity, pray. Ask God to bring freedom in your movement and dedicate this time as worship to Him. While you go through this movement practice what you’ve learned so far…focus your mind on Jesus, offer Him your heart and all that you feel today, and let your spirit be free to dance with His Spirit.
- REFLECT
- How did your worship today feel different than before?
- How did God reveal himself to you in your worship today?