Prana and Prayer: St. Paul’s parishioners offer diverse yoga classes to complement spiritual growth

Client: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Content Type: Newsletter/feature article

Target Audience(s): Church members

Description: This article was published in the quarterly member magazine of St. Paul’s Church in Alexandria, VA, highlighting three members’ yoga class offerings and exploring yoga as a spiritual practice.

After just a few months of practicing yoga, Melissa Hurt noticed her day-to-day anxieties calming in subtle but powerful ways. “One evening after class I went to the grocery store and I remember noticing how beautiful the sky looked,” she recalls. “I looked around and everything looked still and quiet. I realized then that it wasn’t my surroundings, but my inner life had settled into a contented state.” From there, she was hooked.

Melissa is one of three St. Paul’s parishioners who offer yoga classes and workshops here. Several times a week, our usually bustling Norton Hall transforms into a dim, peaceful studio. A handful of students roll out their mats, breathing deeply and sinking into gentle poses. Through their dedicated, meditative practice, many find both physical and spiritual benefits.

Derived from ancient Indian philosophy, yoga synthesizes physical movement and spiritual meditation, all intended to help us serve God, our own spirit, and each other. The Bhagavad Gita, often called the first book of yoga, describes the four branches of yoga: bhakti yoga, the path of devotion or divine love; karma yoga, the yoga of action and duty; jnana yoga, the yoga of intellect and self-realization; and raja or ashtanga yoga, which strives toward mental control through meditation and movement.

Many of these principles bear similarities to Christian practices of prayer and worship, rightful actions and service to one another, and spiritual education and development. However, as yoga gained prominence in the Western world in the 20th century, emphasis has largely been on the bodily nature of the fourth branch.

“When people commonly think of yoga, they think of the physical practice,” says Melissa. “This is one tiny part of yoga. We practice the physical part to strengthen, lengthen, and balance our bodies so we can more readily enter the practice of meditation, which is key.”

For all of our yoga instructors at St. Paul’s, it’s easy to recognize the seamless integration of both the spiritual and the physical through yoga. Jane Carey has practiced yoga for more than three decades and taught it for more than two, and extols the virtues of meditation for personal growth.

“While the asanas or poses are certainly essential, it turns out that they are preparation for the settling of our busy minds and hearts,” she explains. “My yoga class begins with a time to settle in, breathe, and be present...letting go of the day and the week and inviting in the moment.”

When practiced regularly, this simple act—shedding the pressures of the past and worries of the future, and focusing on just being in the present moment—can transport anyone to a more mindful, peaceful state. As Jane says, “A time to be quiet and still and present leaves everyone in the room with a calmer sense of self and the world.”

This is not to discount the tremendous physical benefits of yoga. With a lifelong background in dance and theatre, Margaret Townsend credits yoga with instilling strength and self-love from a very young age. “I was first introduced to yoga as a young child while taking ballet and theatre classes at the La Jolla Center for the Arts,” she says. “Yoga was one of the movement classes taught to the young dancers and the concept of non-harming, or ahimsa, either of others or of self, truly resonated with me. I strongly believe this awareness of ahimsa helped me to avoid the eating disorders which plague the dance community.”

For whatever reason you may seek out yoga – perhaps you’re searching for a gentle (or vigorous) physical exercise, or a meditative practice to incorporate into your spiritual journey — you’ll find a home in any of the variety of classes offered here.

For those starting to feel the effects of aging on the body and mind, for parents of young children hoping to reconnect, or for anyone looking to take time out of their day for prayerful meditation, yoga may be the cure. Jane affirms that yoga has offered her “the opportunity to grow into each decade with more stability and strength, which is much needed through the aging process.”

And for all of our yoga instructors at St. Paul’s, yoga has been a way to minister to those in need of solace. For Melissa, yoga is “part of the work God has given me to do. It’s my personal mission to help people feel well in voice, body, mind, and spirit and find that magical state of yoga in whatever they do, whether it is on the yoga mat, performing a monologue in a play, or giving a speech at work. I am also very thankful I can teach it to [my daughter] Penny, who at age four and a half, knows yoga as a way of life. She’s been doing it with me since she was in utero and really doesn’t know any other way!”

For Margaret, teaching yoga helps her live out St. Paul’s mission. “My students tell me that yoga begins to first strengthen their body and then calm their mind and spirit. As the practice provides strength in mind, body, and spirit, I believe we are better able to go out into the world and do the work God has given us to do. To better shine as a light—this is, to me, the true gift of yoga.”