Christian Yoga for Beginners – Day 5 – Entering Within

Do not imagine that your reason can grow to the knowledge of God. — Meister Eckhart- Christian Theologian and mystic – 1260-1328

The posture that I invite you to make central to your Christian yoga practice is the posture that ends most yoga programs. It is called Savasana.  Its less than invitational English name is “corpse pose.”

It is the pose that is used in a yoga practice called Yoga Nidra. I call this pose the ultimate Christian yoga pose because it fulfils the primary invitation from the Master Jesus Christ.

The Master instructs those who would be followers of his teaching to “Seek yeh first the Kingdom of Heaven.” He makes it clear that this is what you are required to do as a first step.

The Christian who would be a follower of Christ is a seeker.

A seeker is one who wants to KNOW the Kingdom of Heaven. The seeker is not a believer because you are only a believer when you do not KNOW.  A seeker KNOWS that they do not KNOW but knows in their heart that this is their ardent wish.

The Master Jesus Christ clearly states that this Kingdom of Heaven is within you. The next step for the Christian who would follow the Master is to learn to go within.

This is the true meaning of the word ‘repent.’ The word repent means to turn around. It is the movement from the focus on the outer to the focus on withiness.

Repentance doesn’t mean you focus on changing your moral conduct although that will happen as a result of your deepening connection with Divine Intention.

The practice of turning within is to close your eyes relax and learn to be still in order that Divine Intention can be KNOWN through you.

This KNOWING by way of stillness (Day 2) begins by learning the practice of “Give no thought” (Day 3).  When you get still and your mind is quiet you enter you hearts intention that is declared in the Lords prayer “Thy will be done.”

These are the four steps to the practice of seeking the Kingdom of Heaven within you. To seek the Kingdom within you is the primary step for your life as instructed by the Master Jesus Christ.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven – The Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:10 KJV

Here you have a yoga posture that all beginners of yoga practice. In traditional yoga paths this is not considered a prayer practice but on the path of Christian yoga I consider it the foundational practice that follows the instruction of the Master when he says.

But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Note that in the Lord’s prayer there is the line “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

This is the only prayer given by the Master Jesus Christ. For many Christians this invitation to bring Heaven to earth is totally ignored. For some the focus is on looking forward to the end of the earth in order to get to Heaven.

The only way that this prayer invitation can be realised is through the human body.

This is the core reason for the practice of yoga asanas and postures. It is to prepare the nervous system for the revelation of Divine intention.

This is the understanding of the purpose of Yoga in the Eastern world. In the Western world the practice of yoga has its focus on fitness and flexibility. In that sense the majority of yoga teachings in the Western world have lost their heart.

The most powerful prayer is the outcome of a quiet mind. — Meister Eckhart – Christian Theologin and Mystic – 1260-1328

In some Christian circles there is a fear around the practice of yoga.

I wanted to become a yoga teacher when I was 17 years old but the Christian culture in my homeland of Northern Ireland in 1967 assured me that yoga was the work of the devil.

Most Christians follow what is called the exoteric way.

This is the way of the many.  It is the way of words and concepts and beliefs.  It is the way of the personal rather than the way of the transpersonal. This happens within all religious traditions.

In my experience the majority who teach Christianity and especially those who hold fundamentalist views fear the invitation to going within. They assure you that if your mind is quite (give no thought) that you will open yourself to the promptings of the devil.  The Master Jesus was clear in this regard when he declared

Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering. – Luke 11:52

In this passage the experts n the law are those who can quote you Bible and verse but have never had the direct experience that is the revelation of Grace.  They fear the practice of repentance which is the turn around of your life focus from without to the experience of within-ness.

In deeper Christian teachings which are the esoteric teachings (the way of the few) there is the practice of prayer and contemplation.

Prayer is not where you dictate to the Divine but where you learn the practice of listening to the promptings of Divine Intention. This is the experience of listening to the Still Small Voice Within.  Note that the still small voice is within.

The invitation to close the door is the invitation to shut out distraction. The main distraction is the never-ending thoughts of the personal mind.

Modern spiritual teachers such as Eckhart Tolle – The Power of NOW and Michael Singer – The Untethered Soul calls this unending addiction to thinking, “The Voice in the Head.”

Without this never-ending inner dialogue being quietened there is no space for the unfolding of the Still Small Voice Within.

Most Christians have never been taught how to “close the door.” The key focus of prayer tends to be a petition to the Divine to intervene in some aspect of life that is thought to need changing. This can also involve praying for intervention in the affairs of a nation state.

This is like the wave dictating to the Ocean.  This form of prayer supposes that the individual has a need that the Divine is unaware of and which the Divine which is omnipresent needs to sort out.

The practice of real prayer is the practice of waiting and allowing “Thy will be done.”

What does it mean to pray in secret? What is secret is unknown but not UNKNOWABLE. The secret of the journey of prayer is the development of allowing.

It isn’t where you dictate your wishes and wants to the Divine.

This is poor theology to say the least.  It suggests that the omnipresent Divine who KNOWS ALL and is ALL is withholding from you what it KNOWS that you need.

The common approach to prayer is a kind of Cosmic ordering system. It is the wave dictating to the Ocean. There is no secrecy here.

You pray in secret when you are empty of your personal desires and dictates and you become open to receiving what is designed to be expressed through you.

In Christian terminology this is the practice of “kenosis.” It is the practice of self-emptying so that the fullness of Divine Intention can be expressed through you.

The challenge for anyone engaged in this praying in secret is to wait without waiting. It means you give up control which is not at all popular to the sense of the separate personal self or ego.

When you pray in secret it appears that nothing is happening.

Praying in secret means that you allow the Divine to happen through you.  You practice the promise of the Lord’s prayer “Thy will be done.”

Key to the practice of Christian Yoga as shared in this program is the learning of allowing. Another name for this state of allowing are the words “trust” and “faith.”

Do not confuse the word “faith” with the word “belief.”

Most belief results in what mystics refer to as “blind faith.” This is to take a particular doctrine and assert its truth without direct experience of such truth.

The posture that is key to any Yoga practice whether Christian or not is the pose called Savasana. It is the premier pose of allowing.

This seems to be the simplest of poses, but it is the most challenging. It is learning to do nothing so that the Divine can do everything through you.

You can practice this pose without calling it Yoga. What is important with the practice is your intention.

If you have issues with the word Yoga, use another word or phrase. In more secular training programs this practice is called The Relaxation Response.

In order for the Will of the Divine to be KNOWN through you it is essential that you learn to relax the body and the mind. You turn within. You get still so that you can KNOW the intention of I AM.

Whatever you call this practice of getting still so that you open to being KNOWN through doesn’t matter. What you call the practice is only a signpost.  What is important is the experience.

In Christianity, this experience of allowing opens you to that experience referred to as abiding.

I have written extensively on the practice called Yoga Nidra that has as its foundation the use of the yoga pose called Savasana.  This is the premier practice for the experience of allowing.

For more information on this yoga posture I recommend you explore the more detailed articles below.

• Practice Inner Body Awareness to Find Your Authentic Self.
• 10 Life Enhancing Benefits of Savasana Yoga Pose.
• Yoga Nidra Questions and Answers.

Even if you do not do yoga this is the posture that every Christian would benefit from practicing. This is how you can fulfil the invitation from the Lord’s prayer that says

Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven – Matthew 6-10

This is the way to embody the Presence of the Divine on earth. You begin with intention (Day 1) This is the intention to seek the Kingdom of Heaven.  The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.

The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t a place. It is a state of Being. You have to BE STILL. Out of this stillness you are graced the experience of KNOWING. (Day 2)

This KNOWING is beyond belief. It is beyond the antics of your overthinking personal mind that is creates the prison of your own making. To KNOW you have to learn to “Give no Thought” (Day 3)

When you learn to give no thought, you begin to open the heart to the KNOWING of Divine Intention. You have moved from the focus of your personal will to the Will to Love.

You begin to live in alignment with Love’s Purpose which is your true purpose.

You taken the first steps on the journey of real prayer.  You have entered within. You have closed the door (shut your eyes). You have prayed in secret (stilled the mind).

You declared that you are willing to have the will of the Divine done through you (Sankalpa) and you open to being rewarded in secret by Divine Intention.

It is your Father’s pleasure to give you the Kingdom – Luke 12-32

So that I hope gives you a flavour of this Christian Yoga training program.

1. Day 1 – Seek the Kingdom.
2. Day 2 – Be Still and KNOW.
3. Day 3 – Give NO Thought.
4. Day 4 – Thy Will Be Done.
5. Day 5 – Enter Within.

If all you ever do is take the adventure as shared in these first five days of Christian Yoga training, then you have the foundation for seeking the Kingdom of Heaven within.

My intention is to extend this Christian Yoga training program to 30 days, but I will only be making the next 25 days available by way of email that links to private pages on this website.

If you are interested in a more extensive Christian Yoga training program that will include audio presentations, then I invite you on a journey to realise your magnificence and Companion your Greatness.

This program will be extended to the extent that people show an interest in learning how to tune into the healing power of Christian Yoga.  I invite you to become part of this way of the few.

The way in which this extended Christian Yoga training program is unfolding as at early December 2021 is shown below.

• Day 5 – I AM the Way – Part I
• Day 6 – Christian Yoga Practice 2
• Day 7– If Thy Eye Be Single.
• Day 8 – Resist not Evil.
• Day 9 – Pray in Secret.
• Day 10 – Christian Yoga Practice 3
• Day 11 – Become as a Little Child.
• Day 12 – I AM the Way – Part II
• Day 13 – Sin No More.
• Day 14 – Renewing Your Mind.
• Day 15 – You Must be Born Again.
• Day 16 – Take Up Your Cross
• Day 17 – Christian Yoga Practice 2
• Day 18 – Judge Not.
• Day 19 – Abide in Me
• Day 21 – Christian Yoga Practice 3

Days 22 -30 have not yet been decided (as at early Dec 2021).

I hope you found this 5 Day introductory series to the practice of Christian Yoga to be of value.

Please share any comments about your experience of this level 1 Christian Yoga for beginners training program that you think will be of value to others.