Be Still and Know

As I returned home after a busy and fruitful afternoon co-hosting an open house at the studio where I teach, I relished the immediate quiet and stillness of my home and meditation alcove. I sat on my purple meditation blankets as the sun went down, and one of my favorite verses from scripture spontaneously arose in my heart:

"Be still and know
that I am God."
- Psalm 46:10

This verse also made me think of Psalm 62 which begins:

"For God alone,
my soul waits in silence;
from Him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation..."

I have always felt at home with the Psalms, finding them to be very nurturing and evocative of many of my heart's feelings and experiences. I am equally at home with the sacred scriptures of the Hindus and the Buddhists.

This morning, my yoga student noted, that many yoga teachers are naturally led to become teachers because of their background as bodyworkers and/or other related interests, but that I had come to yoga through my background in theology - making my experience of yoga and my teaching somewhat unique.

I thought of this, and I had to agree. I cannot divorce the practice of yoga from my own spiritual experience and background, and have always felt comfortable marrying the two. When I found Anusara Yoga, I felt I had come home, because this style emphasizes that it is first and foremost a spiritual practice.

Coming to the mat or my meditation cushion enables me to be still and know...It enables me to connect with the Divine at least a couple of times a day - so that despite the flurry of activities that might pull me out of the experience of being centered - I can at certain times, return to that connection again...

"Be still and know,
that I am God.
Be still and know,
that I breathe
in you,
as you.

Be still and know,
I am never farther
than your breath.

Be still and know,
Your heart
and mine
beat as one."