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Stretching Prayers

If, as scripture tells us, our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, then caring for our bodies is a form of prayer and devotion to God.  I often encourage people who struggle with so called "self care" to try thinking of themselves as members of the "Altar Guild for the Temple of the Holy Spirit" so that they can begin to recognize that careful attention to eating, sleeping, exercise etc. is not an expression of selfishness, but rather an expression of deep faithfulness to the ministry to which God has called each one of us.  What the secular world might call "self care", we in the Church might better call "good stewardship." 

Below are some stretching prayers to support you in ensuring that the temple of God's Spirit, your body, remains as open, expansive, and flexible as possible as you move through your life and ministry.

Fourfold "Quadratos" Prayer

I learned the simple 4-fold prayer, below, from Alexander Shaia who views the gospels as a spiritual guide for a 4 part spiritual journey he calls Quadratos. 

I bow to release
I rise up to wait
I open to receive
I step out to serve

Movement 1 is our body-prayer answer to the universal spiritual question: How do we face change? (Matthew's Gospel is our Jesus Story answer to this question.)

Movement 2 is our body-prayer  answer to the universal spiritual question : How do we move through suffering? (Mark's Gospel is our Jesus Story answer to this question)

Movement 3 is our body-prayer  answer to the universal spiritual question : How do we receive joy & union? (John's Gospel is our Jesus Story answer to this question.)

Movement is our body-prayer  answer to the universal spiritual question: How do we persevere & mature in service?  (Luke's Gospel is our Jesus Story answer to this question.) 
I expanded Shaia's simple version of the prayer into this more expansive version, below. 

Sacred Stretch Breaks

I created these brief, 90 second sequences as "sacred stretch breaks" that busy people can easily incorporate into their daily lives morning, noon, and night.

Yoga and Healing Prayer

Take 5-10 minutes at the end of each day to invite God's healing power into your heart, soul, body, and mind with simple yoga poses (demonstrated by my kids)  and short scripture readings to anchor your meditation. 
Do you not know that your body is a temple*of the Holy Spirit within you? Therefore, glorify God in your body.  (1 Corinthians 6)

Poses and Prayers for 1st (Root) Chakra 

Pose: Garland Pose/Malasana (aka Crow Pose)
Meditation:  Jeremiah 17.8:They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.  It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Pose: Forward Fold
Meditation: Ephesians 3:16-17: May you be strengthened in your inner being with power through the Spirit, and may Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
Pose: Head to Knee Pose
Meditation: Isaiah 27.6: In days to come* Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit.
Pose: Tree Pose
Meditation: Psalm 1:3-They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.

Poses and Prayers for 2nd (Sacral) Chakra

Pose: Bound angle pose
Meditation: Luke 1: 28-38 (The Annunciation)
Pose: Cow Face Pose
​Meditation:  John 3.4: Nicodemus said to Jesus, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’
Pose: Goddess Pose
​Meditation: Genesis 1, abridged (First Creation Story)
Pose: Seated Wide angle pose
​Meditation:  Isaiah 66.9: Shall I open the womb and not deliver?says the Lord; shall I, the one who delivers, shut the womb? says your God. ​

Poses and Prayers for 3rd (Core) Chakra

Pose: Warrior 1
Meditation: The Lord is my strength and my shield, in God my heart trusts. (Psalm 28:7)
​Pose: Warrior 2
Meditation: The God who has girded me with strength has opened wide my path. (2 Samuel 22:33) 
​Pose: Seated Twist
Meditation: Love is as strong as death, passion as fierce as the grave.  Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. (Song of Songs 8:6) 
​Pose: Boat Pose
Meditation: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15) 
​

Poses and Prayers for 4th (Heart) Chakra

Pose: Reclining Heart Opener
Meditation: Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. 
Pose: Cobra or Sphinx Pose
Meditation: [Hannah prayed and said] My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. (1 Samuel 2:1) 
Pose: Bow Pose or Locust Pose
Meditation: Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14) 
Pose: Cat Pose and Cow Pose
Meditation: Trust in God at all times, O people.  Pour out your heart before God; God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 62:8) 

Poses and Prayers for 5th (Throat) Chakra

Pose: Plow Pose 
Meditation: God, you have been my help.  In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. (Psalm 63:7) 

Practice: Gentle Head Circles
Meditation: Singers and dancers alike say, 'All my springs are in you.' (Psalm 87:7) 

Pose: Upward Dog Pose
Meditation: My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul! (Psalm 108:1) 

Pose: Bridge Pose
Meditation: In your steadfast love hear my voice. (Psalm 119:149)
​ 
​

Poses and Prayers for 6th ("3rd eye") Chakra

Pose: Any seated forward fold w/forehead support
Meditation: You desire truth in my inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart (Psalm 51:6) 

Pose: Downward Dog
Meditation: I have good advice and sound wisdom; I have insight, I have strength. (Proverbs 8:14) 
​
Pose: Child's Pose
Meditation: And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight. (Philippians 1:9)
​

Pose: Seated Pose 
Meditation: O Wisdom, coming from the mouth of the most high, spanning the world in power from end to end, ordering all things for good: Come and teach us the way of knowledge. Amen.

Poses and Prayers for 7th (Crown) Chakra

Practice: Channel Cleaning Breath 
Meditation: What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?  Yet you have made them little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour. (Psalm 8:4-5) 

​
Practice: Conqueror Breath
Meditation: When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. (Acts 2:1-3)
Pose: Standing Wide Leg Forward Fold 
Meditation: God redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. (Psalm 103:4) 
Pose: Corpse Pose
Meditation: And now bless the Lord who has crowned you with glory. (Ecclesiasticus 45:26) 
O God,  It was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Amen. (Psalm 139)


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  • Home
    • The Abbey
  • Explore
    • Prayer Beads
    • MMC ABQ
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    • Stretching Prayers
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    • Vocations Course
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    • Vocations Retreat
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  • Kids
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  • St. Marks ABQ
    • The Strangest Prayer
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    • Advent Prayers
    • Advent Stories
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    • 40 Bible Stories
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    • Parent Group
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    • Holy Week >
      • Holy Week 2020
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      • Palm Sunday Passion 2020
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