Bible

When Yoga Meets Biblical Health and Wellness

Posted on by pennyjoliver

 

Everybody knows by now that the practices of yoga are beneficial to our health and science continues to reveal it’s many healthy benefits. It’s wonderful that every year there is a significant rise in people hitting their mats. However, the world seems more stressed out than ever. I get it that all the world has been in a pandemic for a couple years now but isn’t time on our mats suppose to chill us out and lower our stress? Chronic stress was a growing health related problem before the pandemic and continues to get worse with each passing year. It sends more people to the doctor’s office every year and more people rely on prescriptions rather than yoga to deal with their stress related conditions. It’s also very scary that the six leading causes of death are all linked to stress.

My friends, do not fear! As healthy as yoga can prove to be for us there is a better solution. As a yoga teacher with a Biblical perspective on health and wellness I’ve come to realize that true and lasting health and wellness practices are deeply rooted in aligning ourselves with what Our Creator has to say about health and wellness. Trusting our Creator by putting into practice His ways written for us from His Holy Bible, rewards us with many healthy benefits. He cares for each of us individually and desires that we live healthy purposeful lives. And He has given us the ultimate prescription for a healthy life style! It begins by by reading and listening to His wisdom and then putting into practice His ways. It is the one true and only lasting path leading to a stress less, strong and balanced, peaceful and joyous lifestyle, complete with abundant energy, continual strength and deep unfailing love! now, who doesn’t want that?? Is it not the reason why any of hit our mats each day?

My prayer for you is that you would start your journey to true and lasting health and wellness this very moment! Begin by acknowledging that God sent His Son Jesus into this world to die for your every sin and invite Him to be your Savior and miraculously, all the above is freely given to you!

Training the body has some value but being Godly has value in every way! 1 timothy 4:8

Beloved I pray in all respects that you will prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers! 1 John 2-3

xxoo

Love Penny

UNCERTAIN TIMES WITH A GOD THAT IS CERTAIN!

Posted on by pennyjoliver

With so much crazy going on who isn’t fearful? Living in this fallen world keeps us treading from one crisis to the next. It seems every morning we wake up to new peril and it’s stressing us out. Living in a constant state of stress is not good for our minds or our bodies and it leads to all kinds of conditions and diseases. Where can we go for relief? Is there even any such thing as relief in these dark days?

Fear is a powerful human emotion. It can also cause us to react quickly with out thought or paralyze us from taking any action and keep us in a state of constant fear and worry. Fear can even stop us from turning to God our Rescuer who knows every world disruption we will face and how afraid and powerless we feel inside. Yet, His timeless Word, the Bible, has all the answers and antidotes to keep us calm, cool and collected. The great Physician has a prescription for all of our body, our minds and our souls needs.

He assures us, “So, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Of course we want to trust God but there are times when peace eludes us. We’re worried and anxious. we don’t want to be brave this time. Then God reminds us,

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go.”  (Joshua 1:9)

It’s all easier said than done, right? This trust God and you will be peaceful and you will just automatically be strong like our Savior said. Yet He is the one that turned water into wine. The One and only One that calmed the sea and walks on it because He created it! He can feed over 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. He’s continually placing each star in it’s place. He knows every tear you’ve ever cried and will cry. He knew you before you were born, created you with a purpose and thinks about you more often then if you could count every grain of sand in the entire world! He even knows precisely the moment that you will step into Eternity with Him! On top of all of that, He provides a guideline and prescription to living an abundant, successful and healthy life of peace, joy, love and hope, found only in His Holy Bible. Which He testifies that He breathed His Words into the ordinary men and women who wrote the Bible and chose them to give us His guidelines to abundant living!

He asks from each of us is to believe what He has said. To pray about everything all the time. To follow His ways and trust His guidance. That it’s okay to be weak, afraid, uncertain and powerless. Because He holds the power to make us strong, completely confident and utterly fearless! He’s actually waiting for us to come to those horrible moments of helplessness because it is then and only then He can help us! And He promises that He will help us. All we have to to is ask and sit still and wait. The power of Heaven’s Help is only a silent heartfelt prayer away. Only Heavenly peace can truly replace all our fear and panic. Today if we will ask and tomorrow and this very moment and every moment after! You can be sure. You can trust God!  Because He promises He will always answer us and always provide!

“I will keep in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on Thee!” Isaiah 26:3

Keep calm and yoga on because peace is on it’s way…

…Pray~Believe~Trust~Be Still…

Isn’t it amazing?

God made a way for us to do just that, it’s called Covid 19

 

 

WARRIOR FOCUSED

Posted on by pennyjoliver

Stepping up to my opponent and facing her straight on, my eyes reached deep into her eyes. I had already claimed victory in my mind and heart. I had now come to win the fight for the gold medal in Kumate’ or the art of Karate-do fighting.

Years of training and months before this fight I trained everyday. Over and over I threw the same kicks, blocks and punches and along the way fought many opponents both winning and losing. But I consider my losing as winning. Mostly because I learned many essential lessons. The most important thing I learned? The fight starts before the first strike. You see the first strike, backed up by no fear, no hesitation, no doubt, but only complete and utter resolution can win any fight.

Naturally, I had to learn many a lessons of fear, doubt, lack of confidence, unworthiness and more. Lessons in physical pain were teachers I knew extremely well. Thankful for the lessons, much time and dedication was given on my part to those teachers.Yet, learning to believe in myself because of God and trusting Him were proved essential as I did humbly take home a precious gold medal at the AAU National Karate Competition in the art of Japanese fighting!

This is the reason I consider the Warrior Poses valuable to anyone who maybe struggling with confidence, strength, focus and determination because everyone can stand in their version of one. More importantly, they offer everyone an opportunity to experience focus, determination, strength, being present and resoluteness- qualities that are useful in all walks of life, especially the christian walk of faith. God as our personal warrior trainer knows us completely. He gave us His Word the Bible as instructions and plans for victory in every faucet of life and calls us His “mighty warriors” already! We may not feel like we are worthy of the title but that doesn’t matter. Just ask Gideon.

The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Judges 6:12

“The successful warrior is the average person with lazer-like focus.” Bruce Lee

Where my focus goes my faith follows…

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. with him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. ” Psalm 16:8

Be strong and yoga on!

penny

GOT BALANCE?

Posted on by pennyjoliver

Got Balance?

God says you do.

And I’m not just talking about balancing on one leg. Or, holding yourself up in a yoga pose for a minute or two. I’m talking about living a balanced life. Holding it all together no matter what life throws at you. Not simply surviving. I’m talking about thriving. You and me as people. You and me in our lives. Can you believe it? God has big plans for you, “…to give you a future and a hope”! (Jeremiah 29:11)

In God’s great book He wrote for you and I, He says that we are not left here to do this life on our own. He wants to help us. He wants to be that solid rock for us. The one that we can stand and build our life upon. He tells us that, “Everyone who hears my words and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.” (Matthew 7:24) We must not worry either. He also promises that He will hold us up. We must simply trust Him. We must believe in His ways for He says,” My thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, declare the Lord.” ( Isaiah 55:8)

And balance we discover in God’s world comes down to rock level. An ordinary, everyday, common object: the rock. God uses a simple object to show His precious,” created in His image” creation  an exceedingly great truth. (Genesis 1:27) Though God’s love for us is beyond what we humans can comprehend, it is as simple, firm and sturdy as a rock in practice!

I am sure that everyone would agree that it gets tough balancing life sometimes. Just like a yoga pose, we start out strong. Before you know it, we are wobbling, crumbling, and falling down while trying desperately to hold ourselves up. Soon we are totally out of balance. We can be strangled with the cares, worries fears and doubts of this life. Life no longer feels free, light, or buoyant or balanced. But, our God never intended that kind of life for us. God came to set us free from a life of burden and the guilt of sin. He says,” I came so that you may have life and live it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Next time you feel out of balance, choose to have calm in your chaos instead of trying to keep yourself up. “…build your life on the rock!”  (Matthew 7:24)

Next time you practice balancing poses, try to remember that “He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand”, (Psalm 40:2) and that, “He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress I will not be shaken.”  (Psalm 62:6)

Amazingly, God the “rock” is mentioned in 59 Bible verses.

Stand firm. You can have balance. I also know from my life that sometimes it takes a long time to get unbalanced. And so we learn to adjust and accept things that throw us off balance without even realizing it. Soon, we are so used to living this way it becomes our way of life. Thankfully, God wants us to have better. We are His children, after all. The Creator of everything and King of the universe: That is our Father. We are His children. What would you not do for your children in need? I’m only here to remind you. You already know that our Heavenly Father can do anything. Just ask.