As a Christian who loves yoga or is interested in learning more about yoga, what can you do to ensure that your yoga practice pleases God? Maybe you have been told that you shouldn’t do yoga by well-meaning fellow Christians. Or perhaps you just don’t know where to start.

So what is that ideal starting point? You may have already guessed that it is prayer. Most yoga classes will begin with breathing and gentle stretches. Perhaps the teacher will tell you to focus within or to set an intention for your practice. For a Christian, this is the ideal time to say a quick prayer to invite the Holy Spirit to be present with you and help you during your practice. This is something we always do in our Christ-centered classes, but there is no reason why you can’t do this for yourself if you are practicing in a secular yoga class or at home with a video.

For those of you who are just starting out, or if you want to deepen your practice as a Christian, I also highly recommend that you meditate on The Lord’s Prayer in your practice.

Why The Lord’s Prayer? It’s the one prayer that was specifically taught by Jesus to the disciples when they asked him to teach them how to pray. It’s so concise, and each word and phrase is full of meaning.

This prayer is also widely recited by Christians all over the world and in many different languages, so most Christians have already, at least partially committed a version of it to memory. While the versions differ slightly, reciting The Lord’s Prayer is a practice that unites us as believers, across denominations and countries. In our fractured world today, we should lean into practices that unite us, despite our differences.

The one possible criticism or drawback that I have heard on relying on a memorized prayer, like The Lord’s Prayer, is that we can recite the prayer without thinking about its meaning. The solution to this problem is to truly think about it as we pray it. Adding movement can help with this! While some Christians fear the idea of “meditation” because they associate it with non-Christian practices, there are numerous references to meditating on the word of God in the Bible.

So how can a beginner get started with a yoga practice and use The Lord’s Prayer as a moving meditation? I have already recorded two videos that go into detail on a beginner’s version of a Sun Salutation that you can do easily from a mat or a chair. These are great because they use gentle, foundational yoga poses that stretch and strengthen almost all the areas of the body. After completing them, you will feel warmed up physically and simultaneously focus your mind on God! I always recommend that you do the mat version if you are comfortable getting up and down from the floor. If you’d rather not, then do the chair version.

But what if you don’t want to just practice along with a video, or if you already attend a secular yoga class? It will take only a few times practicing along with me, and you will feel very comfortable doing the movements and thinking each phrase of The Lord’s Prayer to yourself. Many yoga classes will use a version of Sun Salutations in their warmup. There are many different versions, but once you know this one, you can meditate on The Lord’s Prayer while doing any of them.

To help you connect the words to the movements, I have made two helpful, full-color, photographic guides that I want you to have. My students love them, and I know you will too.

Each guide is 12 pages long and clearly illustrates the movements. They also contain links to my YouTube Channel where I share more free tips and my website. How easy would it be for you to print this out or look at it on your computer as you practice a few times and commit the sequence to memory?

The chair version is performed entirely in a chair but still stretches all the major muscle groups. These gentle movements also lubricate the joints and help you stay pain-free. I explain in the guides how you can perform the movements safely, and after just a few times using the photos or following along on the video, you will be able to remember the sequence and perform the movements beautifully and gracefully as you pray the words of Our Lord’s Prayer.

The best news is that I want you to have these guides - absolutely free! I created these guides over a year ago and believe many more people can benefit greatly from them. After using them to help you memorize the movements, your mind will be freed up to focus on the words of Jesus as you practice.

When you click on the link below, you will be taken to the subscription page. You enter your name and the email address where you want to receive the guide. You can check which guide you are interested in and click the button that says “Download Your Free Guide!”

It’s that simple. The links to the guides will be sent to your email address right away. Then you click the link to download the guide. You can view them on your computer or phone or print them out. So don’t wait! You have nothing to fear and so much to gain as you begin practicing Christ-centered yoga. This is just the beginning.

You will be amazed at the positive difference Christ-centered yoga will make in your life. Just CLICK HERE to get your free guide!