Transforming Yoga into Moving Prayer
Yoga is a prayer of the body, an opportunity to experience the deepest part of you. The most important element to a meaningful practice is making it real, to let it express something of who you are. That magical quality of rightness comes when body, mind and heart are open to what wants to come through. –Tilak PylePhoto by Jared Rice on Unsplash
When I started practicing yoga two decades ago, I was only aware that it promised physical benefits. As a sufferer of chronic back pain, I hoped that yoga might help me regain some flexibility and alleviate my discomfort. Little did I know that this practice would transform my body and profoundly shift my spiritual perspective.
I still remember my first class vividly. As I struggled to hold Warrior II, my thighs burning and arms shaking, I was focused solely on surviving until the next pose. The idea that this could be a form of devotion or spiritual practice was the furthest thing from my mind. But as I continued to show up on my mat day after day, something began to shift.
Gradually, I started to notice that the stillness I found in difficult poses began to seep into other areas of my life. The breath awareness I cultivated in class helped me remain calm in stressful situations at work. The non-judgmental attitude I practiced towards my body’s limitations helped me become more compassionate towards myself and others off the mat.
It wasn’t until I attended a workshop on Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, that I began to consciously approach my asana practice as a form of moving meditation. The teacher encouraged us to set an intention at the beginning of our practice, dedicating our efforts to something greater than ourselves. At first, this felt awkward and forced. But as I continued to experiment with this approach, I discovered a depth to my practice that I had never experienced before.
Now, years later, my yoga practice has become a cornerstone of my spiritual life. Here are some of the ways I’ve learned to infuse my asana practice with devotion:
Intention Setting
Before I begin my practice, I take a moment to set an intention. Sometimes this is as simple as dedicating my practice to someone I love who’s going through a difficult time. Other days, I might dedicate my practice to a cause I believe in, or to my own growth and healing. This simple act immediately shifts my perspective, transforming my time on the mat from a workout into something sacred.
Mindful Presence
As I move through my poses, I strive to be fully present in each moment. I notice the sensation of my feet pressing into the mat in Mountain Pose, the stretch in my hamstrings in Forward Fold, the expansion of my ribcage as I breathe deeply in Upward Facing Dog. This deep attention feels like a form of honoring — both of my own body and of the present moment.
Breath as Prayer
I’ve come to see each breath as a kind of prayer or mantra. In challenging poses, I might coordinate my breath with simple affirmations — inhaling “I am,” exhaling “strong,” for example. This not only helps me stay present, but it also infuses my practice with positive energy and intention.
Embracing Challenge
Some of my most profound moments of devotion have come in the midst of challenging poses. In the trembling discomfort of a long-held Chair Pose, for instance, I’ve learned to soften and surrender, offering up my struggle as a form of spiritual practice. This doesn’t mean pushing beyond my limits, but rather approaching difficulty with an open heart.
Expressing Gratitude
Throughout my practice, I try to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. I’m thankful for my body and its abilities, even (especially) when I’m working with limitations or injuries. I’m grateful for the lineage of teachers who have passed down these teachings, and for the opportunity to practice. Each pose becomes an expression of this thankfulness.
Seeing the Divine in All
While this concept felt foreign to me at first, I’ve grown to appreciate the idea of seeing each pose as an offering to the divine — whether I conceive of that as God, the universe, or simply the highest version of myself. In Triangle Pose, for instance, I imagine my outstretched arm reaching towards the infinite. In Forward Fold, I visualize releasing my ego and surrendering to something greater than myself.
Moving Beyond the Ego
Perhaps the most challenging — and rewarding — aspect of approaching yoga as devotion has been learning to move beyond my ego. I’ve had to let go of concerns about how I look in a pose, how “advanced” my practice is, or how I compare to others in class. Instead, I focus on the internal experience and the deeper purpose of my practice.
This shift in perspective has transformed not just my yoga practice, but my entire approach to life. I find myself bringing this spirit of devotion to other activities — seeing my work as service, approaching relationships with more presence and compassion, finding moments of gratitude and awe in everyday experiences.
Of course, not every yoga session feels like a transcendent spiritual experience. Some days, my practice feels more mundane, and that’s okay. The key has been cultivating an overall attitude of devotion, seeing my time on the mat as an opportunity for connection and growth on all levels — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
In the words of renowned yoga teacher B.K.S. Iyengar, “Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” Through practicing yoga as devotion in motion, I’ve experienced glimpses of this harmony. It’s an ongoing journey, but one that continually reveals new depths of connection, both to myself and to something greater.
So the next time you step onto your mat, I encourage you to bring this spirit of devotion to your practice. You may find, as I have, that it transforms not just your yoga, but your entire approach to life. In each pose, in each breath, we have the opportunity to touch the infinite within us. And from that place of connection, anything is possible.
Inhale Intention, Exhale Ego was originally published in Moving into Stillness on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.