Latest / Fulfilled with Rebecca Sheehan / Ep. 4 - Can Christians Practice Yoga?

Transcript

Ep. 4 - Can Christians Practice Yoga? · Fulfilled with Rebecca Sheehan

0:07
SPEAKER_00: Hey everybody, welcome to Fulfilled.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Rebecca Sheehan.
0:12
I'm going to start today with a few Bible verses,
0:14
and you will soon see why.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: Romans 12, 2.
0:18
Do not be conformed to this world,
0:20
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: James 4, 4.
0:25
Therefore,
0:25
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an
0:28
enemy of God.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: And 2 Corinthians 6, 17.
0:32
Therefore,
0:32
go out from their midst and be separate from them,
0:35
says the Lord.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: What do these well-known verses have in common?
0:39
SPEAKER_00: In each of these,
0:40
Jesus is reminding Christians that we are not of this world and
0:43
calls us to live
0:44
SPEAKER_00: set apart from worldly values.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: It is a noble mission and sounds clear enough, right?
0:50
SPEAKER_00: But in our actual daily lives,
0:52
it is not always easy to draw the line between what to embrace
0:55
and what to avoid.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: One of those gray areas for Christians is yoga.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: It began as an Eastern spiritual practice more than 5,000 years ago,
1:05
SPEAKER_00: and because of its mental and physical health benefits,
1:08
SPEAKER_00: our Western society has adopted it as a fitness staple.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: But should Christians practice yoga?
1:13
SPEAKER_00: It's an interesting question,
1:15
SPEAKER_00: and opinions range from,
1:17
SPEAKER_00: absolutely not,
1:18
SPEAKER_00: you do a sun salutation,
1:19
SPEAKER_00: you're worshipping false Hindu gods,
1:22
SPEAKER_00: to,
1:22
SPEAKER_00: what a ridiculous question,
1:24
SPEAKER_00: it's just stretching.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: Joining me now to discuss Christianity and yoga is Brooke Beardall,
1:31
SPEAKER_00: founder of Holy Yoga,
1:33
a practice that integrates Christianity with the physical and
1:35
mental benefits of yoga.
1:37
Holy Yoga was founded in 2006 and now has over 6,000 certified
1:42
instructors across 126 countries.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: Brooke Beardall, thank you so much for joining us today.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
1:51
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that intro.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: It got me thinking and I wanted to take a few notes because I'm like,
1:56
SPEAKER_01: oh,
1:57
SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to have this conversation.
1:59
SPEAKER_01: It's one I've had for a long time.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: Let's start by talking about your background.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: When we talked beforehand,
2:05
SPEAKER_00: you mentioned that you had an unconventional path to Christ like I did.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'd love to hear about that and how that led to Holy Yoga.
2:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I grew up Jewish and Judaism for my family was very cultural.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't very spiritual.
2:20
SPEAKER_01: So we did all the holidays,
2:22
SPEAKER_01: we did all the traditional things,
2:24
SPEAKER_01: but it wasn't like a connection to God.
2:27
SPEAKER_01: And so we have this longing,
2:29
SPEAKER_01: this questioning as we get older,
2:31
SPEAKER_01: why am I here and why does it matter?
2:33
SPEAKER_01: So started really just seeking spiritual things.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: I studied it all, got certified in yoga.
2:39
I had a yoga studio and yoga was very much a spiritual discipline,
2:44
which I believe it to be now.
2:46
And then as I was searching my lifestyle apart and I had lost
2:50
my car,
2:50
I was out of my house.
2:52
SPEAKER_01: I was living in this burnished studio apartment.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: My one-year-old son was with my ex-husband at my house.
2:57
SPEAKER_01: Like I had lost everything.
3:00
And I actually like literally stumbled into a church service in
3:04
my community.
3:05
SPEAKER_01: And I was just like, if you're real, you better, better tell me.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: You better show me.
3:10
SPEAKER_01: I was very indignant because I had been searching.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: And so after I just demanded that God show me.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: who he is.
3:18
SPEAKER_01: I walked out of church service and it's Arizona,
3:20
SPEAKER_01: like in the summer and it's pouring rain,
3:23
SPEAKER_01: which it does not do in Arizona and especially in the summer.
3:27
SPEAKER_01: And it required that I needed a ride home and I didn't have one.
3:31
And this woman came up to me after I had stolen a Bible because
3:34
I didn't realize
3:35
SPEAKER_01: that they were free.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: Lord have mercy.
3:37
I literally saddled up to the table and I literally slagged
3:41
this Bible up my shirt.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: Jesus had a lot of like opportunity with me, right?
3:46
SPEAKER_01: There was a lot he needed to do.
3:48
But this woman came up to me and she said,
3:50
I just feel like I need to give you a ride home.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: but I have this stolen Bible in my pants.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: So this is weird, right?
3:57
SPEAKER_01: And so I try and get out of it.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no, I'll wait it out.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: She's like, no, no.
4:01
So we get in the car and I'm like securing the loot because I
4:04
can't take it out now
4:05
SPEAKER_01: because now I'm sure I'm getting caught.
4:08
SPEAKER_01: And she says, we started this church 17 years ago.
4:12
SPEAKER_01: My family and I were leaving tomorrow.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: So I'll never see you again.
4:16
SPEAKER_01: But I just hope that you really did need this ride home.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: And I did need the ride home.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: So I went into that little apartment,
4:25
SPEAKER_01: my life in total shambles,
4:26
SPEAKER_01: and I opened the Bible to Isaiah 61 and I read it.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: In every other world religion, you ascend to God.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: But in this context,
4:35
SPEAKER_01: what I knew to be true about the Old Testament God,
4:37
SPEAKER_01: just in like my bones and in like my creation,
4:40
SPEAKER_01: when Jesus says,
4:42
SPEAKER_01: this is the scroll that I'm fulfilling.
4:44
SPEAKER_01: This Jesus, this God comes to me.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: From that moment on,
4:48
I read that scripture and then I had this voracious appetite
4:50
for the word of God.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: I read the Bible front to back.
4:54
SPEAKER_01: Like I dove head in and diving head in meant that I stopped doing yoga.
5:00
SPEAKER_01: I would say like in your intro, I know what people say about yoga.
5:04
SPEAKER_01: I do.
5:04
And now I have this newfound love of Christ and I'm like,
5:07
I'll give it all to you,
5:08
Lord.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: So for two years, I didn't do anything.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: It was just like a non-negotiable because I had a relationship with God.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: He was healing me.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: Like I have a ton of father wounds.
5:19
He came and he was my father and he accepted me,
5:21
which means I started to accept myself.
5:24
But God started to pull my life back together and my marriage
5:26
back together.
5:27
And then we had two more children and I really dedicated my
5:29
life to the Lord.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: Anyhow.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: About two years getting back to the yoga thing,
5:34
SPEAKER_01: after I became a Christ follower,
5:37
SPEAKER_01: what would happen is like,
5:38
I would read the word of God and then I would do like a
5:41
downward facing dog in my closet.
5:43
SPEAKER_01: And the word of God that he had spoken to me,
5:45
SPEAKER_01: like in my reading,
5:47
SPEAKER_01: he would then say to me in that practice,
5:49
SPEAKER_01: that spiritual discipline,
5:51
SPEAKER_01: this is where you put it.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: Something happened when I added my breath, my focus and my body.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: From there, how did holy yoga come about?
6:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, good question.
6:05
SPEAKER_01: So my eldest was five or six.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: My middle son was two and a half and I was pregnant with my daughter.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: Like I needed a discipline.
6:15
SPEAKER_01: I needed a practice that could house all of that stage of life.
6:20
Like,
6:20
I don't know if anyone listening has been in that stage of life,
6:22
but it is a lot.
6:23
SPEAKER_01: It's just a lot, right?
6:24
SPEAKER_01: So I needed something.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: And so I took it from my closet and I just took it to prayer.
6:29
SPEAKER_01: And I remember one afternoon, the Lord's like, call some churches.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, like some churches?
6:37
SPEAKER_01: He's like, yeah, some churches.
6:38
So I got out the phone book and I'm scanning with my finger
6:41
like a crazy person.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: What is happening?
6:43
SPEAKER_01: What am I doing?
6:45
And I called this Presbyterian church where my eldest son was
6:48
going to preschool.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: I called the church office and the pastor answered.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: And 20 years ago, Christian yoga, it's like, click, no way.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: There's just no way, no how happening.
7:01
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, oh yeah, you can come down right now.
7:03
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, right now, right now.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, yeah.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: I like rent my son out of his nap.
7:08
I'm running down to the church and he gave me Saturday morning
7:12
in the sanctuary and
7:13
SPEAKER_01: he gave me the keys to the sanctuary.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: You walk through the door that's open, right?
7:18
SPEAKER_01: So like I said earlier,
7:20
I had a yoga studio before I was saved and it was like standing
7:24
room only,
7:24
SPEAKER_01: 50 people in a class.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: If you didn't register, you didn't get in.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: I had written my first book.
7:29
SPEAKER_01: And so I was like really haughty.
7:30
And so I really thought like when I came back to teach that
7:33
people would care.
7:35
SPEAKER_01: Like I really did.
7:36
SPEAKER_01: I thought like they're going to be so excited.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: I am back.
7:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I am back.
7:41
And so I went to the church and I started teaching and I
7:44
started promoting that I
7:46
SPEAKER_01: was going to teach this 9 a.m.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: class.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: And I wasn't even calling it hool yoga yet.
7:50
SPEAKER_01: I just didn't even know what it was.
7:52
SPEAKER_01: And no one would come.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: Like no one, not one person.
7:56
SPEAKER_01: Like over and over again.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: And I was so mad because I'm being obedient.
8:03
SPEAKER_01: I did not choose this.
8:04
SPEAKER_01: I don't even use a bone book.
8:06
SPEAKER_01: I don't have time.
8:06
SPEAKER_01: I'm pregnant.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: And I remember walking out one day like mad, like maybe the third week.
8:11
SPEAKER_01: And the Lord goes, would you do it if it was just for me?
8:15
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, no.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: As evidenced by me leaving for the third week in a row.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: And he was just like, so you won't do it in secret.
8:26
SPEAKER_01: You just want to do it on stage.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, damn, darn, excuse my language.
8:34
SPEAKER_01: I love that God does that to me.
8:35
I love that he's not afraid to give me a little body check when
8:38
I need it.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: And so the truth is I broke down and I was like, it's enough.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: I stayed that day and I practiced and...
8:45
SPEAKER_01: The next week I stayed again.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: I was like, I'm just going to be obedient.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: And then people started showing up just slowly.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: And 19 years later,
8:52
we have 6,500 instructors internationally and we're able to
8:56
support them in their
8:57
ministry and help to really spread the gospel through the
9:00
modality of yoga to the
9:01
SPEAKER_01: degree in which God wants to use it.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: And so I say that only because that moment of will you do it just for me.
9:08
And when I say that I didn't build holy yoga to suit my needs,
9:11
he built it to suit his needs.
9:14
It's a lot of conversation and it's a lot of sometimes arguing
9:17
with people,
9:17
SPEAKER_01: but it's worth it to me because it's really changed my life.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: He's really changed my life.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: If people are wondering what
9:24
SPEAKER_00: the oppositions are to Christians doing yoga.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: I want to talk about some of that.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: So first of all,
9:29
the meaning of the word yoga itself comes from a Sanskrit word
9:33
that means to unite
9:36
the individual self or Atman with the universal consciousness
9:40
or divine being Brahman.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: And I think the idea of Brahman is pretty antithetical to Christianity.
9:49
SPEAKER_01: There are languages that predate Sanskrit.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: And one of those languages is Hebrew.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: And the idea of yoking is an Old Testament ideal,
10:01
SPEAKER_01: that we were created in the image of the one true God,
10:04
SPEAKER_01: that we come from the whole.
10:06
And ultimately,
10:07
because of what Christ has done,
10:08
we're going back to the whole.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: If we are believers,
10:11
SPEAKER_01: we've got to look at what God's word says about the idea of yoking,
10:14
SPEAKER_01: the idea that something's separated and that we need a reconciliation.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: So this yoking idea is a very Old Testament principle.
10:22
SPEAKER_01: It predates Hinduism.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: It predates Sanskrit because it's in the truth of God's word.
10:27
SPEAKER_01: You know,
10:28
SPEAKER_01: if you look archaeologically,
10:29
the pictures of yoga and doing these poses actually predates
10:33
Hinduism by something
10:35
SPEAKER_01: like 5,000 years.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
10:37
SPEAKER_01: And so you're giving something an origin that's actually not an origin.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: The biggest issue is the sequence of the poses,
10:45
SPEAKER_00: how these poses were done in this specific order to honor Hindu gods.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: So you might, as a Christian, unwittingly
10:53
SPEAKER_00: be honoring these gods by doing the poses.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: So here's an excerpt from a blog post I read.
10:59
Don't do a kundalini flow if you're not trying to awaken your
11:02
10 sacred bodies.
11:04
Don't do the order of the sun salutation unless you're wanting
11:06
to worship the sun.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: If you don't mean it, don't say it with your body or otherwise.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: You might not have any intention of worshiping these gods,
11:15
SPEAKER_00: but you're participating in the ritual nonetheless.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: So what's your take on that?
11:20
SPEAKER_01: But what if you were intentionally worshiping the creator,
11:27
SPEAKER_01: the son of God,
11:28
SPEAKER_01: the power of the Holy spirit?
11:30
See that statement puts so much emphasis on what you're doing
11:34
inside of the practice.
11:35
SPEAKER_01: So what if you are focused wholly and securely on the one true God,
11:40
SPEAKER_01: the truth of his word,
11:42
SPEAKER_01: worship music,
11:43
SPEAKER_01: prayer,
11:44
SPEAKER_01: thanksgiving,
11:45
SPEAKER_01: I find that the majority of people who have an opinion,
11:48
SPEAKER_01: a really staunch opinion,
11:50
SPEAKER_01: have never experienced it.
11:52
So I would also want to encourage someone who is staunchly
11:56
against the idea of holy
11:58
SPEAKER_01: yoga to try it.
12:00
How does it differ from a regular yoga practice if you were
12:02
just to walk into a studio?
12:04
SPEAKER_00: Prayer opens and closes.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: any practice.
12:08
SPEAKER_01: It's all worship music.
12:09
SPEAKER_01: It's the word of God.
12:10
And I'm going to suggest some movements,
12:13
but I don't even do a sun series A anyway.
12:16
It's like our instructors are meant to focus on parts of the
12:19
body and then do
12:21
SPEAKER_01: things according to accessing that parts of the body.
12:24
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm not even doing sun salutations.
12:27
I'm moving my body in accordance with the one true God and how
12:30
he created me.
12:31
So what makes a yoga practice yoga versus stretching,
12:36
doing dynamic stretches basically?
12:38
SPEAKER_01: It's breathing,
12:39
SPEAKER_01: it's breathwork,
12:40
SPEAKER_01: it's meditation,
12:41
SPEAKER_01: and it's movement,
12:42
SPEAKER_01: all consecrated in the word of God,
12:44
SPEAKER_01: thanksgiving,
12:45
SPEAKER_01: and prayer,
12:46
SPEAKER_01: which is what the scriptures tell me that makes things holy.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: While it does not say yoga in the Bible,
12:53
it's not antithetical to our walk and our ability to walk in
12:59
unison with Christ.
13:00
How many times in the Old Testament and the Psalms is God
13:02
talking about the breath?
13:04
SPEAKER_01: and how to meditate and how to move in obedience.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: Christ is very clear about meditation.
13:10
SPEAKER_01: Being in the presence of God,
13:12
SPEAKER_01: going away to be secluded with the one true God,
13:16
SPEAKER_01: with his Father,
13:17
SPEAKER_01: to be anointed and ministered to by the power of the Holy Spirit.
13:20
Is that why you think yoga is such a great conduit to connect
13:25
us with the Lord better?
13:27
Thank you for asking me that because this is one of my favorite
13:29
things to talk about.
13:30
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so first, yoga is a spiritual discipline, much like prayer.
13:36
or fasting,
13:38
or meditation,
13:40
or any of those things are spiritual disciplines.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: They cannot be owned by any one world religion.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is very clear that we are to love him with all of our heart,
13:49
SPEAKER_01: soul,
13:50
SPEAKER_01: mind,
13:50
SPEAKER_01: and strength,
13:52
SPEAKER_01: which means there are four facets of our being,
13:55
all parts of us that are equally valuable and equally saved and
13:59
met in need by Christ.
14:01
So I think connecting those four parts of yourself and honoring
14:06
those parts of
14:06
SPEAKER_01: yourself unto the Lord,
14:08
SPEAKER_01: I think is number one,
14:09
SPEAKER_01: not only holy,
14:10
SPEAKER_01: but it's holistic.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: So do I think yoga is an incredible conduit?
14:16
Yes,
14:16
because it's addressing the four parts of our being,
14:20
our heart,
14:20
soul,
14:21
mind,
14:21
and strength.
14:23
So back to yoga being a spiritual discipline,
14:25
it cannot be owned by one world religion.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: So if you put it in its correct category of a discipline,
14:32
SPEAKER_01: it means it takes off this religious context because it's a discipline,
14:36
which means the discipline can have whatever intent and whether
14:39
that's religious or not.
14:41
And Thessalonians says that it's made holy unto the Lord when
14:44
it's bathed in prayer,
14:46
SPEAKER_01: thanksgiving,
14:46
SPEAKER_01: and the word of God.
14:48
So when I contextualize a holy yoga practice,
14:51
it's bathed in those three things.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: People are wondering what the chakras are.
14:57
I want to talk about some of that because I know you wrote a
14:59
blog post on this.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: Is it seven energy centers in your body?
15:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't sound very Christian, but...
15:08
SPEAKER_00: What do you do with it?
15:08
SPEAKER_01: It's void of the word of God, so it will never complete in Christ.
15:12
SPEAKER_01: Chakras are a philosophy.
15:14
SPEAKER_01: It is not concrete.
15:16
It's interesting how concrete medicine does mimic some of the
15:20
philosophical
15:21
SPEAKER_01: understanding of chakras.
15:23
SPEAKER_01: Chakras are a series of seven.
15:25
SPEAKER_01: They are said to align along the spine.
15:28
SPEAKER_01: So if you do a medical scan, an MRI, there are seven nerve plexi.
15:35
SPEAKER_01: that start at the base that come to the crown.
15:37
Now,
15:37
these are bundles of nerves that mimic the philosophy of these
15:42
energy centers.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: That's crazy.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: So there are actually nerve centers at those chakra points.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
15:48
And the bundles of nerves actually relate to that particular
15:52
part of the body.
15:52
So for example,
15:54
the bundle at the base of my spine takes care of my hips,
15:58
my legs.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: And in the philosophy of chakras, that energy is your root.
16:05
SPEAKER_01: The densest energy,
16:06
it's actually the physiological awareness of what's happening
16:11
is about safety,
16:12
SPEAKER_01: our ability to root.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, okay, this is so interesting.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: So then when I'm looking at the chakras, now I'm just, I'm investigating.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: So of the seven, seven is a number of completion.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: It's also the chakras mimic the rainbow because-
16:27
SPEAKER_01: I'll take you back to third grade chemistry.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: Every frequency has a color.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: So the chakras mimic the frequency of color, rainbow, seven.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: And so what's interesting about the heart,
16:38
SPEAKER_01: what God says,
16:39
SPEAKER_01: he's the integrator of our faith,
16:41
SPEAKER_01: of our somatic experience and our ethereal experience.
16:45
SPEAKER_01: And the center chakra is the fourth, which is the heart.
16:49
SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, okay, so the Lord sits on the throne of my heart.
16:54
Isaiah 9,
16:54
6 says that he will sit on the throne of David for all eternity.
16:59
SPEAKER_01: That said to me,
17:01
SPEAKER_01: Everything is incomplete without Christ,
17:03
SPEAKER_01: but are the fingerprints of the one true God everywhere?
17:06
SPEAKER_01: I'm not trying to convince you.
17:08
I'm not trying to say you should believe what I believe,
17:11
but could you be curious?
17:12
SPEAKER_01: Could you ask for ears to hear?
17:15
SPEAKER_01: I think true,
17:16
SPEAKER_01: authentic followers of Christ give people permission to hear,
17:20
SPEAKER_01: I believe,
17:22
for themselves and trust that the Lord has given people
17:26
discernment and wisdom.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: Don't just poke holes at my faith.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: Encourage my faith.
17:31
SPEAKER_01: Christians don't do a good job,
17:32
SPEAKER_01: I think,
17:33
sometimes of encouraging people in their faith that maybe they
17:36
don't understand.
17:37
SPEAKER_01: They want to make sure that they're not being deceived or something.
17:39
SPEAKER_01: God is big enough to let us know if we're being deceived.
17:42
SPEAKER_01: Like sometimes we don't always need to be the messenger of that.
17:45
So personally,
17:46
I was really interested in this topic because I used to be an
17:50
avid yogi as well.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: So much so that I was a TV reporter.
17:55
And then when I became pregnant and they started sending me to
17:58
triple homicides in
17:59
SPEAKER_00: the rain by myself,
18:01
SPEAKER_00: I decided to take a break and not do that anymore.
18:04
And then I was so passionate about yoga that I started
18:07
designing yoga-inspired gemstone jewelry.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: And the different gemstones had these meanings.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: And this was way before I was a Christian.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: And now I look back at all of that and cringe.
18:18
I don't know how you feel about the whole like gemstone with
18:21
meaning sort of thing.
18:22
I do want to get into all of that,
18:23
but I forgot where I was going with that.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: The cringe.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: It's just exposure too.
18:29
SPEAKER_01: Like we're like, oh, we don't even know what we don't know.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: And then we judge ourselves for not knowing.
18:33
The cringe is about judgment of self for not knowing what we
18:35
couldn't yet have known.
18:37
So we just have to like say,
18:39
that's just what it is to be human and evolving.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: I look back at so many things and I'm like, oh, cringe.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: So I guess my point is I get the cringe for sure.
18:47
So I just,
18:48
I'm very curious,
18:49
has Holy Yoga brought new believers to Christ that you know of?
18:53
SPEAKER_01: You know what?
18:53
SPEAKER_01: I've heard it all in the last 19 years,
18:55
SPEAKER_01: but overwhelmingly it has strengthened people's connection.
18:59
SPEAKER_01: We want to create space for people.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: to be seen, to be known, and to be radically loved by God.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: So when you're radically loved by Christ,
19:07
SPEAKER_01: your identity is found in him,
19:08
SPEAKER_01: then you live as one that is radically loved.
19:13
SPEAKER_01: And that is the change.
19:15
They didn't realize how possible it was to connect to
19:19
themselves and allow the Lord
19:21
SPEAKER_01: to love them in all these places.
19:23
SPEAKER_01: So I think that it's a
19:24
SPEAKER_01: Like reemergence almost or renewal of their own faith.
19:28
SPEAKER_01: I didn't even know I could feel this good.
19:29
SPEAKER_01: I didn't even know God loves me that deeply.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: And so I feel like,
19:32
SPEAKER_01: yes,
19:32
SPEAKER_01: it's brought people,
19:33
SPEAKER_01: yes,
19:33
SPEAKER_01: probably turned away people if they don't like community,
19:36
SPEAKER_01: you know what I mean?
19:37
SPEAKER_01: Like people just bring their stuff.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: But then I think that the large,
19:40
the largest amount is that there's been a deep renewal and a
19:42
resurgence of their
19:43
SPEAKER_01: own faith.
19:44
What would you say to people who are just a little bit wary of
19:49
trying yoga?
19:50
SPEAKER_01: If you're wary, I would say honor that.
19:53
SPEAKER_01: But I would also want to challenge those who are a little curious,
19:57
SPEAKER_01: but they're afraid God did not give you a spirit of fear.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: but a self-discipline and you are discerning.
20:04
SPEAKER_01: Nobody's going to come body snatch you.
20:07
SPEAKER_01: God can call you to it.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: Remember God called Moses from the burning bush.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: Like fire basically kills everybody.
20:13
SPEAKER_01: Like why are you calling me from something that is inconceivable?
20:17
SPEAKER_01: God does that.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: And so I would just want to encourage your curiosity and just see.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: And then for those who find it necessary to have a judgment.
20:26
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
20:28
So for anyone who is curious in trying Holy Yoga,
20:32
where can they find it?
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Where can they follow you or reach out to you?
20:35
SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you for asking.
20:37
SPEAKER_01: So it's Holy Yoga Collective.
20:38
SPEAKER_01: We actually about three weeks ago lost all our social media.
20:42
SPEAKER_01: My personal one at least deactivated Instagram.
20:47
SPEAKER_01: Same with Holy Yoga.
20:48
SPEAKER_01: And we're like, okay, Lord.
20:51
SPEAKER_01: Not sure what happened, but we have not lost our vision.
20:54
SPEAKER_01: Maybe a little visibility, but have not lost our vision.
20:57
SPEAKER_01: So it's Holy Yoga Official on Instagram.
21:00
SPEAKER_01: I am Brooke Beardahl, D-R-O-O-K-E underscore B-E-A-R-D-A-L-L.
21:06
SPEAKER_01: So you can find us there and also holyoga.net.
21:10
And that is such a great resource because we've got all kinds
21:13
of instructors,
21:14
SPEAKER_01: but more than that,
21:15
SPEAKER_01: we have Holy Yoga TV and you can get 30 days.
21:18
SPEAKER_01: It's meditations, Bible studies, practices, 15 minute, 30 minute for it.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: You can choose.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: It's amazing.
21:24
SPEAKER_01: It's like Netflix.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: It's so well done,
21:26
SPEAKER_01: but you can get 30 days free and you can just see if you like it,
21:29
SPEAKER_01: like no obligation,
21:31
SPEAKER_01: but we'd love to just meet you wherever you are.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: So you can get connected that way.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: And I will include links to those as well.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: So wrapping up, I love to end each episode with a Bible verse.
21:44
Is there one that you'd like to share that has either inspired
21:47
you throughout your
21:47
SPEAKER_00: spiritual journey or that you associate with holy yoga?
21:52
SPEAKER_01: It's the one I've said it probably 20 times already,
21:55
SPEAKER_01: but Mark 1230,
21:56
SPEAKER_01: love the Lord your God with all your heart,
21:58
SPEAKER_01: soul,
21:58
SPEAKER_01: mind,
21:59
SPEAKER_01: and strength.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: All four of those matter.
22:01
I think that's what it means to be whole in Christ is to
22:03
address all of those.
22:05
And I love the fact that he never asks us to love him in ways
22:09
that he hasn't loved us first.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: So to know that God can meet me in all my intellectual stuff,
22:15
SPEAKER_01: all my emotional stuff,
22:16
SPEAKER_01: all my physical stuff,
22:17
SPEAKER_01: and all my faithful stuff.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: So that's just a great encouragement to me.
22:21
He took you from stealing a Bible to founding this incredible
22:25
organization that's
22:26
SPEAKER_00: around the globe now.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: It's incredible.
22:28
SPEAKER_01: If you can do it for me, can't you do it for anyone?
22:33
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Rebecca.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: That wraps up today's episode.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: A huge thank you to Brooke Beardahl,
22:38
SPEAKER_00: founder of Holy Yoga,
22:39
SPEAKER_00: for joining us and sharing such valuable insights.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: It was awesome having you on the show today.
22:45
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
22:47
And of course,
22:47
thanks to all of you,
22:48
our amazing listeners,
22:50
for tuning in.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: Your support means so much to me.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: So if you enjoyed today's conversation,
22:55
SPEAKER_00: be sure to subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
23:00
Stay inspired,
23:01
keep trusting in God's plan for your life,
23:04
and we'll see you next time.