You are the Prayer

I just finished a yoga class which had a wonderful title; "You are the Prayer." (And I mean just finished; the class was on YogaGlo on my computer so I am still sitting on my mat as I type). The teacher kept repeating this mantra, "you are the prayer, you are the one who prays, and you are the one who answers."  At first read it sounds glib, but after 45 minutes of deep breathing and posing with this mantra, it resonates with me. We pray a vital prayer with our whole body, our breathing, our heart, our mind, however we place our hands - we are the prayer. We are also the one who prays - that's easiest to grasp. But the punch comes with the thought that we are also the one who answers. That could be interpreted as God answering through us, tripping our awareness in some new way or through a new person or situation. It could also be interpreted as our higher self responding, in soft ways that we need to pay attention in order to hear. "You are the prayer, you are the one who prays, and you are the one who answers." Think about it.

And on more mundane levels, the Super Bowl was the worst football game in history. Broncos fans, including my girlfriends who texted rants and moans all night, were incredibly disappointed. But the headlines this morning calling out "shame" and "embarrassment" are out of line. Granted, the Broncos played badly but they were beat by the better team. It doesn't make sense to malign the individuals or call down shame on anyone. My husband noted that it must have been especially difficult after a week of hype and adulation, which made me think - best not to listen when people heap praise on you, because then you're able to tune them out when they criticize or try to shame you. To return to the theme of the day - you are the one who answers, and ultimately, we have to learn to seek approval from within ourselves.