Your Body Is Not a Barrier
What if the very thing you thought was keeping you from God was actually the place God’s been waiting to meet you?
If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body, or even frustrated by it, you’re not alone. Maybe it’s chronic pain or you just don’t feel “right”. Maybe it’s anxiety or stress. Maybe it’s not looking or feeling the way you think it “should.” Or maybe, like me, you’ve lived with a condition that makes your body feel unpredictable, even out of control.
For most of my life, I lived with the quiet belief that my body was a problem. Something to push through, work around, or endure. And if you’ve ever felt that way, I want you to know this:
Your body is not a barrier to God.
It’s a space where you can meet Him.
You Don’t Have to Escape Your Body to Encounter God
I have Tourette’s Syndrome, which means I experience physical and vocal tics. It’s been part of my life as far back as I can remember. And for a long time, my body didn’t feel like a safe or spiritual place. It felt like something I had to manage or avoid.
I believed Psalm 139:14 when it says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” (NIV) but I didn’t always feel it. I wondered why I was made like this. Why my body couldn’t be easier, quieter, more cooperative. I carried shame, tension, and the feeling that I had to leave my body behind to really connect with God.
But something changed when I began practicing Christian yoga. Slowly, breath by breath, I stopped trying to escape my body. I started listening to it. And that shift changed everything.
There’s Wisdom in Your Body Even If You’ve Been Taught to Ignore It
Maybe no one ever told you this before, but your body carries wisdom.
Not just physical cues like pain or tightness, but the emotional signals and spiritual nudges are also invitations to slow down and notice. I had spent years trying to fix or ignore my body, but once I learned to listen, I realized it wasn’t the enemy. It was telling the truth. And God was working and speaking through it.
Christian yoga gave me space to listen with kindness. I started noticing what tension felt like in my shoulders. The stress that lived in my breath. The sadness or exhaustion that sat in my chest. I started moving with more awareness, feeling the ground beneath me in Mountain posture, the opening through the back in Eagle arms, and the grounding in Child’s pose.
The more I listened, the more I heard. Not just my body, but God’s voice too.
You Don’t Have to Wait to Be Healed
One of the biggest lies we carry is that we have to get “better” before we can experience God.
But what if right here, in your imperfect, struggling, hurting, beautiful body, is where God wants to meet you?
That’s what I’ve come to believe and experience. And I believe you can experience it too.
You don’t have to wait until your body feels calm. You don’t have to push away the pain or the struggle. You can bring it with you. Onto the mat. Into the breath. Into God’s presence.
This isn’t about becoming more flexible or nailing the postures. It’s about creating space. It’s about honoring your story. It’s about letting your body become a place of prayer, not a problem to solve.
This Practice Is for You
If your body has ever felt like a burden, too anxious, too loud, or too broken, Christian yoga invites you to see it and experience it differently.
It’s not about escaping discomfort, but about entering it with grace. It’s not about fixing yourself, but about being with yourself with God. With compassion. With presence. With breath.
It’s not easy. Slowing down and feeling can be hard. But it’s also where transformation begins.
Through this practice, I’ve become more patient with myself and others. More grounded. More present. I’ve learned to receive the grace of God not just in my thoughts, but in my muscles and breath.
And you can too.
You Are Not Alone in This
This is why I teach Christian yoga. It’s not because I have it all figured out, but because I’ve seen firsthand what’s possible when we stop fighting our bodies and start honoring them.
I want you to know you’re not alone. You’re not too far gone. You’re not disqualified because of your pain or diagnosis or story.
You are loved.
You are made in God’s image.
And your body is a place where God delights to dwell.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus…” -Ephesians 2:10 NIV
You don’t have to wait for the “right” moment. This moment is enough. Right here. Right now. With whatever you’re carrying. With whatever your body is saying. With whatever you’re feeling.
It’s enough.
So take a breath.
Feel your feet.
Notice your body.
And let it become your prayer.
And experience where God meets you right in the midst of all of it.
