Spacious

I'm teaching yoga, after graduating from a year-long teacher training program in June.

I teach Wednesdays in the early morn at the Inner Dance Yoga studio here in Anchor-town. Some of my students know about my "real job," some don't. I always tell them if they ask and they always look slightly surprised. Of course a young female pastor gets that a lot in general...

Anyway, this morning's class was all about opening the hips and releasing tension and tightness there. The yogis believe that we store anxiety in our hips muscles and if we stretch them, we will release this pent-up anxiety. Heck, we're North Americans, I think we store anxiety EVERYWHERE. I digress...

I was reminding my students to create spaciousness through the various poses that open the hips. At one point, without really planning to, I heard myself quoting Lutheran Pastor Dan Erlander, who said "salvation" in Hebrew is can be translated as "spaciousness."

I always find it interesting to make these connections across faith backgrounds. A yoga class where a Lutheran pastor is quoting a Hebrew understanding of salvation.

It felt good. It felt spacious.