This week’s Design Highlight is a first for us, in that it’s our first overtly religious design (though some might consider our earlier Buddha design religious as well). As for myself, I was raised in the mild Minnesota Lutheran tradition but have found that I’m spiritual and believe that something is out there, but I’m not yet sure what. We welcome all religious points of view here at Big Raven, and we’ve found ideas of value in every major religion we’ve come across. Regardless of what you may personally believe, for example, I think we can all agree that the historical figure of Jesus was a pretty good guy and had some excellent ideas that we would all be better off practicing. As to whether he was the son of a god, born of a virgin, rose from the dead, and ascended to an eternal heavenly realm… well, opinions differ (to put it mildly). However, his teachings regarding the treatment of the poor and the downtrodden, underdogs and strangers, the rich and the powerful, and the value of humility and repentance and forgiveness are all something we should be able to get behind no matter WHAT your religious belief may be (or even if you subscribe to none at all).
We created this beautiful floral design in conjunction with Stacy-Lee Holm, founder of the Yoga Worship Movement. Stacy-Lee is R-YFT 200 Yoga Alliance certified, and unites people through “prayer, praise and pose”.
“Let us rejoice together as we use Christ’s love as our foundation, turning our hearts and bodies and minds to worship the Son!” ~ Stacy-Lee Holm
“Wait? Yoga? And CHURCH? I thought all yogis were Hindus and Buddhists… or maybe even Wiccans?!” Actually… no. The truth is, there’s no conflict between yoga and Christianity. There’s nothing inherently religious about yoga, or at least nothing about yoga that’s “owned” by any one particular religion. You can be a yogi AND a Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, or any of the (literally) thousands of other religions that exist on this planet we all share. There’s nothing about yoga that’s the exclusive province of anybody. Yoga itself is fundamentally secular. Which is not to say that yoga can’t be a spiritual experience. Yoga is a meditative practice ― an opportunity to focus one’s mind both inward and outward at the same time, and that’s something that’s valued by nearly every religion (and by secular humanists as well!)
In Stacy-Lee’s own words:
“Yoga is the way I worship God. It is the way I honor my body as His temple, the way I return praise and thanksgiving to Him for creating me, and the way I act as a good steward of His craftsmanship. Yoga is His art reflecting back to Him. Yoga is a way to unite, to connect. “Prayer, praise and pose” is the joining of mindful meditation on the word of God and the worship of Him through body movement and breathing. It is an expression of praise and thanksgiving toward our Creator.”
No matter what your denomination (or, again, even if you subscribe to none at all), everyone recognizes the tulip as a symbol of hope and resurrection, of new life, and rebirth. I know it’s something that gladdens my heart when I first see the first ones begin to push through the last remnants of our Minnesota snows!
Even though spring seems a long way off as we start to slide into the darkness of our long, cold winter, you can take $10 OFF this week only using the promo code PRAYER at checkout! Our happy tulips will help see you through until Easter and give you something to look forward to every time you unroll you mat!
If you’ve got 60 seconds to spare, watch as I do an unrolling and walkaround of this design: