You are beautifully and wonderfully created by God as a living being; made in His image. In forming you in His image, God breathed life into you and gave you an eternal soul or spirit like His. It is this soul that makes you who you are, not your appearance, your status, your job, or your interests. It is your soul that makes you a child of God and separates you from all the rest of creation.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
-Psalms 139:13-14 (NLT)
While each soul is unique, they have one thing in common, our souls long to be connected to God. Your soul is always longing to be satisfied, whether it be with praise, acceptance, respect, and love from others or from greed, lust, pride, and selfishness; but none of these desires can satisfy the soul. Satisfaction and true joy can only come when your soul is connected to God.
In order to connect your souls to God, your whole being must be in tune: heart, mind, body, and soul; this is wholeness. We often look at ourselves as a physical person that has a soul and focus on maintaining our bodies, our emotional wellbeing, and our intelligence, while neglecting the soul. Our souls need care too. We care for our souls through spiritual disciplines like spending time with God by reading the Bible, praying to God, meditating on His word, worshiping God, singing his praises, following God’s commands, and loving like Jesus.
We think, “if I could just get in shape, I’d be happy”; “if I learned how to do that, I’d be happy”, or “if I could find my soul mate, I’d be happy.” While there is nothing wrong with wanting to be happy and finding happiness in these things, the problem is none of them are self sustaining and the happiness will not last, because we will want more and these things cannot continue to provide that.
If we want to be satisfied and find joy, we must cultivate wholeness by connecting our heart, mind, body, and soul to God. God is the only unlimited source of love, acceptance, forgiveness, truth, and grace that we can connect to and be satisfied. Everything else will leave you wanting more because it’s supply is limited. As you develop your unique yoga teacher voice, discipline is a critical step. Cultivating your own wholeness through spiritual discipline provides you with the insight and soul space you need to help your students do the same.
Be One