Kristi Pennington

I find great satisfaction when I am able to execute the Yoga Tree Pose and hold that pose for at least 20 seconds on each leg. However, one of my legs is weaker than the other. I’m not where I want to be, but there’s improvement and I hope that weaker leg gets as strong as the other. Regardless, to hold the Yoga Tree Pose for 20 seconds, I must be “grounded”.

My instructor often says, “Strengthen your core! Engage the core!” Experience has taught me that if I’m not continuing to do some basic Yoga exercises that strengthen my core, I will not be able to keep my “grounding” on either leg for more than 5 seconds. This means I have to spend time doing the basic exercises of planks, bridges, crunches, boats. These core exercises develop muscle strength which brings about better balance and overall steadiness and stability. Even though I often drag my feet getting to these yoga classes, it’s always worth it because of the physical and even emotional benefits. My overall well-being is improved.

It delights God when we find ways to care for our physical well-being. Our body is a gift from Him. In fact, God created the body first! Think about it. God created the body before He breathed into it the “breath of life”, that is, He made us alive, body, soul, and spirit. Please don’t reject your body – God doesn’t!

Curt Thompson says, “We are an embodied soul.” All of us – body, soul, and spirit – is precious to Him. Therefore, just as we need a plan to keep our physical body strong and grounded, our spiritual life needs grounding, too. For our spiritual well-being, let us live a life that is centered and aligned with God’s will for our lives.

Here are some ways to stay spiritually grounded:

• Rest in the fact that God loves us individually much more than we could ever imagine. This shapes our identity. We know how to answer the critical questions of who I am, “I am God’s beloved.” He loves me, He loves you with the same passion He loves His son Jesus. God’s will is that we know Jesus and are rooted and grounded in His love. (Ephesians 3:16)
  
• Stay connected and attached to God throughout your day. Remind yourself of His character as revealed through the truth of scripture. What truth does your heart most need to hear today? Meditate on that truth over and over. Psalm 103 declares who God is. God: forgives my sins, has unfailing love, fills my life with good things, is merciful, is gracious, is tender, is compassionate, and helps me when I’m weak.
  
• Daily notice your emotions and learn to name them. Being able to identify our emotions is important because they tell us vital things about our life. Being healthy emotionally doesn’t mean we don’t experience the emotions that we might consider unfavorable like sadness, anger, fear, or anxiety. It means we acknowledge both positive and negative emotions and ask questions like: What about this makes me so joyful? What is making me sad? Why is that making me angry? What am I really fearing? Then we move to the question we can ask God: What are You saying to me as I reflect upon the emotional condition of my soul?
  
• Engage in relationships within a healthy community where we feel seen, feel accepted and feel safe.
  
• Stay committed to daily practices that draw us closer to God where we experience peace, joy, grace, and connectedness to Him.

Being strongly grounded in our relationship with God, in our relationship to our soul, and in relationship to others allows us to experience living life to the fullest. This ensures our spiritual roots are growing stronger and going deeper. We can be compared to a tree whose roots are big, strong, and deep. A violent wind cannot blow it down. See Psalm 1.

What ways are you staying spiritually grounded? Is there something new God might be inviting you to that will ground you even more in your relationship to Him and to others?