The Scripture ~ “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

The Spiritual Focus ~ “The words you speak become the house you live in.” Hafiz

Breath Prayer ~ Inhale I embody, Exhale my truth

The Devotion ~

            The word embody means “to represent” or “to materialize.” First impressions are formed by the words we use. It is perhaps fair to say that we are often judged by the words we speak before we are judged by anything else—our actions or the life we live. Words are important and represent who we are: body, mind and spirit. Words have power, power to hurt and power to heal. When we, “use our words” as mothers often tell their young children, we use our words to heal rather than hurt, to create order rather than chaos. We reap the benefits of community and relationships that help represent who we are.

In the Old Testament stories, God speaks creation into being with a word and creates order out of chaos with a word. In the New Testament, Jesus calms a storm with a word. The poetic version of Jesus’ birth narrative from the gospel of John where, “the Word became flesh,” speaks the very “being” of God into the human experience. Jesus, God with skin on, is often used to speak of the incarnation. Words are important in our faith narrative. Words are important in our personal story.

The philosophy of yoga and our theology of God meet on sacred ground when we speak of such things as an embodied practice or embodied faith. It takes practice to be sure we represent who we are with the words we speak if we wish to live an embodied life. The practice of yoga teaches us the pause needed to choose the words we speak. Embodying our words is as simple as pausing, then speaking words that become a foundation for the life we hope for and for the house we wish to live in, that is, the house of God—a house full of grace and truth.