Our body is a holy place

I recently wrote a body scan meditation incorporating Scripture and breath work. I touched on how our bodies are good and pleasing to the Father. He made us in his image, calling us and the rest of his creation very good (Genesis 1).

In this day and age with all the business of life, we can be really hard on our bodies. I know I have, and still can be.

What we don’t always consider is how our body is a holy place where God’s spirit dwells, a vessel by which he speaks to us.

I recently attended a trauma workshop at our anglican church led by a trauma-informed yoga instructor. I was moved by this very message. How our bodies are a holy place for us to experience God’s presence, as only he can go inwardly with us into our thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

Life can be really hard, and hard things happen to all of us. Trauma (both the big “T’s” and little “t’s”) can deeply alter the way we see and experience the world. When it comes to trauma and the brain, God has hardwired our bodies for healing and restoration. He wired our nervous system for balance. This can be a very long process, and he enters into it with us.

God does not get mad at us for not being “farther along” in our healing journey, nor does he shame us for slipping into old patterns. He provides tools to support balance and healing (mindfulness, meditation, movement, and breath work to name a few), and to reorient ourvelsves towards truth. We experience all of this inside our bodies and in community with other bodies.

The holy place is going into your your body with him, allowing him to reveal the wounded places in your heart, hurt from the past, and the love and acceptance he freely gives.

May we slow down and listen to our bodies, treating them as a holy place by which God speaks truth and love.