Three ways to pray with our body
Geo George - August 2021
Integrating our spiritual and physical selves can lead to a richer prayer experience. We rarely think about how these bodies impact our spiritual lives.
We are one in body mind and spirit, and prayer is not confined to our minds and hearts. It is expressed by our bodies as well. When our bodies are engaged in prayer, we are praying with our whole person. Using our entire being in prayer helps us to pray with greater attentiveness. The condition, position, and actions of our body play an important part in our spiritual life as well.
Our hearts tend to follow our bodies, which is why our Catholic faith incorporates so many physical acts into our celebration of the Mass. When we kneel, sit, stand, genuflect, extend peace to one another, make the sign of the cross, or sign our head, lips, and heart before the Gospel reading, we are signaling to our brains to integrate these rituals into our entire being.
St. Dominic was convinced that we can pray with our bodies and praying with our body helps our spiritual life. He had the habit of praying in a series of 9 positions: lying face down, standing with arms, outstretched in the shape of a cross, or stretched above the head, or with hands held out in front as if reading a book, kneeling with a bowed head, sometimes scourging himself with a chain and sometimes with a gaze fixed on the crucifix in contemplation, or joining his hands before his eyes.
If our prayer lives are feeling dull, we must remember there are actionable steps we can take to enliven them. Integrating our bodies into our spiritualities through various means of prayer can help us embody a gospel that looks a little more vibrant, integrated, and whole-a gospel that looks a little more like the one Jesus gave us.
Three of these body postures can enrich our own prayer experience. Try it.
Kneeling
It is a gesture of reception that invites us to join in communion with the Lord and entrust ourselves to Him alone.
St. Dominic would genuflect and kneel many times while praying. It means recognizing who we are, accepting that we are weak but that we have infinite value in God's eyes.
Standing with arms outstretched
This is a gesture of encounter. It is a moment of face-to-face conversation with our friend. For St. Dominic, it meant the profound joy of an encounter like that of the Loving Father reuniting with the Prodigal Son.
Arms spread wide Arms spread wide remind us that the cross is not only death, but above all, the triumph of life.
Prayer Walking
Prayer Walking is a particularly powerful exercise for intercessory prayer, or engaging in prayer on behalf of other people, social issues rather than our personal lives.
We might take a prayer walk on the sidewalks of our neighborhood, praying for neighbours by name and for the struggles we know to be in their lives. We might walk through the streets of our city, around our schools, or in other public areas as we pray about the pain and injustices in our communities.
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