#metoo

I don’t know when we start becoming aware of how we smile in a picture, or if the jeans fit the way they are supposed to.

I can’t put my finger on when we started “distracting boys”, or when a differing opinion meant that it was “that time of the month”. The first rejection? It’s hard to know. When innocence was lost? Impossible to tell. 
I lead a Bible Study for college girls, and this week, in a guided meditation, we considered our younger selves. Children quietly amusing themselves on a playground. When our prayer was over, I asked for their adjectives. The words they used to describe their Twirling Girl: fearless, at ease, unbound, lighthearted, bold, joyful and free.
I have heard yoga defined as the science of self-study. I like this definition. Too many people have watered it down to simply an exercise program or worse, a cult religion. But Self Study? Yes. I like it. I’ve been teaching for 6 years now and the mornings that I teach, we gather together, still our minds, lower our feelings, seek inner balance, rest under the tender gaze of a Father who loves us just as we are (His love whole, His forgiveness complete), and we transform our relationship with ourselves. 
And it’s important work. 
Because when we transform our relationship with ourselves, we transform the world, dammit. 
But. Important work is rarely pretty. 
For so many women, (myself included) yoga is an entry point. 
On our mat we are given tools to come back to our bodies, our bodies which might be unsafe places where we live on-guard with exiled memories, our bodies which make us feel shameful or disgusted. 
People seek out yoga for many reasons. A moment’s peace and quiet, toned arms, burning a few calories, tapping into their spiritual sides, what have you. 
But I lead my class for those who might be coming in hopes of relieving their human suffering. 
More than calling the next pose, I hope to prompt students to unapologetically listen to their own needs. I hope to help them deny their powerlessness, deciding for themselves when to stop or when to press on. More than anything I long for them to recapture their secrets, reclaim their inner experiences, and release the tyranny of their pasts trusting that of all the plans He has for us, His favorite just might be making us brand new. 
Making peace in a minefield takes bravery, but freedom is just plain worth it.

My life as a lover of women is spent trying to honor the creativity of God and His original will for humanity by studying the life of Christ. And studying the life of Christ has turned me into a feminist. 
My feminism is nothing more, nothing less than a fight for women to be exactly who they were created to be in Christ. And if that’s controversial, SO BE IT. 
As I follow Christ’s lead, countercultural in every way, I celebrate women and men being created as image bearers of God and push for freedom. We were all created to be free.

For my Twirling Girl:
#metoo