Love and Light Yoga Warrior: Rachel

Rachel: Well, hello YOU! Come on in! How are you? It’s so good to see you!

A gregarious smile, chunky glasses, and wild, wavy brown hair, greet me as I walk into a local church lobby. I’m hidden in my hoodie, clutching my coffee. Yep, this was worth it.

It is the break of day. Outside, the stretching sun illuminates the small brick houses across the street. In the church lobby, the casual living room furniture and benches are pushed aside. Enough room for half a dozen yoga mats and humans.

Soon, I’m laying on the floor. My eyes closed.

Rachel: It’s a little crowded today, ladies. So, if you touch, just don’t be creepy about it.

Rachel: Now start to peel through the layers of you that relate to everyone else. Like you take off your hat and shoes, peel through the layers of you that relate to your family and friends, your work. Until you come to You…relating to you.

Rachel: From that place, bring up gratitude for all that makes it possible for you to be here.

Gratitude for your mental and physical health. Despite aches, pains, anxiety, or stress, you are healthy and strong enough to show up today.

Gratitude for any sense of spiritual health. Despite some hard days, maybe grief, loneliness, or fear. There was also enough levity and momentum to pull yourself up out of bed, away from everything else, and show up.

Amen.

You might be wondering, has this Rachel woman been practicing yoga her whole life?

Honey. Not at all.

A Sunburnt Start

Almost two decades ago, Wisconsin-born Rachel’s first place of work was as a Lutheran pastor in so-Cal. She soaked in her first year with a close friend, dreamy beach days, Mexican food, and two pet lovebirds. (Think rainbow sherbet on sticks.) While the congregation filled her heart, her relationship with the senior pastor was tumultuous. And she missed the Midwest.

After year one, her friend left the area, and one of the lovebirds started losing its feathers. Pretty soon, it was a naked bird with a helmet. Diagnosis from the vet: it was absorbing stress. Her stress.

The two birds mirrored her life: half-healthy, half-suffering.

She requested a transfer. She was placed as a solo pastor at a dying congregation in Detroit. However, by the time she left so-Cal, her lovebird…got its feathers back.

Connecting the dots

In Detroit, Rachel settled in and found yoga through her gym. Actually, yoga in a sweaty gym with a teacher/weight-lifter guy named Donny who sported a fantastic mullet. Things started to release in her. She wept at the end of class often. Feeling relief, held, seen, and loved. I had the same experience at the end of my first classes, too.

At her Church, Rachel read many Biblical stories of healing. And about the connection of the body, mind, and spirit. The more she practiced yoga, the more she realized her yoga practice was the physical part of spiritual healing.

She wanted to bridge this divide. And share this experience with her congregation. She found a new teacher who could teach classes in her Church’s sanctuary. (Actually, he sang his classes!) It was a success, and she knew she was onto something.

A promising pastoral opportunity came her way; Rachel moved to Champaign.

Standing on the Mat

Rachel: Now arms loosely at your sides. Empty coat-sleeves.

A wide smile spreads across my face. This is one of my favorite parts; it feels delicious.

Suddenly, the speaker playing soft meditation music starts playing loud classical music. Like Beethoven-loud.

Rachel: Oh heavens-to-Betsy! Let me turn that off. Good grief. Anyway, empty coat-sleeves ladies.

Standing, the six of us twirl our arms around like they are empty coat-sleeves.

Daily Bread Starter

While she settled into a new ministry role at the University of Illinois, Rachel had a seedling of an idea. She wanted to build a spiritual community around yoga. The wheels turned.

Rachel brought her authentic, fiery, curious, deep-thinking, spiritual-human-in-progress soul to the community. She became a certified yoga teacher. And Daily Bread Yoga was born.

Daily Bread Today

On her journey to finding her spiritual yoga practice, Rachel also found love. Today, she and her husband have two female elementary-school-aged humans-in-progress. While parenting has its own delights and frustrations, Rachel now knows it’s okay to figure things out as she goes. And music and dancing in the kitchen is a much better way to start the day than any other route.

When Rachel is not leading yoga classes on Zoom or drinking too much coffee… she might be laughing her big-beautiful laugh, reading inspirational books, or listening to deep conversations On Being.

Seated crisscross applesauce, eyes closed, hands together at my heart

Rachel: Now, take a moment and notice how things may have shifted during the practice. In your body, mind, or even in your spirit. And trust that there will be shifts to come. Remember that more is happening than you could ever know.

Thank you for sharing this practice with us. And please know that it makes a difference that you are here. And now I greet you with a word which means ‘the sacred mystery in me recognizes the sacred mystery in you.’ Namaste.

PS Want to meet more warriors? Go here!

POEM: I Love You Breath Daily Spiritual Practice

From Rachel’s book. This is a practice for when it feels like you have butterflies in your stomach. Or anytime!

• Take some big breaths while you rub your belly, thanking the butterflies for being with you.
• Give yourself a tight hug, twisting side-to-side. Then hug yourself with the other arm on top, twisting side-to-side again.
• Rub your hands together. Cup them around your mouth and nose. Take a big inhale through your nose and gently blow out as if you are letting the butterflies in your stomach go.
• Hands still over nose and mouth. Take another big inhale through your nose and say “I love you” over and over, extending the exhale. This is to thank your body for being with you, no matter what.

The SoulJourner QUESTion

Rachel’s Daily Bread Yoga is accessible, accepting, and big-hearted. I had come from years practicing the opposite kind of yoga and was ready to quit. Her yoga was also one of the lights that guided me out of a long depression.

To be honest, the “I love you” practice was difficult to do while depressed. But it was also transformational. It let me know I could love myself, no matter what. And you can love yourself, no matter what.

PROMPT: FOUR choices!

1. Practice the I love you breath once a day for the next week. Note any shifts you experience.
2. Sign up for Rachel’s deep-thinking weekly newsletter, sent on Sundays!
3. Try out a ZOOM class FREE. Here’s her calendar and you can click on PURCHASE to get a one class freebie! FYI, I have been doing her RETREATS for years and love them.
4. BUY her Daily Bread Yoga Guide. It has cool yoga-pose-art and Daily practices for the mind, body, and spirit.