Prayer of Heart and Body: Meditation and Yoga as Christian Spiritual Practice

by Thomas Ryan CSP, Jean Vanier (Foreword)

If you're looking for clear links between Christian faith and the practice of yoga and meditation, this book is for you. Prayer of Heart and Body will help you integrate teachings from the Christian contemplative tradition into your practice and encourage a new appreciation for the role of the body in prayer. "Yoga," says the author, is "meditation in motion, a way to pray with one's whole being―body, mind and spirit. It was originally designed to prepare people for sitting meditation." The two work powerfully together. Quoting extensively from such authors as Ignatius, John of the Cross, Rahner and Merton, Ryan explains what is distinctive about Christian meditation compared to some eastern forms, and looks at reincarnation and kundalini energy in the light of Christian faith, respecting the authenticity of other world religions and drawing from their wisdom traditions where appropriate. "Through this, Ryan integrates all that is beautiful, wise and holy in other traditions," says Jean Vanier in his Foreword, for a book that is "unifying and pacifying." The final section gives explicit instructions on beginning yoga. Using easy-to-follow diagrams, it covers breathing exercises, warm-up exercises, and the postures, including benefits, precautions and contraindications for each. In all, the basic aim of this beautifully written book is to assist the millions of Christians who today are practicing meditation or yoga or both, to consciously integrate them into their Christian spirituality as effective instruments for their personal development in prayer and daily living. †

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction

319 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

Reviews

[Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a valuable read for those of the Christian faith, so I don't want to discourage it or bash the ideas presented in this book. It is, however, a roller coaster for me. It presents really good ideas then it flounders with being very dogmatic in approach. It seems as if the author spends a lot of time trying to show why Christianity is the truth. It would be great if this was more about integrating Christianity into a yoga and meditation practice without the need to be right. I am a Christian because I find it fits my values, traditions and faith history, not because I need to be right or have the truest or best belief system. It seems to be to competitive to a point of being dismissive of the other great religions of the world. But perhaps it is at least a step forward for those seeking to break out of stagnated spiritual experience.

[Alia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book discusses benefits of meditation and yoga, historical and contemporary teachers and philosophers, the aim and origin of yoga, yoga and christian faith, and offers some instruction on movement and breathing practices. This has been a joy for me to read and help integrate and profess my own beliefs of meditation, faith and yoga.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a while to get through this as some of it was wordy and a little more “academic” ish. I wanted to know more about connecting yoga to the Christian faith and this book did deliver that. By the end though it was getting into theology with world religions, which isn’t really what I was looking for.

[Gregory Klug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. Well-researched. Not conversational, but not stilted either. Great information and great perspective.

The author spends a fair amount of time addressing the wing of Christianity that doesn’t want to acknowledge the value and wisdom in other religions and religious practices, or even the Christian tradition of meditation. This is necessary work and I am glad Ryan has done it. It’s still relevant after three or so decades.

I picked up this book after going to India and practicing yoga. I wanted to learn how this man with priestly credentials conceptualized yoga as a part of Christian spiritual practice. It turns out I lean more universalist than this author, but I respect his humility and open-mindedness. He makes the case wonderfully that the fruits of practicing yoga and meditation are for the taking—for all who are willing to learn them.

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ryan is a Paulist priest who is also a qualified Kripalu yoga instructor. The bulk of the book focuses on explaining why a Christian might benefit from yoga and meditation, which I already knew. There are then some instructions on centering prayer/meditation, followed by an appendix on yoga poses (asanas); the focus here is very much on the spiritual rather than the physical. Kripalu is not a tradition I'm familiar with; the asanas Ryan suggests are all taught in the Sivananda tradition either as core poses or as common variations, but the sun salutation has the breath retention in a different place - while lowering the body from plank, which means it follows an exhalation rather than an inhalation. Not for me, I don't think, because I think it would reinforce the tendency to gulp air when stressed, which Sivananda tries to correct.

[Renee Prymus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prayer of Heart and Body is the cornerstone book for the field of combining Christianity and yoga. Theologically dense, it also includes a manageable how-to-practice section. Any Christian interested in yoga should have this book on their shelf.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a metaphysical book. Just a bit of the way in, I realized why: it's hard work! Several times I had to re-read and sit and think and stew and... well, you get the idea.

I love the illustrations used to demonstrate the poses and exercises. They are really helpful. I'm going to try to incorporate the Lord's Prayer poses into my prayer routine.

The author did a great job of explaining how yoga can benefit the Christian and the differences between Eastern and Western views on prayer, God, spirituality, etc. Thomas Ryan is impressed me with his knowledge of both Christianity and other religions.

I bought an extra copy to donate to my church.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best modern text I have found to date for exploring the history and practice of the Christian Contemplative. While it gets theologically heady at times, Ryan's use of primary sources is superb.

[Liz Whiston-Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I read about Christian Yoga practice and I have returned to it many times since. The pose info is helpful but the most important part is the scripture and historical context provided for Christians using yoga as a spiritual practice.

[Sarah klapprodt]

part of my ever-evolving spiriatual journey....

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow...a total, thorough, text book like study on meditation and yoga and it's Christian aspects. Heavy and good. Glad I own it to revisit it. Lots to soak up.

[Kim Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper mind/body/spirit connection.