PraXis

PraXis September Series at Brookside Community Church

PraXis Movement, Mindfulness and Prayer sessions return to Brookside Community Church this September. The three-part series runs Thursday, Sept. 7, 14, and 21, 6:45 pm to 8 pm.

Classes will include our regular light Hatha yoga flow, prayers and scripture readings. We’ll also take folks through a series of breath-work style meditations designed to help calm the mind and slow down invasive thoughts.

If you missed our Summer Online Series, you can see the sessions on our channel.

These will be the only in-person classes offered this fall at Brookside. So if you haven’t had a chance to check out our wellness classes, this is the time. Session are free with a $20 recommended donation.

You can see more about coaching and classes we offer over at Cornelius’s new page. Earlier this summer Cornelius completed his wellness coaching certification with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He’s paired up with Jamie, who recently became certified as a spiritually integrated psychotherapist.

More at:
https://www.instagram.com/praxis.wellness/ https://www.youtube.com/@praxischristianwellness https://www.facebook.com/praxiswellness
https://praxiswellness.center
https://corneliusswart.com

Christ Hymn Heart-Opener: Christian Hatha Yoga

Jamie and Cornelius take you to through the third and final flow and meditation in our three-part summer series.

This flow includes breath work and 2-minutes of silence at the end for Centering Prayer. We begin with the Christ Hymn from Colossians 1. As we do, meditate on how you are reconciling ourselves to Christ today. This movement and mindfulness practice helps to create flexibility in the chest and shoulder muscles. The flow also builds strength through safe isometric resistance. It’s ideal to practice silent prayer or mindfulness after a short easy movement practice like this. The movement and breath-work help to settle the mind for noetic (mental) prayer.

Find out more about building spiritually integrated wellness practices in the Christian spirit at:

1 Chronicles 16:8-13: Thankful to God: Hip-Opener, Hatha Flow, Christian Yoga

Jamie and Cornelius take you to through the second flow and meditation in our three-part summer series.

This flow features a reading from Chronicles 16:8-13, a gentle 25-minute haha-style flow and four minutes of silence at the end for Centering Prayer or other contemplative practices. This flow is good for those experiencing tension in hip flexors, psoas muscle, and the TFL. You might want to use a block, strap or bolster if you normally have one for your practice.

We also have two more live online meditation classes left this August.
Join us on Zoom, 6:30 am, EST on Monday August 21 and 28.
Zoom Link

Summer: Online Christian Movement and Prayer Sessions

We’re back! Join PraXis online this summer for pre-recorded sessions of Movement, Mindfulness and Prayer. Posts go live on July 25, August 8, and 22.

Your first one-hour session is waiting for you on YouTube Channel RIGHT HERE.

The video above is our first go at pre-recorded sessions. We are still getting the hang of the technicals parts. Expect the videos to improve quickly.

ALSO IN AUGUST:
Join Cornelius and Jamie LIVE, every Monday morning for an online Contemplative Prayer Group. On Zoom, at 6:30 am. Start your Monday off right with a 20-minute session of Centering Prayer and contemplative silence.

Zoom Meeting LINK HERE

This summer will be a test run for more online programing. We’re been dormant for a few months as Cornelius and Jamie finished off a set of coach trainings. As we wrap those up, we should become much more active online this fall.
Follow for more

Breathwork techniques for stress reduction: PraXis class

But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
–Job 32:8

This Wednesday our winter/spring series continues with 40 minutes of power yoga focused on the solar plexus followed by a series of breathwork exercises. These breathing exercises, especially when practiced after movement, help to reduce stress and improve your mindful silence.

A new study conducted through university research centers in the United Kingdom and Spain found that breathwork was associated with lowering stress. The meta-analysis, or study of other studies, comprised 1325 results. The techniques increase parasympathetic activity (the rest and digest function) through the vagus nerve network. “Modifying breathing alters communication sent from the respiratory system, rapidly influencing brain regions regulating behaviour, thought and emotion.”

A separate study published on Cell Reports Medicine indicates that a daily 5-minute breathwork and mindfulness practice can significantly improves mood and reduces anxiety. This study found that breathwork (especially “cyclical sighing”) is more effective than mindfulness alone.

This week will mark our fourth class in our Lenten cycle. Each class going forward will include new wellness ideas such as tools for mindfulness, Christian fasting and perhaps even music. There is more about our class series is on our blog HERE.

Jamie and I look forward to seeing you.

~Maranatha

PraXis Session
6:45 pm – 7:45 pm
Wednesday, March 15
Brookside Community Church
8 East Mainstreet

Sign up on EventBrite
Details on our Blog
Watch a short orientation video
Follow on Facebook

PraXis Session, Brookside Church 2.15.23: The Way of Wisdom

Peace Be With You!
We are delighted that a new season of PraXis will open this week right at the doorstep of Great Lent. This year we part of the Integrated Spirituality program at Brookside Community Church. So, if you are new to PraXis, please come at 6:30 pm for an orientation.

This week we will set out our intention on Wisdom, or knowledge of the Good and True that comes from God.* Think on what is good and true and from God in your life.

The class runs every first and third Wednesdays, Feb 15 – May 18, 6:45 pm to 7:45 pm. More details here.

Schedule for the Night
6:30 pm Orientation for newbies [Or watch video here]
Intention for the session
6:40 pm Scripture Reading
6:45 pm Movement Flow
7:35 pm Lectio Divino and Prayerful Silence
Silence
7:50 Open eyes, intercessions, and announcements
8 pm Benediction and Depart
Q&A those who have questions

Bring: yoga mat, block or belt (if you normally use them), water help with poses, loose-fitting clothing. For meditation you may want to bring a cushion or a blanket or shawl if you tend to get cold.

Class is free, $20 suggested donation

These reading inform our session, you are welcome to read them in advance.

Revised Common Lectionary for 6^th Sunday After Epiphany
Psalm 119:9-16
Proverbs 2:1-15
Matthew 19:1-12

Ancient Lectionary
1 John 3:21-4:6
Mark 14:43-15:1

*Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms

PraXis Wellness Classes Return February 15

“Christ will exalt in my body” Phil. 1:20

PraXis movement, mindfulness and prayer sessions return to Brookside Community Church starting Feb 15.

PraXis provides mind, body, spirit coaching at the intersection of evidence-based wellness and Christian spiritual practice. For over a year, Cornelius Swart and Jamie DeRuyter have led the PraXis movement and mindfulness class at Brookside. And now, we are very excited to be part of the Integrated Spirituality program.

Classes will be held every first and third Wednesday, 6:45 pm to 7:45 pm, from Feb. 15 to May 18.

Sessions include 30-40 minutes of light to moderate yoga-style movement, followed by 10-20 minutes of contemplative silence. Each night is wrapped in prayer and scripture readings. We hope to add some new offerings to the class activities and schedule in the coming weeks. So look for updates. You can watch a short orientation from last year on YouTube.

There is more information about the program at PraXiswellness.center. See the schedule on Facebook. Or signup on EventBrite.

Classes are free. Donations and drop-ins are welcome. Reach out to info@praxiswellness.center

“Your Faith has made you well.” Luke 17:19

VIDEO: Orientation to a PraXis Session

Here is a 2-minute guide on what to expect at a PraXis movement, mindfulness and prayer session. This short video takes you through all the elements of a 1-hour session.

This month we started another cycle of FREE PraXis sessions at Brookside Community Church. Best to take advantage of this free class now as might start charging soon.

Every Tuesday, Oct 11-Dec 13
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Brookside Community Church

Join us on ZOOM
Zoomies, please arrive about 10 minutes early so I can bring you in from the waiting room.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83910590660

More at
https://praxiswellness.center
https://www.facebook.com/PraXisWellness
https://www.instagram.com/praxiswelln…
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFPN…

“A life of practice, not just right ideas,” PODcast Interview with Cornelius

This is a new podcast interview with about PraXis: Christian Wellness, spiritual athletes, the oneness of the body/soul, health as a process, and prayer as mental silence. Big thanks to Moses Rhys Pasimio for approaching us and asking Cornelius to participate in his series on mental health, addiction recovery and ancient Christian spirituality.

This is a long-form, in-depth discussion. It will lay out, in fairly easy to chew soundbites, the underlying theology behind PraXis and how fitness, diet, and mindfulness fit together in the tradition of Eastern Church known as askesis [mind, body, and spiritual striving].

Great work by brother Moses and his Outer Circle Inner Stillness podcast. Moses is a member of the parish that I was baptized into back in Portland, Ore. Jamie and I were married in this church and we both miss this community, our friends and all the kind and wise people in this parish who bring God to life in our midst.

~ Maranatha
Cornelius

The Holy Spirit: Who art everywhere and fillest all things

*Treasury of blessings and Giver of life- come and abide in us…” (Trisagion)*

“Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:2 NIV

The Spirit comes like a violent wind, that blows where it wills (John 3:8). But it also dwells in silent pauses that come to us amid the clamor of our stormy lives.

Pentecost is always an invitation to meditate upon the nature of the Holy Spirit. In the ancient prayers of the Eastern Church, the Holy Spirit is prayed to directly and invoked thusly in the Epiclesis: “O Heavenly King, The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things: Treasury of blessings and Giver of life- come and abide in us…” (Trisagion). But what is the Holy Spirit, and what is the work of the Spirit in us? One view I recommend is that of Kyle Hughes, author of the book How the Spirit Became God. In his recent piece in the Anglican Compass, Hughes discusses the conflicting views of the Spirit as either a person or an impersonal “force.” He writes:

“Through the centuries, the experience of the Holy Spirit has been a central feature of the Christian life. While different traditions have at times emphasized different aspects of this experience, the church has always maintained that it is the Spirit who is the “giver of life,” who leads us into becoming ever more like Christ.
The Spirit, though, will not transform us into Christ’s likeness against our will… For the early Christians, cultivating this relationship meant intentionally engaging with spiritual disciplines such as silence and solitude, allowing ourselves to create spaces in which we can hear the still, small voice of the Spirit.”
Anglican Compass

Hughes goes on to say, “The mission for us, then, should we choose to accept it, is to learn to quiet our minds and be filled with the Spirit.”

I recommend taking a moment to read more of Hughes’s thoughts at Anglican Compass. But I also recommend coming to PraXis tomorrow, Wednesday at 6:30 pm, at St. Peter’s parish hall. There we hope to still the noise of the body and the mind as we sit in silence with the God who
dwells above us as the Father,
among us as Christ,
and within as the Holy Spirit.

I hope you can make it.

~ Maranatha

Full Event details here.