Islamic Prayer and Yoga
Happy Friday lovelies!
I have been thinking of posting this for the longest time ever! I love yoga! I think it is the best thing I got from being in the states few years ago. I try my best to do a session as often as I can, but I never feel like I have done enough. My goal is to add an hour of yoga to my day. I usually torture myself for not doing it enough. To feel better, I remind myself that I -at least- do some "form" of it (Islamic prayer) five times a day with a total of 15 minutes a day. Of course I still need to do more, but I am so thankful that I have the obligatory daily prayer to encourage me to move and get my circulation flowing.
Islamic Prayer is like a whole ritual not only an action that is done a certain number of times. There are few aspects to be considered before even starting, such as, cleanliness of the spot where prayer is going to be preformed, followed by a ablution to make sure the body is clean and awakened to meet the creator. There are five prayers a day and they are made up of a different number of sequence. Each sequence takes an exact minute on average speed and it includes standing in the direction of the centre of Earth aka the city of Mecca, then kneeling and it is concluded with two prostrations. The morning prayer has two sequences, the noon one has four, the afternoon one has four as well, the sunset one has three and the night one has four.
One Sequence of Islamic Prayer AKA Salah
Prostration is the part where the body's energy gets renewed. Watch the video below of a popular Islamic speaker, Ahmad AlShugairy, who tested the energy of his own body with the help of experts before and after preyer. The energy part is at 7:42, but feel free to watch the whole episode, it's very informative and it has English subtitles.
I love it when my Islamic practice is very relevant to my wellbeing and perfection. It's amazing how God thought of all the details and has a reason for everything he tells us to do! :D
Here's a quick Yoga Routine Inspired by Islamic Prayer:
Mountain pose to improve posture and to strengthens thighs, knees, and ankles. Standing Forward Bend to calm the brain and help relieve stress and mild depression. Hero to stretch the thighs, knees, and ankles. Extended Child's Pose to calm the brain and help relieve stress and fatigue. Followed by another Hero, Extended Child's Pose and Cat to relieve the spine and neck and energise the body. Afterwards start with another sequence with the Mountain pose.
Photos and information above are taken from Pocket Yoga. It looks like a very useful yoga resource.
More Resources on Prayer:
Have a blessed rest of the day and let's hope that you and I will become more yoga active soon! :)