Utilising yoga during Lent

In this edited extract from Church of Scotland minister Pauline Steenbergen’s book How to Embody Lent in 29 Yoga Postures she explains how she came to practise yoga, why she teaches it now and introduces some of the poses

Two years after the birth of my son, I took up running in my spare time. A knee injury led me to a sports physiotherapist. She suggested that I go to yoga classes “for a good stretch”. My knee healed. The breath awareness that I discovered in those classes was a surprising bonus, giving me a treasure box of tools to manage anxiety and stress. Around the same time a retired vicar and her friend taught me to meditate using a single word mantra, “Maranatha”. However, it was in my role as a hospice chaplain for children and adults for five years that the significance of every single breath and silent prayer truly dawned on me.