Argus-Leader

Mon, Oct 20, 2008 Page 27

The following text was pulled by a computer and may not be accurate. ARGUSLEADER.COM Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D., Monday, Oct. 20, 2008 HEALTH & FITNESS Silent practice appeals to many, including Christians STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Like many churchgoers in the Bible Belt, Kristy Robinson teaches Sunday school with her husband and helps prepare Communion at their Episcopal church in Franklin, Tenn. She rounds out her church- and prayerfilled life with another spiritual practice that's not quite as familiar: meditation. "I'll see a difference in my day if I don't," says Robinson, who opens each day with 20 minutes of absolute silence. All the chanting and incense and - yikes - even meditation altars may seem too New Age and mystical for some, but meditation has gone mainstream and been embraced by suburban moms and busy people. Younger generations get an introduction in yoga classes, careerists escape on meditation retreats and boomers seek tranquility in meditation gardens. Meditation, it seems, is no longer associated as a counterculture activity. Seeing more interest "We believe the need is huge. We're seeing more and more interest from all different kinds of people," says Barbara SognFrank, an instructor at Avera McKennan Fitness Center in Sioux Falls. The center has daily mind and body classes that she calls "moving meditation." Participants don't sit on a pillow and try to stop all thoughts but instead learn to have good body alignment, breathe deeply and let go of stressful thoughts. "The point is deep relaxation because that is what is vital to the immune system. That deep relaxation is physical first and then mental and emotional," Sogn-Frank says. "There's an immediate and lasting benefit," she says, especially if people participate regularly, because people are stressed and don't even know it. "Most of us are not breathing enough," she says. A report released this year showed an astonishingly high number of Protestants • - nearly half - say they meditate at least once a week. Among the public, 39 percent meditate at least weekly, according to a report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. It's no surprise that people are seeking paths to peace and serenity in our highoctane, 24-hour world. "We're a mentally focused, hard-core, achievement-oriented society," says Dr. J. David Forbes, a medical doctor and meditation teacher in Nashville, Tenn. "People are finding it hard to quiet the brain down." Once they do, he says, meditation may lead not only to new insights but also to a healthier, happier life, he says. Studies show daily practice can reduce stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure and even increase life expectancy in the elderly, he says. Robinson's mind-clearing ritual helps her figure out her beliefs and hopes, her doubts and wishes. She loves the way prayer gives her a chance to talk with God. "With meditation," Robinson says, "it's me listening for God's response." Carolyn Goddard of Nashville was drawn to centering prayer, a form of contemplative prayer, to deepen her connection with God. A Colorado monk revived this ancient ritual of "resting in God" in the 1970s as an alternative for Christians lured to transcendental meditation. "You don't have to go outside the Christian tradition to find methods of meditation. It's part of our heritage, as well," says Goddard, who is an instructor with Contemplative Outreach of Middle Tennessee. Meditation has its critics Meditation has been, at times, eyed with suspicion. The Vatican in 1989 went so far as to say that methods such as Zen, yoga and ON THE COVER Kristy Robinson demonstrates how she meditates. PHOTO BY SHELLEY MAYS. transcendental meditation can "degenerate into a cult of the body" and be dangerous. And the notion that meditation is way too out there for Christians, if not rooted in the Bible, still exists today. "The idea of emptying the mind is not biblically based," says Don Whitney, associate professor of biblical spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. "There can be a danger." Referring to meditation's long association with Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions, Whitney says, "Some of the yoga stuff, where you're given a mantra, that is rooted in false religions." He sees no problem with stretching, but once you start chanting, you're treading on treacherous ground, he says. His beef is that some people are seeking tools to help them live and de-stress. "That's very selfish," he says. "Our lives should be lived to the glory of God." Practice fits in But for many Christians, meditation fits quite nicely into their religious life. They're drawn to biblical Scriptures, such as in the Psalms, which say, "Be still, and know that I am God." For them, meditation has brought deeper meaning to their lives. "I discovered my true self through meditation," says Cassandra Finch, a former Nashville television reporter. "Often because we are so busy, we don't make time for selfdiscovery." A Christian who attends an interdenominational church and considers herself nondenominational, Finch, 42, also has been attending a Buddhist center to meditate. "Going to church is where I'm being talked to. There is not a lot of silent time," Finch says. "I feel the power and presence of God through my meditation." BY ANGELA PARR. ARGUS LEADER Argus-Leader · Mon, Oct 20, 2008 · Page Page 27 · (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)