Rooted & Reaching Yoga & Embodied Care

12/26/2025

Breath Prayers for Advent: On Christmas Day we light the Christ candle… for a Savior that brings his Light to the darkness… all the broken, shattered, crippled, withered, grieving and dying places within. A Light that asks something different of us than the place we find ourselves stuck. Do we have the courage reach towards the Light? Read more at: https://jodythomae.com/2025/12/25/breath-prayers-for-the-rest-of-us-advent-christ/

12/21/2025

Week 4 of Breath Prayers for Advent -- for those struggling to get through this holiday season -- today we light the candle of LOVE. How do we find and respond to the gift of LOVE being offered when the darkness attempts to isolate us?
Breathe with me here: https://jodythomae.com/2025/12/21/breath-prayers-advent-love/

12/15/2025

Breath Prayers for Advent series -- this week we light and breathe with the theme of JOY with the words of Kahlil Gibran:
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

If you struggle to find JOY in the midst of this season... due to loss, grief, anxiety, depression, sorrow... these are breath prayers for you. Come breathe with us at: https://jodythomae.com/2025/12/14/breath-prayers-advent-joy/

12/13/2025

"And a partridge in a pear tree!!!!!" And that's a wrap for 2025!
We'll be off through the holidays. We start back Wednesday, Jan 7th with our normal schedule:
6pm Mondays BREATHE Ashland University Chapel
10am Wednesdays BELONG Faith&Flow The Ashland Kroc Center
5:15pm Wednesdays BELIEVE Faith&Flow Ashland U Chapel

12/08/2025

Breath Prayers for the Rest of Us-- a weekly Advent series to bless those who struggle during the holiday season. This week we light the candle of PEACE. But what if peace alludes you? Read more & breathe with me here: https://jodythomae.com/2025/12/07/breath-prayers-advent-peace/

12/03/2025

🤣❤️💚😂

🔄 or ↗️if you’re a 🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️🧘.

11/30/2025

"Breath Prayers for the Rest of Us" -- a weekly Advent series to bless those who struggle to make it through the Holiday season. Today we light the candle of HOPE to push back the darkness with a stunning line from the poetry from Jan Richardson:
https://jodythomae.com/2025/11/30/breath-prayers-advent-hope/

"Breath Prayers for the Rest of Us" -- a weekly Advent series to bless those who struggle to make it through the Holiday season. Today we light the candle of HOPE to push back the darkness:
https://jodythomae.com/2025/11/30/breath-prayers-advent-hope/

11/21/2025

I have my creative friend Peyton to thank for this one.

11/20/2025

Here's the playlist we used yesterday:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Zx7V8z1IyFc69U7pT7Yny?si=c160cbc1c55740bd

Playlist · Faith&Flow Jody · 56 items · 50 saves

11/11/2025

Two holiday yoga options this year!! No sign up required. You'll find the details for each one when you click on the specific photo. Bring a mat and a friend!! We'd love to have you!!

10/29/2025

...love this...

I received yet another message this week expressing concern about Christians practicing yoga.

I understand where that concern comes from—truly. And for anyone who’s ever wondered the same, I want to share my heart behind what I do.

If you’ve ever attended one of my classes, workshops, or retreats, you know that it’s not about yoga in the cultural or Eastern sense. It’s about creating sacred space to move tension out of the body so we can be still in the Lord’s presence (Psalm 46:10).

Before I ever taught my first class, I wrestled and prayed over whether to even use the word yoga. But God made it clear: it’s not the word—it’s the heart and the focus behind it.

In every class I teach, people hear Scripture. They worship. They breathe in His peace. They pray. They meet Jesus on their mat. My mission has always been to help others make space for the Holy Spirit—to quiet the noise, release what’s been stored, and draw near to Him.

After 16 years as a trauma therapist, I know this to be true:
trauma lives in the body. Even when the mind forgets, the body remembers. Movement—yes, even stretching or yoga—can help release what’s been held so tightly that we can make room for healing, connection, and freedom in Christ.

And here’s what I also know: God designed our bodies to breathe, to move, to heal, and to connect—with Him and with others. Nothing was created without His knowledge. He is the Creator of all things, and He can redeem anything for His glory.

So why do we put Him in a box?
If God can speak through a burning bush, heal with mud and spit, and part the sea with a staff—surely He can use movement, breath, and stillness to reach the hearts of His people.

I’ve seen it firsthand. I’ve watched people meet Jesus on their mat. I’ve witnessed tears fall as tension releases and hearts open. I’ve seen freedom and healing happen right there in that holy space.

If you’re coming from a place of concern, please know this: you are welcome here. God sees your heart. And He desires freedom, wholeness, and peace for all of us—mind, body, and spirit.

🕊️ “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17

10/07/2025

“The ventral vagal state is contagious. As you walk through the world, if you are in a regulated state, every nervous system around you is feeling safety, connection, welcome, regulation. And we need more of that in these times. The need for people in regulated states is huge right now.” —Deb Dana speaking at the Somatic Healing Summit.
So the question becomes… are you bringing peace and regulation to others or are you bringing more chaos to an already chaotic world? Be mindful of what you bring to this world. We each bring something to the table—what are you bringing?