Becoming Whole

Yoga means “to unite,” “to yoke,” and “to make whole,” so my story of returning to wholeness involves yoga.

I was born a PK … that’s short for Preacher’s Kid. Not only was my father a Southern gospel preacher, but he was affiliated and indoctrinated by the Church of Christ. From an early age, the dogma of my family’s belief system did not resonate with me. I was plagued by this in childhood and tried my best to conform after being shushed and reprimanded for any questions or doubts I had concerning this form of faith. I remember very clearly getting yelled at from my oldest sister for coming home with a handmade Christmas card for my parents because I showcased the star and their ultra-conservative viewpoint was not to mix the holiday with religion. Not only that, I didn’t understand why women in the church couldn’t teach children past the age of 12, even though they explained it was due to the age of accountability. Likewise, I didn’t understand why the original sin was cast upon women, even though that’s what the old scriptures said. There was a time when my family couldn’t share with the congregation we were going to the beach for vacation. I was told we couldn’t share because we needed to be an example of good, strong morals. Furthermore, I was confused on why we couldn’t complement our a cappella singing on occasion with simple musical instruments, not even a piano or organ, because they took the scripture “sing with all of your heart” so literally. There is more; however, I really want to relay that it was also the messaging from the pulpit that I didn’t understand. How could this church truly believe those who were believers in this faith were the “only ones” doing it right, worshiping right, getting baptized right, repenting right, and everything else right enough to go to heaven?