Author: Jody Thomae

Jody Thomae is the author of God’s Creative Gift—Unleashing the Artist in You, a devotional book with Bible studies to nurture the creative spirit within. Published by Wipf & Stock Publishers, her book is designed to serve as a resource for Christian artists, creatives, study groups, and worship teams. Having been involved in worship arts ministry since 1997, Jody also leads worship at church, retreats and women’s events. Her passion is for the revelation of God to be made real through the prophetic use of the arts in church and formational ministry. It is her desire to portray the message of Christ’s desperate and unfailing love for His people to help sustain the hearts of the broken and weary. She is particularly interested in the way in which God uses the arts to bring formational development and healing to His people. Life scriptures include Psalm 27; Isaiah 50:4-7; and Zephaniah 3:14-17. She has been married since 1991 and is the mother of two teenagers.

Embodied Spirituality Resources

February 13, 2020October 11, 2022 Jody Thomae

What is an “embodied spirituality” and what does it mean to embody your spiritual experience? How do we bring our bodies to our prayer, worship and other spiritual practices? There are several great resources I want to share with you that explore these questions.

I highly recommend these books…

Embodied Prayer: Towards a Wholeness of Body, Mind & Soul by Celeste Snowber Schroeder. You can preview and read a portion of this book here.
The Wisdom of the Body: a Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women by Christine Valters Paintner. You can find out about both the book and an online course that accompanies it here.
Prayer of the Heart & Body by Fr. Tom Ryan. Find out more here.

I recommend the following articles and blog posts:

NEW!! an article on using prayer ropes and one on my meditative prayer beads
NEW!! a BEaUtiful BODY prayer: Blessing of the Body by Joyce Rupp
an article with touching video about taking time for rest in the midst of chaos
ideas for praying with play-dough
a 7-part series on postures of prayer & praise
thoughts on reclaiming yoga as a Christian healing tool
Embodied Prayer: Reclaiming the Age-Old Wisdom of the Body Through Movement and Dance by Kathryn Sparks
EmbodiedSpirituality, Now and Then by Jorge N. Ferrer
What Does it Mean to Live a Fully Embodied Spiritual Life? by Jorge N. Ferrer
Embodied Spirituality by Dr. Joseph A. Kim
Yoga as a Creative Christian Practice
Physical Movement in Jewis h Prayer article by Joshua Rabin
3-part series on the body in Quakerism by Madeline Schaefer: Silent Body: My Struggle with an Eating Disorder; Bringing Our Bodies to the Light; A Truly Embodied Spirituality

I recommend the following videos:

NEW!! let my friend Marlita Hill dance prophetically over your life
CaraMayan embodied prayer: The Lord’s Prayer
CaraMayan embodied prayer: Gaelic Blessing
a Christ-centered grounding practice with scripture
a Christ-centered breath practice with scripture
a short prayer to embody your faith

Please check back on occasion as I will add to this list as I discover more resources on my own journey of living a fully-embodied, whole-hearted life! If you’d like to be notified of retreats and future offerings please sign up for the Rooted & Reaching email list.

Stay Rooted & Keep Reaching, Jody

Jody Thomae © 2020 All Rights Reserved

Embodied Guidance, Compassion & Care

April 11, 2017November 8, 2022 Jody Thomae

Rooted & Reaching Embodied Care: Integrated Spiritual Guidance and Caregiving for Mind, Body, Spirit & Soul is a unique combination of spiritual direction and guidance, Healing Care Ministries Formational Prayer, worshipful movement, embodied prayer, and yoga therapy—all from a body-focused, trauma-informed, and Christ-centered perspective. It is designed to provide spiritual guidance, compassionate care, and integrated instruction in order to live a more fully embodied, whole-hearted life—the καρδία, kardia life! καρδία (kardia) is Greek for “Heart” — and yet it is all-encompassing in meaning. According to Strong’s Concordance, “Universally, καρδία denotes the seat and center of all physical and spiritual life and the vigor and sense of physical life. [It is…] the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors.” When Paul wrote “let the eyes of your heart (καρδία, kardia) be opened” he meant for our entire being—every part of who we are—to be open to the movement of God’s Spirit within us.

With close to two decades of experience in both ministry and body-oriented work, Jody works with individuals and small groups to live fully-embodied and whole-hearted lives. A typical 60 minute session might include a simple mirrored worship dance; Lectio Divina with mindful breathing, breath prayer and simple, symbolic action; Christ-centered grounding and centering; YogaFaith whole body worship; Relax & Renew® restorative body work; Formational Prayer; and other creativity-inspiring activities. All sessions are:

guided by the work of the Holy Spirit
conducted with trauma-informed philosophy in mind
focused on you traveling your own awakening, abiding and healing journey
attentive to the person as a whole—honoring heart, soul, mind and body
a place for you to be heard, seen, recognized and to rest in safe and sacred space

If you are interested in Rooted & Reaching Embodied Care: Integrated Spiritual Direction and Caregiving for Mind, Body, Spirit & Soul with Jody, please email her at yogafaithjody@gmail.com for more information. Cost: $100/session. Please note: due to the embodied nature of this work, all sessions are LIVE (no virtual options offered).

Learn more about this “embodiment” thing here. Or check out Jody’s EMBODIED series here with lots of ideas, tools and free resources. One of those resources is a 7-part series on Postures of Prayer & Praise where you can begin to explore embodied postures of worship as found in scripture. Thank you for joining me on the journey to live a fully-embodied, whole-hearted life… ROOTED in love and REACHING out in love! If you’d like to be notified of retreats and future offerings please sign up for the Rooted & Reaching email list.

Rooted & Reaching…

April 11, 2017February 22, 2022 Jody Thomae

My philosophy in life, ministry, movement and yoga can be summarized in two words: ROOTED & REACHING. All my offerings are:

ROOTED or grounded in form, alignment, intention, inclusion, safety, and a shared-experience between teacher and student.

REACHING or stretching towards personal goals, dreams, destiny, and the God-given design in each of our lives.

In spiritual terms, for those who want to truly embody their faith, for whose yoga practice is an act of whole body worship, and for those who seek to be followers of Jesus Christ, we understand that when we are ROOTED in our own identity as beloved children of God and know that we are deeply loved by Him, we can live a life REACHING out to others in a way that doesn’t drain and deplete us, but fills us with life as we live out our own unique calling in this world and extend His love, grace and mercy to others.

STUDENTS & EXPLORERS of ALL shapes, sizes, spirituality and abilities are welcomed and encouraged to reach their full potential through this trUly BEaUtiful thing called yoga and embodiment. Won’t you join the journey with me? I’d love to have you join us! If you’d like to be notified of retreats and future offerings please sign up for the Rooted & Reaching email list.

Shanti Shalom,*
Jody

*Shanti is Sanskrit for peace & Shalom is Hebrew for deep, abiding peace.

Take time to breathe

April 11, 2017February 22, 2022 Jody Thomae

It is important for each of us to take time to breathe… to slow down… to focus on yourself for a bit. We all live busy lives, but it is so vital to realize that no one can pour from an empty cup. You need a time and a place where you are filled. Yoga has never been, nor will ever be, a business for me. It is a ministry… a ministry in which I have the honor and privilege of creating and holding space for others to be filled up in such a way that they can be a help and joy to others. I’d love to serve you in this way, too. You can check out the latest class schedule by clicking here. You can also schedule a private or semi-private Rooted & Reaching Embodied Direction, Compassion & Care session with Jody by contacting her at yogafaithjody@gmail.com. If you’d like to be notified of retreats and future offerings please sign up for the Rooted & Reaching email list. I would love to see you at a class or retreat real soon!! So come breathe with us! In the meantime, let me offer you this free resource below. While it has a trauma-sensitive focus, it is great for everyone! Enjoy!