About the Author

Lucretia is a wife, mom of three, and a TEDx and Q Ideas speaker (Charlotte, NC, 2017). As a former college professor, she designed the popular ‘beginners’ course and study guide, What LIES Between Us: Fostering First Steps Toward Racial Healing. She is the creator and director of the Brownicity.com...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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Comments

  1. Hi Lucretia,
    I know probably everyone has tried to play doctor…I just send this as something to rule out. When working out I experience many of the same things you mentioned. Even climbing a set of stairs will make me have to pause and catch my breath. My body doesn’t get enough oxygen due to having beta thalassemia minor (I have fewer red blood cells and those I have are smaller than normal). I don’t get enough oxygen when I exert myself. Sister to BTM is cycle cell anemia. It can cause many of the same symptoms due to insufficient oxygen supply to the body and organs. Just something to rule out?! I love the image of stilling myself so that I can experience God moving within me. Truly apart from Him, I can do nothing. Prayers sweet sister…
    Blessings,
    Bev xx

    • Thank you Bev! I really appreciate you sharing. I love learning and feel good about entering the doctors office with any and all information that will help her help me!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!
      May you find much movement in stillness!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  2. This was a godsend. Thank you for sharing your story. I was super athletic in my early forties (for the first time in my life), learning to windsurf, mountain bike, and lift free weights at the gym. I felt powerful and strong. Over the years since I have broken my neck and had two brain surgeries. I move like a much more elderly person (I AM 68 but still!). I feel resistance to give in and do things like gentle yoga as well, but I know I need to move my body in order to remain flexible and less pain filled as I continue to age. Thanks for the “gentle” reminder.

    • Oh Linda!! I am relieved that you can relate. However, I am sorry learn of your injuries! YIKES! Your are incredibly athletic! May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

    • Michelle,
      I’m glad to know my lessons spoke to you. May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

    • Alisa,
      I am glad to know that you see yourself in my story. May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  3. I can relate. Since middle of January I’ve taken my fitness goals really serious and exercised almost everyday and absolutely love cardio dance. It’s been an incredible stress reliever and makes me feel so good! But I have surgery next week and supposed to do nothing for 2 weeks. I am afraid I’ll lose my momentum but praying God will help me sustain it and thinking of what movement I could do while I am recovering. But maybe that’s the thing, I need to do nothing but be still. Enjoy the rest, enjoy the recovery, and be still knowing He is God and there is a plan and a purpose in the still seasons.

    • Yes! I know its difficult! And dance provides so much goodness and joy to the body!!!
      May your surgery and recovery be successful! May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  4. Thank you for your story. I am not trying to be a downer, but yoga is NOT of God. I love In Courage, and I forward it to many ladies. Today I will not because I don’t want to support anything to do with yoga. I incourage everyone to check what God says about it. May God continue to Bless your walk and your life.

    • Thank you for your post today. It was encouraging. But I have to disagree with “BC from BC” about yoga. I do yoga because I can’t do fast cardio exercises, jump up and down, or fast-moving exercises. I have neuropathy and poor circulation, and I have muscle damage in my right hip because of arthritis. I have arthritis in both hips. Last year I had stem cell therapy on both hips, thank the Lord! Because if I waited any longer, I’d be slated for hip replacement. I know there are a lot of Christians who won’t do yoga because of all the mysticism stuff or whatever you want to call it. I don’t believe in all the yoga meditation stuff that goes along with the exercises. You can meditate on God’s word while you “calm your soul” and stretch and move in the different poses that you/I can do comfortably. I can’t go for walks or jog as my lower back will hurt, then everything will hurt, including my feet. There are a lot of yoga poses that are easy on the body. You don’t have to turn your mind over to nothingness or be in a trance to be calm. As I said, meditate and pray to the LORD while you stretch, etc.

      • Hi Linda.
        I used to have reservations about yoga due to ‘churchy’ misinformation. Being the nerd that I am, I researched the origins of yoga that actually predate the popular ‘mysticism’ that was added later for other reasons. So, logically, I am fine with it. Then, when I started to practice it, each time, I would have amazing one on one time with God. I prepare myself to hear and receive, and I always do. And in the meantime, I learn to appreciate my body differently than when I’m doing a workout that doesn’t have a medication aspect.

        Thank you for sharing.
        May you find much movement in stillness!

        Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

        Shalom to you.
        LCB

      • Good Afternoon ladies,
        I appreciated this article and the call to slow down and live in the peace God intended for our lives. However I do agree with the initial comment made by BC from BC. Yoga is not just mere physical exercise; the physical is the spiritual in yoga, and the exercises, techniques and disciplines of yoga were meant to connect with the divine. The very root of all the yogic practices is to reach only one goal: enlightenment. The deep and rich history of this practice is steeped in a religion that is known for their worship of another god(s) which scripture completely speaks against. The Bible is clear, ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest’ (Hos 4:6-7). ‘I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not share my glory with another, nor my praise to graven images’ (Isa 42:8).

        Research AND prayer is the key to discernment; at the end of our research the ONLY conclusion should be “is God our creator fine with it?”. When you invite the Holy Spirit into your life, you become more present to God moving within you. I am by no means an expert on yoga and am open to learning more from your research on the origins of yoga that led you to the conclusion that those of us against yoga have been misinformed. As followers of Jesus I find it hard to comprehend why so many Christians not only religiously defend, but insist on taking part in an Eastern practice that may not initially seem to pose a threat but has the potential to blur the lines of the Christian faith and what the bible teaches (1 Peter 5:8).

        The following paragraph is from an article titled Yoga: The True Hindu Roots Behind the Western Trend. If you wish to read the full article it can be found at http://www.browngirlmagazine.com,

        “My religion is not your workout; it has been rooted in my religion for thousands of years as a practice to become one with God and a way to heal our minds, bodies and souls. My prayer beads aren’t your accessories; used for meditation, the purity of my prayer beads don’t make for a nice necklace or bracelet. Om is not a trendy noun for yogis; the sacred sound brings peace to the chanter and is not a name for your company’s students. Yoga is a Hindu practice that cannot be stripped of its identity and given a new history.”

        Peace

        • Sharah,
          I respect your research, prayers, and love for God. And I greatly appreciate that you respect mine. In this day and age of living in binaries, hastening to empathy and understanding seem to be growing less common by the minute. So, thank you hearing the pain and beauty of my personal story and responding with love and care.

          I see God’s image through you. And I know you see God’s image through me.

          Shalom to you.
          LCB

    • Thank you for reading. May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  5. Lucretia,

    It’s so like God to use a health issue to get our attention. He chose to have you slow down & still your self. Then & only then can you feel God moving in & through you. What we deem awful is in reality the exact thing we need. God will slow us down to get our attention & make us aware of His presence. Life down here is so busy & fast paced that many don’t acknowledge God much, if at all. Unless, of course there is a huge problem. God desires for us to be in communion with Him always. We can’t do that striving & moving about at fast paces always. God got my attention with my parents health issues & eventual death. He slowed me down to take care of them & in the process I grew more aware of His presence. My faith & trust in God grew also. Praying for you to get answers to your health issues. Praising God for slowing you down to realize the presence of God in you.

    Blessings 🙂

    • YES!!! to everything you wrote. Thank you for the acknowledgement, encouragement, and prayers! May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  6. I think sometimes God calls us to be still. I was dancing and busted my knee cap off in a freak accident. it took 6 months of me being home and only to the hospital for check ups …i was left alone to listen to God’s heart for me. I honored God in this time by reading many many good books and coming closer to him in prayer.
    so for 6 months I learned how to pray..and be content. I am thankful looking back at that time in my life that I didn’t run from this time but embraced it as a time for him & me to grow closer.

    • Krissy,
      Reading your comment made my knees hurt. I am glad to know you recovered and that you encompassed more of God in the healing process. May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  7. Sometime we have be still and listen to God. We don’t always as God people. We think we know better than God. I done that before. Rather than listen to what God through his Holy Spirit is telling me to do. I don’t always pray to God first when I have problem or in pain or not well. Or stand on the promises in his word the Bible. I go into panic mood. I don’t put praise music. To help me calm down first. I just think I know better than God. I been there in the past. This way I love today’s reading. I had to stop and move into the stillness of God. Say God I am sorry. I don’t know how to heal myself or get through this problem on my own. I need your help through your Holy Spirit to help and tell me what to. Then when I go to God in prayer stand on the Promises in his word the Bible. Listen to what his Holy Spirit tell me wha to do. Then do what it says. As I did that one time I was not well. God through his Holy Spirit told me with my prayers and standing on his word the Bible and the Promises in it to go to the Doctors. I then knew I needed an operation because I was not well. I went when I was called. Three years this October through the operation. Moving into the stillness of God beside me. I had so many people praying for me. Came out through the operation with no trouble at all. As I knew God took me through it all. I am where am today. God never left my side. Xxx

    • Hi Dawn.
      Yes, God is faithful. No matter where we are, God is with us, loving us. May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  8. I can relate too. I’m an ex-marathon runner and hearing I couldn’t run anymore thanks to bulging discs in my neck, made me cry. I too have moved into yoga, and its so much more challenging and amazing than I thought it could be. The time to slow down and honor God in my practice has also been a gift. I really enjoy your posts. Thank you.

    • Sylvia,
      Thank you for sharing. Your story made me smile — not the bulging disc part, but the honoring God in your practice part! Its such a gift. May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

    • Marilyn,
      Thank you for reading and sharing! May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB

  9. For anyone concerned about doing Yoga as a Christian, Caroline Williams has done a fantastic video series about exactly this. She has a wonderful YouTube channel where she shares Christian yoga practices as well as devotions. (https:https://m.youtube.com/carolinewilliamsyoga) I am new to the practice but can’t recommend her highly enough! Practicing with her has been truly awakening my prayer life and sense of connection to God.

    • Hi Sherry! I posted a reply about doing yoga because that is what works for me. I don’t include all that other meditation stuff that goes with it. I will check out Caroline Williams’ youtube channel even though I already have a yoga program (in my notebook) that I use. Thanks for posting her youtube link. 🙂

  10. For anyone concerned about doing yoga as a Christian, Caroline Williams has just done a fantastic video series about exactly this. She has a wonderful YouTube channel where she shares Christian yoga practices as well as devotions and reflections. I am new to yoga but can honestly say that practicing with her has awakened my prayer life and sense of connection to God. Highly recommend!
    https://m.youtube.com/carolinewilliamsyoga

    • Sherry,
      Thank you for sharing. You are thoughtful. May you find much movement in stillness!

      Thank you for your patience regarding my delayed reply. I am recovering from the flu!!

      Shalom to you.
      LCB