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God Already Said That — When Science Keeps Confirming the Biblical Tools
For a long time I resisted the practices I now teach. Mindfulness felt new age, stillness felt lazy, somatic work was unfamiliar and seemed woo woo and unbiblical. I was a Christian woman who loved Jesus as best I could by following all the rules, believing the Bible, and wanting to honor God with my body and mind, fighting to avoid being drawn into anything that felt “off.”
Yet despite my devotion, I was hurting. Mentally struggling along with all the physical pain creeping in over my 30 years on earth. My first lingering ache was a constant burn in my right shoulder, spasms when I turned my head, and frequent tension and pain that I remember from as early as grade school. Chronic illness and nervous system overload had worn me down. My thoughts were anxious, scattered, and heavy. I couldn't make myself pray because God is sovereign, so what's the point? Sitting still felt dissociative; I obviously should be knocking on doors to share the gospel in my spare time! I was burnt out, numb, trapped in cycles of trying harder with zero energy to do so. I thought I was being faithful by avoiding things that “felt too spiritual,” but in doing that, I missed the invitation to heal through tools God had made for us.
Only when I reached a new level of low, a summer of needing help up stairs and assistance cutting my own food, did I dare to ask God if there might be a better way. Actually, I'm not even sure if I had reached that point with my walk, I think it was more of a complete submission to the pain and fatigue to the point of not caring if I was in sin, if I went to yoga or dared to go to therapy (yikes - I know). I gave up on trying to be a good Christian and felt like all those deconstructing influencers losing their faith in real time. I gave up on what I thought about faithfulness and obedience. I dared to ask if maybe I had gotten some things wrong. I gave up the striving.
But in that giving up, something unexpected happened. The pressure lifted, and with it, a sliver of curiosity returned. Not rebellion, not apathy, but the faintest question: what if the things I had feared weren’t enemies of the gospel, but invitations from a God who cared about my whole being? What if these practices were not opposed to Scripture but rather echoes of it? Maybe some of these things I thought were too new agey were really just God allowing His gifts to be used as a form of common grace. What if neuroscience, trauma research, and somatic therapy were simply catching up to truths God embedded in our bodies and the Word since the beginning? I'm not saying I'm right, but I am beginning to ask, what if?
So I went. I unrolled a mat in the back corner of a local class, unsure and uncomfortable, but too exhausted to care. And there, in quiet stretches and steady breath, a teacher regularly reminding me to tune in and listen to my body, something began to shift. I wasn’t performing or trying to prove anything. I wasn’t being taught, corrected, or asked to strive for more. I was actively encouraged to stop. pushing. so. dang. hard. I was entering a season of learning to simply be. More than once, I reached the end of class, lying still in savasana, tears slipping down my cheeks, falling silently onto my sweaty mat. Tears not from sadness or emotional highs or lows, but from release. A quiet, unexplainable loosening of something deep inside me. Through guided movement and intentional stillness, grief I didn’t even know I was holding began to rise to the surface and move through me. Each class God began to bring a memory or a feeling I had pushed down deep, and guided me through letting it go. He wasn’t standing above me with a list of corrections. He was with me. Present in my breath, present in my body, present in a pause for the first time in a good while. And somehow, in that unlikely space I fought for 30 years to stay away from, I began to heal.
Now, through Mending with Mindfulness, I aim to teach other women the tools I once avoided, rooted deeply in science and Scripture, because I believe the two were never meant to be at odds. Let’s walk through each tool I teach and how they are not only evidence‑based but biblically grounded.
1. Mindfulness (Present Moment Awareness) [Stillness Before God]
What it is: Paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment with curiosity and compassion. 'Notice'
The science: Research shows mindfulness reduces anxiety, strengthens attention, lowers inflammation, and calms the stress response. It helps rewire the brain’s threat response and build emotional resilience.
Biblical truth: Mindfulness is simply awareness. The Bible calls us again and again to awaken our hearts and minds:
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, ESV)
“Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2, ESV)
“Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19, ESV)
God does not call us to ignore our bodies or dissociate from our pain. He invites us to notice it and bring it to Him. Mindfulness is not about emptying the mind, but about directing it with intention.
2. Somatic Practices (Nervous System Work) [Steward the Body]
What it is: Using movement, breath, and body‑based awareness to process and make space for stored stress and trauma from the nervous system.
The science: The body holds on to experiences long after the mind forgets. Somatic practices like gentle movement, grounding, and breath work help release tension patterns, calm the vagus nerve, and promote neuroplasticity.
Biblical truth: Our bodies are part of God’s redemptive design:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit…?” (1 Corinthians 6:19, ESV)
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1, ESV)
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5, ESV)
God created our bodies not as distractions, but as vessels for communion with Him. Somatics isn’t worship of the body, it’s learning to listen to it, so we can move through pain rather than be ruled by it. Jesus embodied this truth with physical presence. He touched the untouchable, wept with the grieving, and healed through touch many times. Our bodies matter. Years of bashing Disney logic, casually calling people to NOT 'listen to their hearts,' had me sitting so far in the other direction that I was essentially just a floating head. I still believe there's a lot of nuance here to be discussed, but I'm realizing I need to think harder about the phrase, 'don't throw the baby out with the bath water.'
3. Stillness (Parasympathetic Activation) [Sabbath Rest]
What it is: A nervous‑system state of safety and rest, created through intentional pauses.
The science: Stillness helps shift the nervous system from sympathetic (fight or flight) to parasympathetic (rest and digest). This shift creates space for healing, clarity, and calm. Stillness is regulation, not avoidance.
Biblical truth: Sabbath and rest are deeply somatic practices:
“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15, ESV)
“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2–3, ESV)
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, ESV)
John Calvin taught that Christian rest is not confined to a holy rule over one day, but that “what Christ fulfilled in the Sabbath requires not one day each week, but the whole course of our lives.” In other words, rest is an ongoing posture created for US! Hebrews reminds us that “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9, ESV), signifying rest we enter by faith, not by performance, aka, you don't have to earn it, but you do need to take it.
4. Making Space (Co‑Regulation) [Christian Community]
What it is: Being present with someone else in a way that calms their nervous system, often without fixing or advising.
The science: Human nervous systems are wired for connection. When we sit with someone who is calm and attuned, our brains mirror that safety. This is co‑regulation, one of the most powerful tools for healing relational trauma.
Biblical truth: We were made for interdependent healing:
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, ESV)
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15, ESV)
“Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, ESV)
Sometimes healing comes through presence more than answers. Sitting with a sister in pain, saying “You are not alone”—that is not self‑help, it is Christlike presence.
5. Mantras / Meditation (Brain Retraining) [Take every thought captive]
What it is: Repeating truth to shift patterns of thinking and rewire neural pathways.
The science: The brain is plastic; we can build new pathways and weaken old fear loops through repetition. Mantras and meditative repetition based on scripture anchor shifts toward peace and hope.
Biblical truth: Scripture itself teaches the power of repetition and meditation:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2, ESV)
“The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip” (Psalm 37:31, ESV)
“Blessed is the man... whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1–2, ESV)
Puritan Richard Allestree wrote that meditation is 'the most neglected spiritual discipline to help Christians glorify God in personal devotions.' Meditation in Reformational tradition always follows God speaking in Scripture and precedes our prayer in response. Learn, rest and reflect, respond. Not too far from a yoga class's rhythm. wink wink
Why Are We So Afraid of These Tools?
Because it feels different. Because it is slower. Because it unmasks performance and reveals surrender. We're often taught (or it's an unintended message we absorb) that effort is always holy, hustle is faithfulness, and stillness must mean failure. But that’s not the Gospel. The Gospel says we’re already loved, already seen, already redeemed. From that place we heal. Many of us have mistaken safety for complacency. Learning to feel safe in your body isn’t giving up, it’s giving over. It is letting the God who designed your nervous system show you how to live in it without fear.
A Vision for What’s Possible
I want to see Christian women heal, not by abandoning their faith, but by rooting into it even deeper. By learning that God affects and lives within their bodies, minds, and communities. I long to see women gather across living rooms, sanctuaries, backyard patios, and studios to co‑regulate with grace and truth. I see us making space for one another to pause before prescribing, listen before we speak, and offer presence instead of pressure.
I want us to redefine strength, not as pushing harder, but as letting God hold us in our weakness. I believe science keeps confirming what Scripture already told us: renewal is possible, rest is holy, and healing is part of God’s heart for His people.
If you’re a Christian woman who feels skeptical, know this: I was you. But I’m inviting you to reconsider, not by chasing trends, but by tracing these practices back to our Creator who made our minds, bodies, and communities. Come breathe deeply, notice what you feel, and rest for a moment. God won't let you fall away if you stop hanging on for dear life.
