London health consultant Natalie Braithwaite has teamed up with Ben Bluemel, a pastor and writer, to form ‘Body, a new category Glorify, an app designed to help Christians strengthen their daily connection with God.
The pair have produced nine video-based tools. Natalie believes there are stretch routines, breathing exercises and mindful movements that can help individuals connect to God.
Glorify was launched by Ed Beccle and Henry Costa and received lots of high-profile funding from the likes of Michael Bublé and Kris Jenner. The news featured on Bloomberg and The Times amongst others.
I had a chance to learn more in this interview with Ben.
Can you share a little bit about the link between our physical bodies and our spiritual health?
Our humanity is fascinating. The interplay between our mind, spirits, souls and bodies is complex but worth exploring. There’s certainly no easy answer. Religion has long contemplated the relationship between the physical and spiritual realms and the Christian worldview has a lot to say on the subject. Within the Christian faith, the physical body is honoured as an integral part of God’s intentional creation and, as a result, it cannot be easily separated from our interactions with God in the mental and spiritual realms. We have to see ourselves as holistic beings. The physical can impact the spiritual and vice versa. When we start thinking like this, it can change the way we engage with our faith. The Bible has a lot to say about the physical body and how it can aid our intimacy and relationship with God. The apostle Paul, for example, encourages us to offer our physical bodies as part of our spiritual worship. It’s a thought-provoking statement. In another letter, he refers to our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. Clearly, how we utilise and treat our bodies has a part to play in our worship and devotional activities. It’s something we can all think about.
Why is this a connection that's often overlooked?
There are many reasons for this. When we think about “God”, we often default to pondering the very spiritual nature of that relationship. We cannot see God, and therefore there is naturally a very ethereal dimension to exploring our relationship with Him. This spiritual element to our faith is obviously critical and should not be overlooked. However, thinking about the physical body in the contexts of our religious journey and experience sometimes comes less naturally. We can slip into Gnostic-style thinking, prevalent in our culture, which elevates and honours the mind and spirit at the expense of the fleshy and physical. Techniques like meditation and mindfulness are too easily dismissed as not having a place in the Christian faith. Our challenge is to note that God intentionally made us as physical beings and to ask the question: How could my body play a role in my relationship with God?
What else makes the Glorify app so helpful at fostering a close relationship with God?
At its heart, Glorify is a tool to help people find joy and intimacy in their relationship with Jesus. As a counterbalance to our chaotic culture, it is designed to help people slow down in their busy everyday lives and find enough space to genuinely connect with their Heavenly Father. Through easily-accessible devotional reflections, music, prayers and scriptural meditations, there is a wealth of content that can help people to find Jesus in whatever they are going through. It’s a valuable prompt and pointer to help anyone encounter the peace of God amid the stresses of everyday life.
No comments:
Post a Comment