Learn about Christian Yoga with visiting Pastor Tabea Meyer from Germany
Recap: Last week, Oct 19-25, 2026, we welcomed special guest Pastor Tabea Meyer from Essen, Germany, one of the first people to complete training as a Christian yoga teacher. She led Dinner Church on Wednesday October 21 and a retreat for our lay preachers from Friday to Saturday October 23-24. We explored ways of praying that involve the body, learned to connect passages of scripture with movement, and let God’s word sink in through meditation and breathing exercises. We also developed elements for our Reformation Sunday service, including times of quiet, breathwork, and a few gentle movements. We thank Tabea for inspiring us to live our faith in new ways and wish her and her family all the best!
Background:
Tabea Meyer is a protestant pastor from Essen, Germany, who works in a school and also as a yoga teacher. Ever since studying theology in Bonn and Bochum, she has been particularly interested in the question of why the Church is so “disembodied” – apart from Holy Communion and baptism, there are hardly any aspects of worship that actively involve the body. And yet the Bible, which is essentially a Jewish testimony, is full of words and expressions that are deeply rooted in the physical experience of being human.
During her training in Christian yoga at the newly founded Sela Institute in Witten, she increasingly came to understand that body and spirit cannot be separated, but rather must and can be understood together – especially when it comes to matters of faith. In Christian yoga, body and soul come together, reconnecting with one another.
If, in keeping with our Lutheran tradition, we see the Church as being in a constant process of change, perhaps the time has come to rediscover our Jewish roots, to move body and soul together, and, in doing so, to discover new dimensions of our Christian faith.
Tabea is looking forward to getting to know the community of Martin Luther Church and engaging in conversation with its members.
She will be the guest speaker at Dinner Church on Wednesday October 21 at 7 pm. She will be part of the German-English creative service on Reformation Sunday October 25 at 11 am. You are invited to stay after the service for coffee with our guests from St. George’s Church and to bring dessert to share.
She will also be meeting with lay preachers from our church and other German-Lutheran churches for a retreat from Oct 23-24.
