What Is New Creation Body Prayer®? Copyright by Anna York

DVD & Handbook Available

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New Creation Body Prayer® DVD: $12

30-Minute workout that works the whole body

Instructions and demonstration for each movement

Genesis Creation Story Narrative

New Creation Body Prayer® Handbook: $8

The Handbook matches the DVD.

Fully illustrated with photographs

and descriptions of 20 key movements.

Breathing makes one aware of the wind and air we all share and the need for keeping it clean and pure in order that all may have life and health.

“In Body Prayer, I quickly found a way of standing that made my breathing more natural and open." Sophie Behlen, High School Counselor

New Creation Body Prayer is the healing exercise I developed over the years of my recovery from severe disability caused by multiple sclerosis. The purpose of New Creation Body Prayer (NCBP) is to provide a way of opening up our whole selves to receive the fullness of life, health and peace that God is bountifully pouring out to us.

Gentle, healing exercise. New Creation Body Prayer is gentle exercise that is healing and energizing for the whole person—body, mind, emotions and spirit. It consists of traditional Chinese Chi Kung and Tai Chi Tao forms that have stood the test of time and that are being practiced by millions of people around the world today for their health benefits.

“As a rehabilitation physician, I am very enthusiastic about “holistic” orientations to movement and exercise. Body Prayer is a wonderful way to work on breath control, balance, stretching, body mechanics, all the while enriched with meditative spiritual imagery. Body Prayer can also be adapted to different ability levels so anyone can participate.” Kristi Kirschner, M.D., Specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine

Seven Days of Creation story. New Creation Body Prayer presents the exercises with archetypal nature imagery that is authentic to Chinese practice. I have set the imagery into the narrative form of the Seven Days of Creation in Genesis 1, creating an inspiring experience of movement and meditation that is spiritually relevant to a Western Judeo-Christian audience. The application of the movements and imagery to the Creation Story is unique and is the product of my practice and meditation during the long years of my disability and healing.

Whole-person prayer. People usually think of prayer as something that is done with the mind while the body remains passive or assumes certain static positions such as bowed heads, folded hands or kneeling postures. Body Prayer is based on the idea that we are whole persons who address God not only with feelings and thoughts but also with motion and body imagery; not only with outer expressions and movements but also in our innermost beings, our organs, tissues and bones; not only with vocalization but with the processes of breathing, blood circulation, elimination and other body functions. It declares that we speak to God through our bodies and that God speaks to us through our bodies.

“For anyone who is familiar with the creation story, it holds a great deal of wonder, but through body prayer it is as though the creation is truly happening within. It engages the five senses and creates an internal response, both spiritual and physical. You not only see the light, but feel its energy. You fill up with the bubbling spring that is the living water and you emerge from the earth as a sprout that is receiving the ultimate nourishment. You will not be the same person that you were when you embarked on this journey.” (Ingrid, Corporate Training)

Emotional benefits: Emotional release is an important dimension of Chi Kung practice since the most ancient times and is also part of the Body Prayer experience. The movements in New Creation Body Prayer offer a way for emotions to be gently acknowledged and released so that there is a sense of calm and refreshment. For example, when the story says that “darkness is on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moves on the waters,” it is an opportunity to express that there are dark places in our lives, places that may seem “waste” or “void.” The fact that the Spirit of God moves over the waters offers hope that God is moving to bring forth something good. When participants breathe in and out with the Spirit, there is a feeling of drawing in the good and releasing the bad feelings. Likewise, when God parts the seas on the third day, there is an opportunity to bring to mind things that may seem impossible. The imagery recalls the story of the Children of Israel at the Red Sea when departing from Egypt. The archetypal action of parting the seas gives a sense of empowerment in the face of overwhelming difficulties.

What Is New Creation Body Prayer®?

Spiritual uplift: The repeated affirmation at the end of each day that “It is good!” offers assurance that all is well and that God’s love is present in the fabric of the universe. Enacting the moments of Creation establishes a bond with the heart of the Creator that is both exalting and deeply humbling. One has a sense of stirring one’s own creative powers while participating in the creative acts of God.

Connection with Nature and environment: The communication among body, mind, and spirit in God’s presence becomes a magnificent Dance of Life which calls us into harmony with ourselves, with each other, with all of nature, and with God. Practicing New Creation Body Prayer over time develops a deep reverence for God’s Creation. One begins to feel the energy of the Earth and Sky and to feel connected with all of life, no matter what its form.

New Creation Body Prayer give me a new appreciation of the wonder and complexity of creation, and of the Creator capable of doing it. Don York, Astronomer

“I like the attention that I now give to the way I observe the natural things around me. There is a new perspective to my appreciation of the sun. I sense that there is energy that can be summoned from within me!” Ingrid, Employment Counselor

Push the Mountain into the Sea

Touching the Earth Movement

Eagle Flying

Imitation of the movements of plants and animals increases wonder at the great diversity of life in God’s Creation. Once you experience it, you may want to do Body Prayer as a joyous celebration of Life in the mountains, by a stream or on a trail in the forest.

Body Prayer is for stressed out, busy people: Many people who have come to my classes lead stressful work lives and want to find some stress relief during their intense days. NCBP exercises are simple, require no equipment, can be done seated or standing, and require a minimal amount of space. These qualities make NCBP ideal for creating quick, energizing moments in a busy day.

Most exercises can be done

•At a desk

•Break room

•Chapel

•Elevators

•Restrooms

•Hotel rooms

•Airports

•Living room

All ages: All ages can enjoy New Creation Body Prayer, from children to senior citizens. Younger children enjoy imitating wind, trees, animals and birds, while older participants also enjoy the more symbolic aspects of the movements. In one of my classes the oldest participant was Betty, an 85-year-old woman, and the youngest was Sam, a healthy, eleven-year-old boy who enjoyed the relaxation because he sometimes feels anxious. The appeal to children could work very well for youngsters with disabilities. NCBP is something that adults can do with elderly parents.

“I think that body prayer can really help you with anxiety and when you’re just not feeling well. When I first tried it, I had a great experience because my whole body actually felt relaxed (for once). It just made me really happy because my body was up for a new day!” Sam, age 11

“I wanted to improve my balance. Body Prayer, like tai chi, yields great physical benefits, including improved balance. But for me, it is more; it is a thanksgiving rite. It is contemplative and physical, cultivating spirit and body.” Betty, age 85

Can be done standing or seated: New Creation Body Prayer is suitable for people with a variety of physical abilities and disabilities. My own needs for rehabilitation led me to develop seated versions of almost all qigong exercises I learned over a period of twelve years. Both seated and standing versions make New Creation Body Prayer accessible to a wide audience and allow transition from seated to standing as a participant gains strength.

The photos below are from a seminar for women with disabilities at a hospital in Chicago in August of 2007. The seminar was attended by about 50 women, most in wheelchairs.

Overall Health Benefits

There is a large body of research that has been done in China on the health effects of the Tai Chi and Chi Kung (qigong) forms that constitute New Creation Body Prayer. Western scientific research is also proliferating that reveals a great variety of beneficial physiological, social and psychological benefits. Some of these are summarized below:

•Stress relief

•Induces relaxation response

•Lowers stress hormones

•Improves posture

•Improves respiration and circulation

•Enhances micro-circulation

•Increases balance and coordination

•Increases flexibility, range of motion

•Oxygenates the body

•Improves flow of energy through straight spine

•Improves digestion

•Lowers blood pressure

•Enhances immune system function

•Balances brain hemisphere dominance with the practical effect of increasing balance of activity on each side of body.

•Raises awareness of the body and the way it functions

•Improves awareness of body position (proprioreception)

New Creation Body Prayer has a dimension of discipline and focus that helps integrate and center the whole person. If it is done regularly, it will not only support spiritual health but also maintenance of physical health, longevity and prevention of disease and disability. Performance of the exercises along with the imagery produces feelings of energy, peace and joy. The movements are good for everyone.

About Rev. Anna York

When I was nineteen years old, I had my first attack of multiple sclerosis while on a college drama tour. I recovered, but as I finished college and got married, there were more signs of an unstable nervous system. At age thirty- seven I was largely paralyzed from the neck down and spent several weeks in a hospital and nursing home. Over the next fourteen years I experienced repeated attacks, sometimes as many as six a year, resulting in increasing disability and paralysis. I used a wheelchair and then an electric scooter, and we eventually purchased a van with a wheelchair lift. At one point I was in such serious condition that my pastor came to help prepare me to die. I thought there was nothing I could do to help myself except follow doctor’s orders and pray with all my heart for a miracle.

My oldest son Sean took me to Tai Chi class and introduced me to Tai Chi master Bruce Moran at a time when things seemed hopeless. I thought t’ai chi was strange and “un-Christian,” but I decided to go because Sean thought it would help me. Bruce Moran has a whole package of skills that were unfamiliar to me. He specializes in Asian bodywork, injury recovery and rehabilitation, and is knowledgeable about therapeutic nutrition and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I later discovered that he puts these together with Western therapies to create a powerful, natural integration of Eastern and Western healing modalities. With his help, I embarked on a program of healing that has reversed my symptoms, restored function to my atrophied limbs and revived my stamina and vitality. I have told my story in my book, Rising Up! An Epic of Heart and Spirit, to be published soon by HarperCollins.

I created New Creation Body Prayer over a period of years as I adapted the Tai Chi and Chi Kung practice and imagery to my own Christian spiritual practice. The NCBP movements helped restore me to heath. It is my hope that that NCBP will enrich the lives of many other people.

Today I am healthy and fit. I stand straight and tall, no longer bent and collapsed as I was before. I fit into my wedding dress (forty years and five babies ago). I walk with a limp that is improving as I continue restoring function through daily exercise, tai chi, chi kung and bodywork. I enjoy travel, hiking with my trekking poles and working out. I used natural therapies alongside of traditional approaches for a period of years but have taken no drugs since 1998, maintaining my health since that time by natural means.

Life is good. I live a normal life, currently making my living by doing private educational consulting and tutoring, in addition to my writing. I have four married sons and one granddaughter and look forward to the future with joy.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to my teacher, Tai Chi Master Bruce Moran, for the great wealth of his knowledge and expertise and his teaching and guidance over many years. Sifu Moran has approved New Creation Body Prayer as Chi Kung exercise and has authorized me to teach it. His support and encouragement in developing the spiritual aspect of this practice have been invaluable. It was his annual class demonstrating the Easter themes of the Chi Kung movements that gave me the idea of setting Chi Kung imagery to the Judeo-Christian context. I continue to consult with him on many aspects of New Creation Body Prayer.

Every once in a while something special comes along that moves people's souls. Its greatness is in its simplicity. Its impact is very subtle but most powerful. Its strength is in its beauty. This all encompassing thought is embodied in New Creation Body Prayer. Sifu Bruce Moran

Special thanks to Tai Chi Master Ed Gierut.for passing on his great love of the beauty and imagery in the tai chi forms and for teaching the 18 part chi kung, which contains much of the imagery used in NCBP.

Thanks also to certified teacher Chris Randle and to assistant teachers Drew Bergerson and Sean York for their years of patient teaching.

Special thanks to Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, my pastor and friend for many years. Shanta mentored me in making connections between Judeo-Christian theology and my practice of Tai Chi and helped me understand my experience of healing through Eastern modalities as a gift of Christ.

Naming and Sources

The application of the tai chi and chi kung imagery to the Judeo-Christian context in New Creation Body Prayer is unique and is the product of my own practice and meditation during the long years of my disability and healing. I have drawn on many sources to develop the exercises and meditations, and I continue to evolve all aspects of the work.

I have assembled all of the meditations, which come from a variety of sources. Most come from the Bible. I encourage everyone who does NCBP to create their own meditations to make their experience personally meaningful.

Descriptions of the Chi Kung (qigong) forms and movements are traditional. I have adapted some movements to fit the NCBP context. Movements often have more than one name, so I have included the various names that I know. Teachers through the ages sometimes add new names for descriptive power, and I have added some names that suit the Creation context. One such is “Breaching Whale” in the Fifth Day of Creation,” which is known as “Part the Clouds” in the 18 Part Chi Kung.

I provide my own detailed verbal descriptions of each exercise, as well as accompanying pictures for most. I also include a “benefit” section for each movement that suggests general physiological benefits as well as benefits according to the acupuncture points and energy meridians of Traditional Chinese Medicine, when I have been able to find them. I hope to add a video at some point.

The chi kung movements draw on traditions and sources of chi kung that include the following:

•Eight Essential Movements of Tai Chi by John Kotsias as taught by Bruce Moran

•Sifu Bruce Moran’s chi kung variations

•18 Part Chi Kung as taught by Ed Gierut

•Shaolin 18 Lohan Hands

•Five Animal Frolics

•18 joints silk reeling

•8 Section Silk Brocade

•Susan Bradley’s drawings in John Kotsias’ Eight Essential Movements of Tai Chi

•Knocking at the Gate of Life and Other Healing Exercises from China: Official Manual of the People’s Republic of China. Translated by Edward C. Chang, Ph.D. Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, 1985. This book is helpful in providing descriptions of movements and their benefits according to Traditional Chinese Medical practice.

•Mike Garofalo’s website at www.egreenway.com

•Cynthia Quarta, Tai Chi in a Chair. Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 2001.

•Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, Arthritis Relief: Chinese Qigong for Healing and Prevention, YMAA Publication Center, Boston, 1991.

•Kenneth S. Cohen, The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing, Ballantine Books, New York, 1997.

•Mantak Chia and Juan Li, The Inner Structure of Tai Chi, Destiny Books, Rochester, New York, 1996.

•Roger Jahnke, The Healing Promise of Qi, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2002.

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This material may not be copied or reproduced

in any form without permission by Anna York.

“New Creation Body Prayer”® is the exclusive trademark of Anna York.

Anna with her teachers: Sifu Ed Gierut,

Certified Instructor Michael Farrar, and Sifu Bruce Moran