Prayer Spa: Ancient Treatments for the Modern Soul

Item No. 006039

by Jennifer Anna Rich

While many Christians like the idea of prayer, the act of spending time alone with God keeps eluding them, as the pressing tasks of the day push ahead in line. Prayer Spa offers gentle instruction in honoring mind, body and soul for a few minutes each day. With a little bit of practice, it is possible to form new habits of expanding neural pathways, relaxing tight muscles, and nourishing the interior self through prayer.

Enticing the five senses in one’s own curated space— seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing, and touching the gifts of this created world gathered into a prayer corner, and wrapping beauty and holiness into each enjoyable session—the soul begins to crave this time of quiet connection with the One who loves best.

The Prayer Spa is always open ... drop-ins welcome! Anyone who senses the shallowness of a life lived apart from God will find therapy here. Prayer Spa offers many hands-on approaches to contemplative prayer for the person who seeks intimacy with God, including the beauty in preparation, sources for poetic spoken prayers, prayers of stillness, prayers of the hours, and a radically simple way to pray without ceasing, all gifted to us by the early Christians.

Praise for Prayer Spa:

“In this lovely book, Rich presents the timeless wisdom of the Christian East in a way that contemporary men and women will find attractive—and then find themselves being changed from consumers into worshipers, grateful and receptive, increasingly attuned to the immensity and mystery of their Creator.” —Frederica Mathewes-Green, author of The Jesus Prayer and Facing East

“Jennifer Anna Rich offers us numinous ways to dip deeply into the sacred presence of God. With these simple practices, our homes become sanctuary, our bodies a living temple.” —Betsey Beckman, founder, The Dancing Word; coauthor, Awakening the Creative Spirit

“This deceptively small book gently opens a door into the immense landscape of the Orthodox tradition of prayer. Jennifer Rich takes you by the hand and introduces you to a celebration of the whole self—all the senses, all the depths and heights, all of what it means to be invited into the presence of the loving triune God." —Loren E. Wilkinson, professor emeritus at Regent College; author of Earthkeeping

“Take a break, breathe in beauty, and bathe in the grace of the soul food you will find on these pages.” —Danielle Bean, Brand Manager, www.catholicmom.com

“Steeped in the divine through all our senses, Prayer Spa is an invitation to be marinated in the longings of the body and soul, where hunger meets the Infinite. Rich is an astute and creative guide to call our bodysouls back to the Beloved. A book of exquisite beauty and depth.” —Celeste Snowber, PhD, author of Embodied Prayer and Embodied Inquiry

Author: Jennifer Anna Rich

Format: Paperback

Page Count: 110 pages

Dimensions: 7 x 8.5 inches