The sign of the cross
Kneeling
Bowing
Orans (lifting hands)
Prostration

Bodily Prayer is the intentional use of physical postures and gestures - kneeling, making the sign of the cross, lifting our hands, bowing - as expressions of worship that engage our whole selves (body, mind, heart, and will) in praise to God.

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What Bodily Prayer is

The intentional use of physical postures and gestures - kneeling, making the sign of the cross, lifting our hands, bowing - as expressions of worship that engage our whole selves (body, mind, heart, and will) in praise to God.

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From Genesis to Revelation, God's people have worshiped with their whole bodies.

Some examples:

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Centuries of Embodied Worship

Bodily prayer is older than Christianity - by hundreds of years.

‘And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.’

• Ezra 9:5 (at least 500 years before Jesus was born).

‘Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the pre…

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Your Jesus Prayer Coaches

For 2,000 years, Christians have been perfecting the practice of praying with their whole bodies.

Meet three trainers who will guide you:

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Common Struggles & Solutions

You’re learning to pray with your whole body. Your whole self is being engaged.

Here’s how to work through the most common struggles.

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Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

This simple prayer has been said billions of times by Christians for 1,700 years.

It’s not complicated. It’s not fancy. It takes 5 seconds to say.

But it will change your life.

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What the Jesus Prayer is

A simple, ancient invocation repeated throughout the day that brings your whole self into constant communion with Christ and transforms you from the inside out.

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Biblical roots of the Jesus Prayer

1. The cry of the blind beggar

2. The command to pray without ceasing

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The Jesus Prayer began in the 4th and 5th centuries with Christian monks in the deserts of Egypt and Syria.

These Desert Fathers took St. Paul’s command seriously:

‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

But how do you pray constantly while also living your life?

They developed short, repetitive prayer forms that could be prayed constantly: while wor…

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Your Jesus Prayer Coaches

For 1,800 years, Christians have been perfecting the practice of praying without ceasing.

Meet four trainers who will guide you:

Read more

Common Struggles & Solutions

You’re learning to pray constantly. Your soul is building new capacity.

Here’s how to work through the most common struggles.

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The Sursum Corda

‘Lift up your hearts’
’We lift them to the Lord’

It’s an ancient command to orient your entire self—mind, body, spirit—toward God’s presence, used for 2,000 years at the Eucharist and available to you every moment of every day.”

Why it matters

• It’s the foundation of all Christian worship
  The Sursum Corda is the oldest, most universal element in Christian worship.
  It dates back to at least the 3rd century and appears in virtually every Christian tradition: Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, for over 2,000 years.
  Billions of Christians over thousands of years have stood and said these words.
  
  It isn’t just a catchy and uplifting slogan - though it is that! - it is grounding us in the ancient Christian faith.
  

• It reorients our whole self. We live in a world constantly pulling us downward: to our worries, our phones, our tasks, our anxieties, our responsibilities.
  “Hearts Up” is a call to turn ourselves upward:
  

  • towards God

  • towards light and life and love

  • towards what matters.

  • It is not gentle suggestion for the church. It’s a summons.
    
    “Lift up your hearts,” God says.
    ”Hearts up!”, we reply.
    Here we are, God.
    

• It’s spiritual stretching
  
  When we say ‘Hearts Up!’ we’re participating in what the early Christians called “the ascension of the heart.”
  
  We’re not just thinking about God - we’re internally climbing. Our soul is reaching upward to join the heavenly liturgy, the worship happening around God’s throne.
  

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. - Colossians 3:1-2

We’re aligning ourselves with actual spiritual reality.

Why this Practice?

Hearts Up! is an ancient command to orient your entire self - mind, body, spirit - toward God’s presence. Available to you every moment of every day.

It’s not complicated. It’s not mysterious. It takes 3 seconds.

You’re learning to turn toward God.

This isn’t a technique I invented.

This is what the Church has prayed at every Eucharist for 1,800+ years. When the earliest Christians gathered to break bread, they didn’t start with casual chit-chat. They began by reorienting their entire beings toward God: ‘Hearts up! Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.’

Try It Right Now

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing:

1. Say out loud: “Hearts up!”

2. Raise your arms in the ‘orans’ position if you want to add Bodily Prayer.

3. Say ‘Heart’s up!’ when you’re overwhelmed with gratitude…

4. … or when you’re having a bad day..

5. … or anytime you need to turn towards God.

6. Notice what happens in your body and spirit

In two seconds, you’ve joined 2,000 years of Christian practice.

The Complete Hearts up! Practice:

Hearts up! Quick Start
Hearts up! Why it matters today
Hearts up!: Where the Practice comes from
Hearts up! Biblical foundation
Hearts up!: How to Practice
Hearts up!: Troubleshooting (your Trainers are here for you!)

What the ‘Hearts up!’ Practice is:

An ancient command to orient your entire self - mind, body, spirit - toward God’s presence, used for 2,000 years at the Eucharist and available to you every moment of every day.

Why it matters today:

1. Your Soul Needs a Workout

We live in a world constantly pulling us downward:

• To our worries

• To our phones

• To our tasks

• To our anxieties

• To our responsibilities

‘Hearts up!’ is a call to turn ourselves upward:

• Towards God

• Towards light and life and love

• Towards what matters

2. It’s your spiritual warm-up

At a physical gym, you warm up. You stretch, get your heart rate up, start with a few lighter movements.

It’s the same for your soul.

3. It reorients your whole self

‘Hearts up!’ is not a gentle suggestion. It’s a summons.

‘Lift up your hearts,’ God says. ‘Hearts up!’, we reply.

Here we are, God.

We’re saying:

• I’m turning toward you

• I’m fixing my attention on you

• I’m closing my heart to the enemy

• I’m opening myself to you alone

We’re aligning ourselves with actual spiritual reality.

4. It’s spiritual stretching

When we say ‘Hearts up!’ we’re participating in what the early Christians called ‘the ascension of the heart.’

We’re not just thinking about God - we’re internally climbing.

Our soul is reaching upward to join the heavenly liturgy, the worship happening around God’s throne right now.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- Colossians 3:1-2

This isn’t metaphorical. This is training your soul to recognize where you actually are:

Living in the Kingdom of God.

5. It’s resistance

St. Cyprian understood: saying ‘Hearts up!’ is an act of resistance against spiritual distraction.

The devil is constantly prowling during prayer, seeking to induce distraction and earthly concern.

Every time you reach for your phone mid-prayer. Every time anxiety hijacks your thoughts. Every time you say ‘God’ with your mouth but think about tomorrow’s meeting.

The adversary has penetrated.

‘Hearts up!’ is your defense.

You’re closing the breach. You’re fixing your attention on God. You’re choosing God’s Kingdom over the world’s noise.

6. It prepares you for Communion

In the Eucharistic liturgy, ‘Hearts up!’ is the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer.

The priest says: ‘Lift up your hearts.’
The community responds: ‘We lift them to the Lord.’

This sequence is not accidental.

The community must lift their hearts before they can properly offer thanksgiving. They must be spiritually prepared, internally ascended, before they can approach the mysteries of Christ’s body and blood.

This also reminds us that regardless of our tradition or denomination - and regardless of whether we even go to church - Communion is the most basic form of worship in the Christian faith.

The first thing the disciples did after Jesus ascended into heaven is exactly what he told them:

’Do this in remembrance of me’ (Luke 22:19).

The first Christian community gathered to break the bread and drink the wine - Christ’s Body and Blood in remembrance of his New Covenant at the Last Supper.

And they said: ‘Hearts up!’.

7. The more you practice, the more you grow

Trexo is training. Trexo is discipline. Trexo is discipleship.

You can’t think your way into deeper relationship with God. You have to practice your way in.

Learning small, repeated actions helps you do this.

The more we practice, the more we stretch and strengthen our souls. The more peace, connection, grounding, and JOY we feel.

The Complete Hearts up! Practice:

Hearts up! Quick Start
Hearts up! Why it matters today
Hearts up!: Where the Practice comes from
Hearts up! Biblical foundation
Hearts up!: How to Practice
Hearts up!: Troubleshooting (your Trainers are here for you!)

You are made for something more. Find out when you stretch and strengthen your soul at the Trexo gym. Become a paid subscriber to join us. Hearts up!

Biblical roots of lifting our hearts

When we say “Hearts up!” we’re participating in the oldest part of Christian worship - the Eucharist - which developed directly from the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection.

’This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’

• Luke 22:19
  
  The Sursum Corda (‘Lift up your hearts’) was part of the liturgical formula for breaking and blessing bread and wine in remembrance of our salvation since at least the third century.

The theological concept of lifting our hearts and turning our souls towards God is mentioned throughout Scripture.

The Old Testament

Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven. - Lamentations 3:41

This is the direct Scriptural source for the Sursum Corda.

Lamentations was written when the Israelites were in captivity - when they had been conquered and taken away from their land for generations. It’s a book about suffering, confession, corporate sin.

Yet in the midst of suffering, believers turn towards God:

‘Lift up your hearts’.

The Psalms

Many of the Psalms were also written in Babylonian captivity. They are the songs, poems and worship of the Jewish people, committed to memory so they never forget.

Hear the voice of my supplication as I cry to you, as I lift my hands toward your holiest shrine - Psalm 28:2

Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord. - Psalm 134:2

The image of lifting hands in worship is deeply embedded in Jewish prayer tradition.

Lifting is not just physical - it’s spiritual orientation.

Your body points to where your heart is going.

The New Testament

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. - Colossians 3:1-2

This is the theological center of “Hearts up!”

It’s about aligning our souls with the reality of God’s Kingdom.

You’ve been raised with Christ. You’re seated with him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). Your citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).

So orient yourself accordingly.

Set your mind - and your heart - on things above.

We are citizens of the Kingdom of God

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. - Ephesians 2:6

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn... to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant. - Hebrews 12:22-24

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard like a trumpet called out, ‘Come up here.’ - Revelation 4:1

When we lift up our hearts, we’re not escaping reality.

We’re entering into actual reality.

The heavenly worship is happening right now. The door is standing open. God is calling: ‘Come up here.’

“Hearts up!” is our response.

The Gospels

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. - Luke 4:16

Jesus participated in Jewish worship practices, which would have included lifting hearts and hands to God.

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, ‘Father, the hour has come.’ - John 17:1

Jesus himself lifted his gaze heavenward in prayer.

We follow his example.

What this means for your practice

When we say ‘Hearts up!’, we’re not doing something sentimental or metaphorical. It’s not just a way to brighten our days - though it is that.

It’s biblically grounded, theologically sound, and modeled by Jesus himself.

The Complete Hearts up! Practice:

Hearts up! Quick Start
Hearts up! Why it matters today
Hearts up!: Where the Practice comes from
Hearts up! Biblical foundation
Hearts up!: How to Practice
Hearts up!: Troubleshooting (your Trainers are here for you!)

The Sursum Corda: 2,000 Years of Christian Worship

The Sursum Corda (Latin for ‘Hearts up!’) is one of the oldest, most universal elements in Christian worship.

It dates back to at least the 3rd century and appears in virtually every Christian tradition: Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist.

For 2,000 years, across cultures, languages, and theologies - this one thing remained constant.

The earliest written records of the church

The Apostolic Tradition (~215 AD) contains the full Eucharistic dialogue:

Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We have lifted them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is fitting and right.

Then the priest proceeds with the Eucharistic Prayer.

This structure has remained virtually unchanged for 1,800+ years.

What the early church understood

The Sursum Corda was understood as a spiritual necessity.

Before the community could offer thanksgiving and receive communion, they had to be spiritually prepared.

They had to lift their hearts.

The early Church Fathers and Mothers understood that the Sursum Corda was effecting something real: the community’s consciousness was being lifted to join the heavenly worship happening around God’s throne.

This wasn’t metaphorical. This was mystical reality.

The Grammar: Sursum Corda

Latin Text (Verona): Sursum corda.
Greek Reconstruction: Ano skomen tas kardias (Ἀνω σχῶμεν τὰς καρδίας) or Ano tas kardias.
Translation: “Lift up your hearts” or “Hearts aloft!”

The Latin Sursum corda is an adverbial phrase without a verb. Literally: “Upwards hearts!”

This brevity is characteristic of the “Roman genius”—sober, concise, and direct. The Greek reconstruction usually supplies a verb: Ano skomen (”Let us hold upwards”).

Theological Meaning: The “heart” (kardia) in biblical anthropology is not merely the seat of emotion but the center of the will, intellect, and moral decision. The command is a call to detach the entire person from earthly concerns and orient them toward the eschaton. It is an “attention call” signaling the shift from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

It’s pre-denominational

Virtually every Christian tradition retained the Sursum Corda, even when they disagreed on everything else.

• Catholic Church: Every Mass, every day

• Orthodox Church: Every Divine Liturgy

• Anglican/Episcopal: Book of Common Prayer and modern liturgies

• Lutheran: Traditional liturgies

• Methodist: Many traditions retain it

• Reformed: Some Presbyterian churches include it

This is what unites all Christians.

When you say ‘Hearts up!’ you’re not joining a denomination. You’re joining the Church - the living body of Christ across 2,000 years, connecting you with all Christians before and after you.

The Complete Hearts up! Practice:

Hearts up! Quick Start
Hearts up! Why it matters today
Hearts up!: Where the Practice comes from
Hearts up! Biblical foundation
Hearts up!: How to Practice
Hearts up!: Troubleshooting (your Trainers are here for you!)

What the ‘Hearts up!’ Practice is:

An ancient command to orient your entire self - mind, body, spirit - toward God’s presence, used for 2,000 years at the Eucharist and available to you every moment of every day.

The Sursum Corda (‘Lift up your hearts’ - it literally means ‘Hearts up!’) is the earliest act of Christian worship.

It’s the command to orient ourselves to God before celebrating and partaking in the Eucharist.

And - we can orient ourselves towards God anytime. This ancient phrase of devotion and attention is our constant call to turn to God with our whole lives.

The morning ‘Hearts up!’

This is your spiritual warm-up. You’re waking up your soul, orienting your mind to God, preparing yourself for the day.

You’re setting your defenses. You’re establishing your foundation.

Before the chaos starts, before the demands pile up, before anxiety creeps in:

Hearts up.

Throughout the day

These are your reset moments.

Like pausing between sets at the gym, you pause to refocus. You shake off distraction and recommit to what matters.

Before that difficult conversation: Hearts up! When anxiety spikes: Hearts up! When you’re tempted to despair: Hearts up!

It becomes automatic. You don’t have to think about it. You just turn toward God.

Try It Right Now

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing:

1. Say out loud: “Hearts up!”

2. Raise your arms in the ‘orans’ position if you want to add Bodily Prayer.

3. Say ‘Heart’s up!’ when you’re overwhelmed with gratitude…

4. … or when you’re having a bad day..

5. … or anytime you need to turn towards God.

6. Notice what happens in your body and spirit

In two seconds, you’ve joined 2,000 years of Christian practice.

What Happens When You Practice

You might not feel anything - at least at first. And that’s ok!

You’re setting your intention. You’re saying: “God is above me, around me, calling me. I orient myself toward God’s presence and power.”

The practice becomes automatic. You don’t have to think about it anymore. You just turn your heart toward God.

Like the earliest Christians. Like billions of Christians over thousands of years.

The more you practice, the more you stretch and strengthen your soul. The more peace, connection, grounding, and JOY you feel.

Your First Week Workout

This week, your entire workout is:

• Hearts up! - morning, midday, evening

That’s it. Just this one practice.

Don’t add anything else yet. Let this settle into your rhythm.

After one week, you’ll be ready to add the next practice to your Daily Anchor.

The Complete Hearts up! Practice:

Hearts up! Quick Start
Hearts up! Why it matters today
Hearts up!: Where the Practice comes from
Hearts up! Biblical foundation
Hearts up!: How to Practice
Hearts up!: Troubleshooting (your Trainers are here for you!)

You are made for something more. Find out when you stretch and strengthen your soul at the Trexo gym. Become a paid subscriber to join us. Hearts up!

Your ‘Hearts up!’ coaches

You’re not doing this alone.

You have coaches - ancient Christian Practice trainers - who’ve been guiding souls for centuries on the practice of lifting hearts to God.

Coffee with Coaches

Meet two of them:

1. St. Cyprian of Carthage

‘This Is Spiritual Warfare’

Who he was:

Bishop of Carthage (North Africa), 3rd century (d. 258 AD). Led Christians through devastating plague, persecution, and martyrdom. Wealthy convert who sold everything for the poor, rose quickly to bishop. Wrote extensively on prayer, unity of the church, and facing trials.

His key teaching on the Sursum Corda (from On the Lord’s Prayer, Chapter 31):

‘For this reason also the priest, by way of preface before his prayer, prepares the minds of the brethren by saying, ‘Lift up your hearts,’ that so upon the people’s response, ‘We lift them up unto the Lord,’ he may be reminded that he himself ought to think of nothing but the Lord.

Let the breast be closed against the adversary, and be open to God alone; nor let it suffer God’s enemy to approach to it at the time of prayer. For frequently he steals upon us, and penetrates within, and by crafty deceit calls away our prayers from God, that we may have one thing in our heart and another in our voice.’

What Cyprian Understood

• The Sursum Corda is not gentle suggestion - it’s active resistance against spiritual attack.

• The devil is ‘constantly prowling’ during prayer, trying to induce distraction.

• We must have ‘one thing in our heart’ matching ‘one thing in our voice’ - simple intention

• The priest says it to prepare our minds - it’s deliberate spiritual positioning.

Cyprian’s coaching for you

You think you’re just distracted? You’re under attack.

Every time you reach for your phone mid-prayer, every time anxiety hijacks your thoughts, every time you say ‘God’ with your mouth but think about tomorrow’s meeting - the adversary has penetrated.

‘Hearts Up!’ is your defense.

When the priest says “Lift up your hearts” at Eucharist, he’s positioning the whole community for spiritual warfare. He’s saying: ‘Close your soul to the enemy. Open it only to God.’

This is why you say it constantly at Trexo:

• Morning: ‘Hearts up!’ = I’m setting my defenses for the day

• When anxious: ‘Hearts up!’ = I’m closing the breach the enemy is exploiting

• Before decisions: ‘Hearts up!’ = I’m ensuring my heart matches my voice

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 4th century bishop, theologian, and doctor of the church

Who he was:

a 4th-century bishop, theologian, and Doctor of the Church known for his Catechetical Lectures, which detailed baptismal and Lenten practices. As Bishop of Jerusalem (c. 350–386), he was a major figure in defending Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism, resulting in multiple exiles, and is revered by Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions

His teaching on the Sursum Corda:

In his fifth mystagogical instruction, provides a detailed analysis of the dialogue within the context of the “most awesome hour” of the Eucharist. Cyril’s approach is characterized by a high degree of liturgical realism and a sense of sacred dread (which for him, in his time, would be like awe for us).

Cyril explains that "at that most awesome hour we must indeed raise our hearts high to God, not keep them intent on the earth and on earthly matters".

His coaching for you:

He interprets the priest’s command as a virtual order to “lay aside the cares of this life, your domestic worries, and to keep your heart in heaven on God who loves men”.

The congregational response is seen as a formal “avowal” or agreement to this heavenly ascent.

Cyril warns his hearers that it is dangerous to say the words “We lift them up to the Lord” while the mind is actually “concerned with the cares of this life”.

Cyril’s counsel:

We are entering into a holy covenant with God when we lift up our hearts. Take it seriously - this is of the upmost importance to our lives.

Common Struggles & Solutions

You’re learning something new. Your soul is stretching in ways it hasn’t before.

This is normal. Here’s how to work through the most common struggles.

What if it feels awkward or forced?

That’s normal. You’re learning a new language. Your soul is stretching.

Remember:

• Billions of Christians have said this for 2,000 years. You’re joining them.

• Physical exercise feels awkward at first too. Keep practicing.

• The Early Church understood: this is training, not natural instinct.
  

What if I don’t feel anything when I say it?

Good News: You Don’t Have To

This isn’t about feeling. It’s about orientation. It’s about where you’re pointing yourself, not what emotion you generate.

St. Cyprian would say: The enemy wants you to think it’s not working because you don’t “feel” anything. That’s the distraction.

How does this connect to Eucharist if I don’t go to church regularly?

The daily practice you’re doing alone is preparing you for the communal practice you do with the church.

Even if you never participate - or never go to church! - you’re participating in the basic, required orientation towards God for those who do. You’re still part of the community.

When/if you do gather for Eucharist, you’ll recognize:

‘This is exactly what I’ve been practicing every day.’

Many church-goers say: ‘We lift our hearts to the Lord’ at every Eucharist without realizing they are participating in one of the earliest communal prayers of the Christian faith.

You’re widening the circle of the liturgy (worship, praise, devotion) from the Eucharist out into the world.

The Complete Hearts up! Practice:

Hearts up! Quick Start
Hearts up! Why it matters today
Hearts up!: Where the Practice comes from
Hearts up! Biblical foundation
Hearts up!: How to Practice
Hearts up!: Troubleshooting (your Trainers are here for you!)