Michelle and Holy Yoga
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"Holy Yoga is an experiential worship created to deepen people's connection to Christ. Our sole purpose is to facilitate a Christ honoring experience that offers an opportunity to believers and non-believers alike to authentically connect to God through His Word, worship, and wellness.
Holy Yoga exists to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth through the modality of yoga."
Yoga. A word that I truly never, ever, felt would be in my vocabulary. As a former dancer, the thought of even dabbling into something not Pilates related was just ridiculous. In my mind, the idea of Yoga was for those "spiritual" people who say they're spiritual, but they're really just "weird", hippie like, or non-religious. It was definitely not for me.
Little did I know, God had a different idea.
This is my story.
It starts with the Zeeland High School Dance Program, and how it influenced me. I didn't realize until recently that it played a large role on what allowed this journey towards yoga--Holy Yoga --to begin. Dance was then, as it still is now, an incredibly important piece of who I am. I crave moving my body, and I've found that I'm at my happiest expressing myself creatively and artistically through movement. I have been able to use so many of the exercises, stretches, and warm ups to help maintain a healthy lifestyle, flexibility, and weight throughout the years, and I'm thankful for the knowledge and training I received.
As great as all of that is, I didn't understand why I lacked confidence in who I was in the past, who I am now, and who I want to bein the future. I struggled with depression, self doubt, control and an overall unhappiness. Even with the support of my amazing and loving family whom I cherish dearly, I couldn't fill the void in my soul.
At least not on my own.
I began to learn who Jesus Christ was in late high school, and was saved at age seventeen through the guidance of loving family members and through the amazing counselors at Young Life. I was SO on fire for God, and felt alive for the first time ever. However, after several life events that caused bitterness and resentment towards Him or myself (sometimes both), I slowly began to drift away. The distance between God and I became so great, that He was rarely a thought anymore. I still believed in Him, but our personal relationship was over. Of course I had moments where I felt God's presence, the "knocking at the door," so to speak, great moments like the miracles that are my three children. But those moments were fleeting. They didn't last because perhaps I welcomed the misery. It's what I knew. It became my new comfort.
I became okay with being not okay.
In early August 2015, I felt that "knocking" again when I saw a former acquaintance, Becca Bishop , posting all of this stuff about Holy Yoga on her Facebook , pictures of these spectacularly weird poses and positions she performed as a certified Holy Yoga instructor, backed with words of spiritual wisdom, encouragement, or bible verses (sometimes all rolled into one.) And although I've always had negative connotations about Yoga, something was oddly drawing my interest to what this woman was doing. To this day, I have no idea what drew me there, other than the fact that God was starting something huge for me. When I decided to go for the first time, I had zero expectations, but the opportunity to move my body and have some time to myself certainly was appealing.
So, I went to my first Holy Yoga class, 8 a.m. on a Saturday at The Lodge at Beechwood Church of Holland. What I learned quickly was that this class wasn't about Yoga at all. It did not matter what age I was, if I was flexible, if I wore makeup or not, if I was over or underweight, if I was physically strong or not, if I understood what Lotus pose was, or if I knew ANYTHING about Yoga at all. What mattered is that I came as I was.
After my first class, I was pleasantly surprised that Yoga came very naturally to me. What caught my attention more, however, was I felt that I had just attended the most powerful church service of my life. And after my second week, I was brought to such a humble place of surrender that tears flooded my mat. God was alive in this place, and He wanted to restore my heart in more ways than I expected.
I have attended nearly every single Saturday since August.
My passion has grown to not only deepen my knowledge for Yoga and its technique, but more importantly, for the first time in nearly thirteen years, my passion for God has never been stronger. I have been reminded through this experience that my very breath is borrowed, that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and that I am His and I am loved.
Praise be to God, the victor of my soul, and at last the enemy is defeated! Jesus has forever won my heart and I feel confident that through this community, I will never be forsaken. After years of missing a community similar to my dancing experience, the feeling of togetherness and unity has been overwhelming. And Holy Yoga has offered that and so much more. The women involved have such a positive attitude about overall health and wellness--spiritual, emotional, physical, and everything in between.
My awakening that Holy Yoga may be more for me than simply attending a class came during late fall last year. I was on my mat in pigeon (making the number 7 with your legs and facing down) when Becca put her hands on me to help me deepen my stretch. Why this matters is that while I was in that position, my heart was overflowing with fears, doubts, surrender, thankfulness; all of my most honest emotions colliding at once. And when she laid her hands upon me, I swear she was praying for my healing, that she knew my thoughts. God was using her as His instrument.
It was then that I knew this was far bigger than I ever imagined. I cried the entire way home, so much that I pulled my car over to talk to my husband, Geoffrey, on the phone. I told him that I don't understand how I know this, and that it feels crazy, irrationally impossible and far away, but I am meant to do this. What was more strange is I felt called to do this journey specifically with Becca. To team teach, to co-create, to build this ministry.
It took me over two weeks to work up the courage to ask Becca to meet me for coffee so I could tell her my presumptuous thoughts. The woman didn't really know me. She was gracious enough to let me tell her all of my feelings from beginning to end, and looked at me with a beaming smile. She responded simply, "I knew you were going to say this. I've known for a long time that you were going to be a part of Holy Yoga." My jaw was on the floor.
Through many months of wrestling with this call, fighting God's plan for me, I can no longer run away from this conviction. As of February 24, I have signed up to become a certified Holy Yoga instructor.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
The training consists of an intensive 9 week (225 hours) at home program from March 1st through April 26th, and a 5 day retreat in Flagstaff, Arizona that is May 1st through May 6th. The certification is $2,995, which includes training materials for the 9 weeks at home and accommodations such as food and lodging at the 5 day training retreat in May. What is not included in the tuition fee is the $50 certificate for teaching Holy Yoga for one year, four books outside of the study materials totaling approximately $70, and the transportation to and from Arizona in May. From the flights I've started looking into, they are anywhere from $400 to $600 currently.
I had two hesitations about obtaining this certification. First was my self doubt, that feeling of not being good enough, convincing myself that my brokenness could never be healed, and because of that I could never embark on this endeavor to serve others. I know now that through the love, support and prayers of my close friends and family I can't allow these lies to rule over God's will for me. ("Come to Me with all your weakness: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Rest in the comfort of My Presence, remembering that nothing is impossible with Me." - Jesus Calling)
The second fear was the cost.
Something that you need to know is that Geoffrey and I lead an... unusual life. Geoff has been without fulltime work for 2 years, ever since he graduated from Compass College of Cinematic Arts. Living off of freelance projects here and there, he spends his time writing original stories and developing his story production house, Book of Matches Media LLC . Although we have yet to harvest financial "fruits" from this labor, we have consistently seen that this is the proper path for our family.
Part of this conviction lies in the way that God has provided for us and honored our work. We feel that God has been making Himself known to us through this journey, and we have been able to tithe every month no matter what that might mean for us, given our limited financially means. In the face of these "worldly" concerns, we trust that God is BIG enough to provide us with the things we need to survive. And has He ever shown up!
Proverbs 3:5 says this, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths." Proverbs continues 3:9, "Honor the Lord with your wealth and the best part of everything your land produces. Then He will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine."
God has honored us in ways we feel so unworthy to receive. Already this decision to pursue Holy Yoga has felt blessed. After applying for a financial scholarship, we received $500 off of the tuition cost, bringing the total to $2,495. ("And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:19)
So why am I here on GoFundMe? Well, what I need the most at this point is spiritual support and accountability. Not being naturally skilled with academics, I am fearful that Satan will use this lack of "skill" against me, turning my doubts into weapons.
However, I understand that not everyone feels their strengths lie in being a "prayer warrior", or that everyone is at a different point spiritually and may not be comfortable with such practices. So if you feel so led to still contribute to this ministry I am pursuing, a financial offering would be more than a blessing.
Anything more than the physical cost of this training and retreat would go to further the ministry once I am certified--from the cost equipment such as extra yoga mats for those who need them or yoga blocks, sound equipment including a wireless mic, music purchases, and so on.
It humbles me more than I can say to put all of myself "out there" but I truly feel that God has given me a story and a calling, and that story must be shared. To God be the glory!
I cannot thank you all enough for your love. Your love,
prayers, support in every way, fellowship and community mean the world to me and my family. I am gratefully humbled before you.
All of my love,
Michelle
Holy Yoga exists to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth through the modality of yoga."
Yoga. A word that I truly never, ever, felt would be in my vocabulary. As a former dancer, the thought of even dabbling into something not Pilates related was just ridiculous. In my mind, the idea of Yoga was for those "spiritual" people who say they're spiritual, but they're really just "weird", hippie like, or non-religious. It was definitely not for me.
Little did I know, God had a different idea.
This is my story.
It starts with the Zeeland High School Dance Program, and how it influenced me. I didn't realize until recently that it played a large role on what allowed this journey towards yoga--Holy Yoga --to begin. Dance was then, as it still is now, an incredibly important piece of who I am. I crave moving my body, and I've found that I'm at my happiest expressing myself creatively and artistically through movement. I have been able to use so many of the exercises, stretches, and warm ups to help maintain a healthy lifestyle, flexibility, and weight throughout the years, and I'm thankful for the knowledge and training I received.
As great as all of that is, I didn't understand why I lacked confidence in who I was in the past, who I am now, and who I want to bein the future. I struggled with depression, self doubt, control and an overall unhappiness. Even with the support of my amazing and loving family whom I cherish dearly, I couldn't fill the void in my soul.
At least not on my own.
I began to learn who Jesus Christ was in late high school, and was saved at age seventeen through the guidance of loving family members and through the amazing counselors at Young Life. I was SO on fire for God, and felt alive for the first time ever. However, after several life events that caused bitterness and resentment towards Him or myself (sometimes both), I slowly began to drift away. The distance between God and I became so great, that He was rarely a thought anymore. I still believed in Him, but our personal relationship was over. Of course I had moments where I felt God's presence, the "knocking at the door," so to speak, great moments like the miracles that are my three children. But those moments were fleeting. They didn't last because perhaps I welcomed the misery. It's what I knew. It became my new comfort.
I became okay with being not okay.
In early August 2015, I felt that "knocking" again when I saw a former acquaintance, Becca Bishop , posting all of this stuff about Holy Yoga on her Facebook , pictures of these spectacularly weird poses and positions she performed as a certified Holy Yoga instructor, backed with words of spiritual wisdom, encouragement, or bible verses (sometimes all rolled into one.) And although I've always had negative connotations about Yoga, something was oddly drawing my interest to what this woman was doing. To this day, I have no idea what drew me there, other than the fact that God was starting something huge for me. When I decided to go for the first time, I had zero expectations, but the opportunity to move my body and have some time to myself certainly was appealing.
So, I went to my first Holy Yoga class, 8 a.m. on a Saturday at The Lodge at Beechwood Church of Holland. What I learned quickly was that this class wasn't about Yoga at all. It did not matter what age I was, if I was flexible, if I wore makeup or not, if I was over or underweight, if I was physically strong or not, if I understood what Lotus pose was, or if I knew ANYTHING about Yoga at all. What mattered is that I came as I was.
After my first class, I was pleasantly surprised that Yoga came very naturally to me. What caught my attention more, however, was I felt that I had just attended the most powerful church service of my life. And after my second week, I was brought to such a humble place of surrender that tears flooded my mat. God was alive in this place, and He wanted to restore my heart in more ways than I expected.
I have attended nearly every single Saturday since August.
My passion has grown to not only deepen my knowledge for Yoga and its technique, but more importantly, for the first time in nearly thirteen years, my passion for God has never been stronger. I have been reminded through this experience that my very breath is borrowed, that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and that I am His and I am loved.
Praise be to God, the victor of my soul, and at last the enemy is defeated! Jesus has forever won my heart and I feel confident that through this community, I will never be forsaken. After years of missing a community similar to my dancing experience, the feeling of togetherness and unity has been overwhelming. And Holy Yoga has offered that and so much more. The women involved have such a positive attitude about overall health and wellness--spiritual, emotional, physical, and everything in between.
My awakening that Holy Yoga may be more for me than simply attending a class came during late fall last year. I was on my mat in pigeon (making the number 7 with your legs and facing down) when Becca put her hands on me to help me deepen my stretch. Why this matters is that while I was in that position, my heart was overflowing with fears, doubts, surrender, thankfulness; all of my most honest emotions colliding at once. And when she laid her hands upon me, I swear she was praying for my healing, that she knew my thoughts. God was using her as His instrument.
It was then that I knew this was far bigger than I ever imagined. I cried the entire way home, so much that I pulled my car over to talk to my husband, Geoffrey, on the phone. I told him that I don't understand how I know this, and that it feels crazy, irrationally impossible and far away, but I am meant to do this. What was more strange is I felt called to do this journey specifically with Becca. To team teach, to co-create, to build this ministry.
It took me over two weeks to work up the courage to ask Becca to meet me for coffee so I could tell her my presumptuous thoughts. The woman didn't really know me. She was gracious enough to let me tell her all of my feelings from beginning to end, and looked at me with a beaming smile. She responded simply, "I knew you were going to say this. I've known for a long time that you were going to be a part of Holy Yoga." My jaw was on the floor.
Through many months of wrestling with this call, fighting God's plan for me, I can no longer run away from this conviction. As of February 24, I have signed up to become a certified Holy Yoga instructor.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
The training consists of an intensive 9 week (225 hours) at home program from March 1st through April 26th, and a 5 day retreat in Flagstaff, Arizona that is May 1st through May 6th. The certification is $2,995, which includes training materials for the 9 weeks at home and accommodations such as food and lodging at the 5 day training retreat in May. What is not included in the tuition fee is the $50 certificate for teaching Holy Yoga for one year, four books outside of the study materials totaling approximately $70, and the transportation to and from Arizona in May. From the flights I've started looking into, they are anywhere from $400 to $600 currently.
I had two hesitations about obtaining this certification. First was my self doubt, that feeling of not being good enough, convincing myself that my brokenness could never be healed, and because of that I could never embark on this endeavor to serve others. I know now that through the love, support and prayers of my close friends and family I can't allow these lies to rule over God's will for me. ("Come to Me with all your weakness: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Rest in the comfort of My Presence, remembering that nothing is impossible with Me." - Jesus Calling)
The second fear was the cost.
Something that you need to know is that Geoffrey and I lead an... unusual life. Geoff has been without fulltime work for 2 years, ever since he graduated from Compass College of Cinematic Arts. Living off of freelance projects here and there, he spends his time writing original stories and developing his story production house, Book of Matches Media LLC . Although we have yet to harvest financial "fruits" from this labor, we have consistently seen that this is the proper path for our family.
Part of this conviction lies in the way that God has provided for us and honored our work. We feel that God has been making Himself known to us through this journey, and we have been able to tithe every month no matter what that might mean for us, given our limited financially means. In the face of these "worldly" concerns, we trust that God is BIG enough to provide us with the things we need to survive. And has He ever shown up!
Proverbs 3:5 says this, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths." Proverbs continues 3:9, "Honor the Lord with your wealth and the best part of everything your land produces. Then He will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine."
God has honored us in ways we feel so unworthy to receive. Already this decision to pursue Holy Yoga has felt blessed. After applying for a financial scholarship, we received $500 off of the tuition cost, bringing the total to $2,495. ("And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:19)
So why am I here on GoFundMe? Well, what I need the most at this point is spiritual support and accountability. Not being naturally skilled with academics, I am fearful that Satan will use this lack of "skill" against me, turning my doubts into weapons.
However, I understand that not everyone feels their strengths lie in being a "prayer warrior", or that everyone is at a different point spiritually and may not be comfortable with such practices. So if you feel so led to still contribute to this ministry I am pursuing, a financial offering would be more than a blessing.
Anything more than the physical cost of this training and retreat would go to further the ministry once I am certified--from the cost equipment such as extra yoga mats for those who need them or yoga blocks, sound equipment including a wireless mic, music purchases, and so on.
It humbles me more than I can say to put all of myself "out there" but I truly feel that God has given me a story and a calling, and that story must be shared. To God be the glory!
I cannot thank you all enough for your love. Your love,
prayers, support in every way, fellowship and community mean the world to me and my family. I am gratefully humbled before you.
All of my love,
Michelle
Organizer
Michelle Haney
Organizer
Zeeland, MI