about
“Just because yoga originated in India does not mean we must become Hindu in order to practice it.”
by T.K.V. Desikachar The Heart of Yoga
Wholly Yoga’s mission is to make the physical mental and spiritual benefits of yoga practice affordable and accessible to people, who have previously been under served in the yoga community. This includes urban kids and families, spiritual searchers, and people of Christian faith. Wholly Yoga embraces the belief that we are meant to live and experience life as whole beings bringing together all aspects of our being physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual to find wholeness and health.
This site will keep you up-to-date with what is happening with Wholly Yoga, to provide tips and resources to enhance a yoga practice and offer additional insight and information about beyond the physical practice. While here you can sign up for a newsletter, join the online community, download yoga sequences for home practice and read news about what is happening in the yoga community.
I hope that you will find this information helpful and I look forward to your feedback to help improve this resource as we proceed.
Wholly Yoga
What is Wholly Yoga?
Wholly Yoga is an authentic hatha yoga practice in the style of Holy Yoga. Wholly Yoga is not a Christian alternative to yoga. Wholly Yoga uses the traditional yoga postures (English translations and traditional Sanskrit names are used) to enable participants to experience a mind, body and spirit connection through focusing breath, physical yoga postures and meditation. Wholly Yoga believes that we are meant to live and experience life as whole beings bringing together all aspects of our being physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual to find wholeness and health.
Like Holy Yoga, WhollyYoga is a bhakti (devotion) yoga practice that seeks to connect to God through practices of devotion. At Wholly Yoga focus on following Jesus teaching as we seek to connect to God by expressing our devotion (love) to God with all of who we are.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30
When we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, we express that God is the central focus of our lives and pursue a spiritual connection with God. God alone is the focus of our worship, admiration, devotion and affection (Deuteronomy 5:7-8). Everything and everyone else pales in comparison! This total heart, soul, mind and strength devotion to God encapsulates our desire to follow all of his teachings. Philippians 3:8 (TNIV)
When God is in the center of life we can rest. (Matthew 11:28-30 )
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 (TNIV)
Wholly Yoga is also a karma (selfless action) yoga practice seeking to serve others selflessly
‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31
Loving others as we have been loved includes acting on what God has done, through Christ, by serving others.
So Wholly Yoga is donation based (donation – the act of giving) making it available to anyone desiring to practice yoga. It is our desire to expose yoga to groups and individuals (youth, students, and those economically challenged) who may not be able to afford to practice yoga elsewhere. There is a suggested donation of $5 for each Wholly Yoga session.
Wholly Yoga is a spiritual practice (Sadhana, 1 Timothy 4:8 ) Spiritual practices or disciplines help us to focus our hearts, minds and bodies on connecting with God and being formed to be more like Jesus is all we say and do. Some yoga practices focus primarily or solely on the physical aspects of yoga. There is no preaching or attempt to convert anyone in Wholly Yoga but we embrace the spiritual side of yoga and draw on Christian spirituality and the teachings of Jesus for spiritual focus and meditation.
Wholly Yoga classes are located Mosaic Life Church and an initiative of Grand Rapids Dreams.
Questions about Yoga? See our FAQ
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