I was recently asked a very point-blank question.
How did you find Holy Yoga and WHY did you make the decision to sign up and go through training?
Well, here is my answer.
Since the summer of 2018, about six months into my alcohol-free life, I decided that I wanted to get back into a more solid routine of yoga. I had gone back to a local studio and even signed up for an online subscription. Each time I would attend these classes, I felt like something was missing. It was a missed opportunity to be more intimate with God.
Internally, I wished there was something that was more Christ-centered, but I didn’t know of anything like Holy Yoga at the time. In the fall, The Lord presented Holy Yoga to me through Instagram. Once I started following their account, I became much more curious. I followed and watched for a while, noticing how the community was so amazing and strong. There were so many strong women. This was a community I could really relate to.
Leading up to Christmas, I was prayerfully considering taking a social media fast. It’s too easy to get burned out and disconnected from the Lord. What was neat about the confirmation of this fast is that we told our children that we were going on a Disney Cruise later in February. There is an app that you can put on your phone that counts down the days until Disney. Once I downloaded the app and put in our dates, I realized that we had just over 40 days until our trip.
I believe that was the Lord inviting me to do this 40-day social media fast.
That same day is when I signed up for Holy Yoga TV.
The first video I ever did was Brooke Toftoy’s “In Our Bodies” class. From that moment, I got that same feeling I felt when I put on my wedding dress for the first time. I just knew this was it! Holy Yoga was going to change my life!
I believe it’s important to note that in order to completely be still, I must move my body first. I’m much more creative after a good workout and I’m much more open and creative during my workouts. Since finding Holy Yoga, it’s through that mind-body connection where we meet and I’m most open to Him.
I remember my connection with the Lord immediately turned up on high. It catapulted my prayer life in a new way. Over time, I realized that moving your body is just another way to honor your body and I learned this through my love affair with Holy Yoga.
Once the seed was planted, I wanted to know everything there was about Holy Yoga. I bought the book, read it cover to cover, listened to every podcast Brooke Boon has done, listened to every podcast Holy Yoga has done. I wanted to learn and digest all that I could on Holy Yoga and its extended community.
I sent the website and my log-in information to my spiritual momma and pastor. If there were any red flags with this Holy Yoga stuff, they would sniff it out. In this process, they invited me to host a Holy Yoga class at our upcoming women’s retreat. I didn’t know what to say. I was just sending them information on Holy Yoga because it was something that I loved and wanted wise council on.
Without really thinking, I said “YES!”
One thing you must know about me is that I when I get excited about something, I am all in and I want to pursue it with all that I have! Usually this is without tons of calculated thought. If I want to do something, I just go for it! I knew in my heart that I wanted to be a part of this and I wanted to sign up for training, but this time around, I wanted to pray and let the Lord lead me. Stopping to pray and let the Lord lead me is not something that comes naturally to me.
I told my husband about Holy Yoga and at first, he was extremely hesitant. I had my own marketing business and was home part-time. How could I do this too?
February 12, 2019, marked my one-year of an alcohol-free life. One this same day, I received a phone call from Emma, a representative from Holy Yoga. I had the best conversation ever with her. We seriously could have talked for hours. I told her about some of my journey and as we were getting ready to end the call, my doorbell rang and I had received flowers from some of my sisters in Christ congratulating me on my one year of sobriety. This happened while Emma was on the phone.
I sobbed. I was so happy.
One of the biggest mutual prayers that me and my husband had for 2019 was for us to have a better relationship with our money. Fortunately, we are not in debt, but we felt this longing to have a better idea of where our money was going each month. My husband and I prayed hard about making the right decision on whether to spend the money on a Holy Yoga certification. I’ve made a personal commitment not to buy any new clothing for myself for the next six months. I’ve sold a number of things and saved as much as possible. I cried to God and told Him that if He wants me to do this, then He is going to have to convince my husband. I want to honor my husband and I know that his council is an extension of the Lord. So even if it did break my heart, I would have to be ok with me waiting.
Over time and prayer, Stephen and I came to an agreement and I signed up.
Something that has been such a blessing along the way so far are the doors that have been opened for me. I got the greenlight to teach a community class at the April women’s retreat and my Bishop at our church agreed to me teaching classes there. I believe this is the Lord saying that He wants me to teach His class and all I need to do is show up. I am beyond grateful.
I’ve also connected with a gal who just finished her certification, we live about 40 minutes from each other. We love talking and praying for each other. It really reminded me of that Matthew 18 passage about “where two or more gather, there I will be also…” We have plans to build up the Holy Yoga community in our surrounding areas!
It’s also important to note that other than one lady that teaches an occasional chair yoga class, I would be the only Holy Yoga certified teacher in my area.
Ultimately, I believe that this is another way in which people can come to know Christ in a much deeper way. I also pray that it will lead those who are “Christian curious” to my classes. I just want to help build up His Kingdom, all while being the best disciple, wife and mother I can possibly be. I pray that Holy Yoga is another way that I can do this.
Learn more about Holy Yoga Instructor Training here!
