Christian Yoga In Muskegon

Drop-In Yoga Classes at Bluffton Church in Muskegon, MI

In the Summer, our Tuesday Christian Yoga Class is held at Pere Marquette Beach! Rain or “wet sand” location is at the Bluffton Church fellowship hall. Bring a towel and a generous donation!

Bluffton Church hosts a yoga class on Tuesdays at 7 pm during the summer on Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon.  The class meets on the beach near the brick building that the kite boarders use, just north of the Water Filtration facility.

Some great photos from the Muskegon Chronicle of our yoga class on the beach are online here: >>link<<

This class is open to the public on a drop-in basis. It is taught by Lisa Bush, who has been practicing and instructing yoga for over 30 years.

Our Muskegon Michigan yoga class is taught at a beginning to intermediate level. You do not need to know anything about yoga to get a lot out of the class – but even advanced yoga folks will find plenty of challenge at our yoga classes.

Our classes are spiritual and are taught from the perspective of people following Jesus – this is a little different if you have attended traditional yoga classes, please check it out.

NOTE a donation is requested every week, please be generous. All the donations go directly to Lisa to thank her for giving her time to us.

Our Lakeshore Yoga Classes begin at 7pm on Tuesdays and usually end between 8:15 and 8:30pm.

If you have any questions please contact our church office at the number below.

NOTE: The classes that were meeting in the fellowship hall of the church on Tuesdays during Fall, Winter and Spring have been put on hold, due to our teacher, Lisa Bush, teaching two other Tuesday Classes.

My Thoughts About Christian Yoga

Pastor Kathleen Kallen,  Bluffton Church

Someone made a comment to me recently that they like the idea of yoga but as a Christian they didn’t feel comfortable giving it a try. I only had a minute to explain that Christian yoga is not traditional yoga and described the basis of our classes. I thought that if this very nice Christian person had hesitations about our yoga class it may be worth writing down my thoughts in an organized way so that other people can understand what we believe and what we do in our Christian yoga class.

First, I want to explain that I would never go to a traditional yoga class in a yoga center or yoga studio. I have very high standards for myself to not practice another religion but Christianity or participate in worshiping any other god, occult practice, or new age trend. I am a believer and worshiper of Jesus Christ. I believe the Bible and hold everything I do and teach to biblical standards. I probably draw the line of acceptability a little stronger than most Christians, but you know, some people may draw a line even more strictly than I do, Christians being a diverse group and all.  I would never ask someone to cross a line to do something that they felt strongly about not doing. I would respect them for their convictions and encourage them to follow what Jesus has revealed to them as not acceptable.

With that in mind, here is my perspective on Christian yoga. Christian yoga utilizes the physical exercises of yoga, but shares none of the Hindu, Buddhist, or new age aspects of yoga.

The physical exercise of yoga is great for people like myself who like to exercise by moving their bodies slowly and who are not particularly athletic or coordinated, or who aren’t in really great shape to begin with. Christian yoga is nice for people who like to think through what they are doing, and would enjoy focusing on their faith in Jesus while they are working out. You may end up liking yoga for different reasons, but this is what appeals to me.

For instance, when we do a yoga exercise (called a “pose”) that strengthens our lower back, our teacher will explain that a lot of people hold stress in their body and let it bottle up. And for some people this leads to back pain. She will quote a verse from the Bible, perhaps 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”.  And then she will encourage us to let go of whatever is causing us stress and ask Jesus for his peace. Next she explains the exercise and helps us go to a beginner, intermediate, or advanced variation of the pose.  The more advanced, the more strength or balance it requires. Then, while we are doing the pose and our bodies are working and becoming stronger, our teacher will challenge us to let go of issues in our hearts that are weighing us down. We  pray together for more faith and more trust that Jesus will take care of our worries and problems. So we are working our bodies and our spirits at the same time. Other exercises work on core muscle groups, upper body strength, lower body strength and gaining a better sense of balance, something particularly challenging for me since I have difficulty with one of my feet. In each exercise our teacher shares a Biblical truth, some wisdom from the teachings of Jesus or sometimes a Psalm.

After working out all the tightness and stress from our physical bodies and finished our strength building poses, we start our cool down part of the class. We lay on our mats with our eyes closed while the teacher moves to each person and covers them with a blanket so we don’t cool off too fast. As we are cooling down she reads another scripture for us to think through. She explains it a bit and encourages us to focus on the verse and to repeat it in our minds and ask the Lord to show us how to apply it in our lives. This concept of biblical meditation was new to me, since I thought to meditate on the word meant to just read through the Bible with care. I never really slowed down and reflected on each word of a verse before. Another thing that was new to me was how much easier it was to have deep spiritual thoughts after a good physical workout, as I can just stay with a thought without distraction.  During this time often our instructor will go around the room and lay a hand on a person’s shoulder and say a short Christian blessing and prayer.

When I started doing Christian yoga two years ago I could do less than 50% of the exercises. But I kept taking baby steps forward, challenging myself each week to do just a little bit more.  I began experiencing the greatest physical and spiritual benefits after the first year. It has become a part of what I do each week, and I really look forward to it. I love the exercise and feeling stronger and more in touch with the physical body that God has given me and the strength and peace it gives me in my spirit. It’s as if every part of me comes together during class.

Our teacher explains it something like this….  “In other yoga classes they teach that you need to empty your mind and become one with the universe. But in our yoga class we focus on Christ, mind, and body.” We spend 90 minutes worshiping our Creator, Savior and Friend, our Jesus, with our minds and bodies. An atmosphere of thanksgiving, gratitude and joy permeates our class.

I have considered what else to call this class, since I understand the stigma that careful followers of Jesus associate with the word “yoga” Like, what would you call a really laid back Bible study where you wore exercise clothes and instead of eating brownies you got stronger biceps?  But whatever it’s called, wouldn’t it be great for the body of Christ, the Church, to be in better shape? It would be a better example to the world if we as Jesus’ followers more consistently respected and cared for our physical bodies, our “temples” with as much care as we gave to taming our tongues, or being humble.

Our teacher Lisa Bush has a website devoted to her Yeshi Yoga classes. Click on one of the links below:

Yoga in Muskegon Michigan
Muskegon yoga information
Yoga classes in muskegon
Muskegon yoga class schedule