The Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association in Brandon has begun offering a class it calls Holy Yoga. Brandon Yoga Center Holy Yoga is an attempt to fuse the practice of yoga with the Christian faith. Yoga is used as a vehicle for becoming one with God. Each pose is a communion of one’s body, mind and spirit with God.
The class is taught by Cassie McClelland and her daughter, Eliza. They do this as part of their wellness business, Well Root Wellness. Cassie McClelland started the program having become interested in it and convinced that it could help her and others draw closer to God. She suggested that her daughter practice Holy Yoga as a way of overcoming some of her health issues. Her daughter liked it enough to go out and get certified as a Holy Yoga instructor.
On the face of it, Holy Yoga is no different from other types of yoga. It employs the same elements as traditional yoga: meditation, breath work and poses. The difference is in the focus of practice. Practitioners are taught to focus their practice on Christ.
Christ is the intentional focus of practice. Each breath, movement and thought is grounded in Christ. Yoga has been proven to have extensive mental and physical benefits. Among these is the tranquility that it gives to practitioners during practice.
This meditative state is very relaxing and a stress-reducer. It is not surprising then that practitioners would feel a sense of calm and repose during practice. Practitioners of Holy Yoga say it helps them feel the magnificence of God and a divine transformation.
The McClellands originally began offering classes in Plat City, but when the Covid-19 crisis struck, they were forced to cancel the program. So they began offering free classes in their front yard every weekend. Though the classes were sometimes interrupted by the weather, they managed to grow their class.
With the success of the program, Cassie McClelland’s husband, Rhett McClelland, suggested that they offer classes at Center Place. Rhett McClelland owns a pressure washing business, Well Rooted Maintenance, and one of his clients is Center Place.
He had spoken to the director of Center Place about Holy Yoga and she was enthused by its potential. Today, the program is part of Center Place.
Brandon Yoga Center Classes
Brandon Yoga Center classes are offered twice a month on Saturdays. There is a Holy Yoga class from 8am to 9am, at a cost of $20 per person, and a Hatha Yoga class offered from 10am to 11am, also for $20 per person. Classes are often for all levels of practitioners, from beginner to advanced levels.
Yoga’s benefits have been embraced by the mainstream and are increasingly being leveraged to help practitioners achieve spiritual goals, improve physical health, deal with mental issues, and as Dijon Bowden has shown, help ignite a practitioner’s creative spark.
Visit Brandon Yoga Center.
