OUR GOALS     MISSION STATEMENT     STATEMENT OF FAITH     MEDIA KIT

Faculty:

Laura Monica
Connie and Oliver Haedener
Pam Collins
Kathy Cain
Volunteer Staff
Presenters

OUR GOALS

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we join in God’s work of healing, renewal and restoration through offering highly effective & accessible fitness programs integrating exercise with worship and the Word leading to wholeness, holiness and fitness, body, soul & spirit.

MISSION STATEMENT

…to inspire, enliven and heal through movement, worship and the Word of God, in order to build up the Body of Christ, protect the purity of the Bride of Christ and reveal God’s love to the world through Jesus, The Prince of Peace, to whom belongs all dominion, and power and authority on earth as it is in heaven.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

WholyFit Faculty and Church Instructors commit to the following statement of faith:

1. In the divine inspiration and final authority of the Bible as the Word of God;

2. In the eternal God revealed in Holy Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit

3. In the unique Deity of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, whose death and resurrection provide by grace through faith the only means of my salvation;

4. In the transforming presence and power of the Holy Spirit

By publication of this statement, I affirm my faith in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and accept in full the Christian Medical and Dental Association’s (CMDA) Statement of faith and commit to conduct consistent with the high calling of a Christian according to the standards of Scripture.

LAURA MONICA

CERTIFIED
Health Fitness Specialist (HFS)
*
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
**

*Certification definition:
Health fitness specialists are qualified to work with special populations with medically controlled diseases who have been cleared by their physician for independent exercise. HFS is like an advanced Personal Trainer: those certified to implement exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals or those who have medical clearance to exercise.

**The American College of Sports Medicine is considered to be the “Gold Standard” of the fitness industry.

Laura says,
“I will boast in my weakness that Christ’s power may be evident in me.”

“I grew up in a church going family, believed in God, but had never heard about Jesus until I was a teen. A new pastor came to our church and I thought he had oily skin or something because his face seemed to shine. Now I know that was the light of Christ. He explained what he called “The Gospel in a Nutshell”, that Jesus died for all my sins – past, present and future – in order to bring me to God. I accepted Jesus and have enjoyed a personal relationship with God ever since. My relationship with Jesus helped me to slowly but surely recover from asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, Epstein – Barr virus infection, clinical depression, fear and debilitating anxiety.”

“At one point in my search to heal from chronic illness, I mistakenly sought out (and even taught) yoga and Tai Chi. When I pursued formal certification, I learned that the Yoga Alliance does not allow teachers to be registered unless they study yoga scriptures and actually practice traditional ‘mantras, chanting and kriyas in a dedicated yoga environment.’ I felt this infringed on my freedom of religion. Finally, when we were given prayer cards and instructed to chant in Sanskrit to “give your soul completely to Shiva” during yoga teacher training, I rejected both yoga for good. From then on, I dedicated my time and energy to developing WholyFit, with a mind to come up with an alternative to yoga: a therapeutic, mind-body corrective exercise system so that other fitness professionals would not have to compromise their Christian faith.”

Personal Information:
After being struck down in her 30′s by chronic illness, Laura was able to return to teaching fitness classes after gradual healing through prayer and exercise. She began teaching gentle exercise and traditional fitness classes after her comeback at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, GA. Once having only a “hard-body” mentality, Laura’s thinking about fitness was permanently changed after her experience with illness, from a concentration on outward oriented goals to an inward focus on health. Her heart had changed, too. She learned compassion through her health struggles and has an emotional connection with her students that transforms Laura’s journey through physical weaknesses into her greatest strength. She formally founded WholyFit, a Christian Mind-Body Fitness certification organization, under the eldership of WoodsEdge Community Church in the Woodlands, TX. WholyFit classes have been going strong there since sometime before 2006.

Laura now attends Calvary Chapel Nexus where she is a worship leader for children and is taking a School of Ministry group course from her pastor to equip her for leadership, preaching and teaching. Ms Monica now trains and certifies Christians from all over the world to minister through WholyFit devotional exercise. Laura encourages Christian fitness professionals that teaching exercise classes is a ministry, whether it’s a job in a secular health club or a volunteer activity for the local church. Laura has been employed by many health clubs including 24 Hour Fitness, where she was a Mentor Instructor, and by the YMCA. She believes worship is a lifestyle that has no boundaries and that through a job or a ministry fitness instructors can love and befriend people, in honor of Christ, in any environment. WholyFit communicates Laura’s passion for exercise and worship, as well as her desire to reach people with the Word of God at a practical level through daily activities.

Along with being a multiply certified fitness professional with over 30 years of experience, Laura is a born-again committed Christian. She has been a worship leader and church soloist since she was 16 years old. As a homeschooler, Laura has been teaching the Bible, including scripture memorization, for 2 decades to her brood of children and over the last 7 or so years, to WholyFit instructors. Laura has traveled, moving many times with her family due to her husband’s job, but one stabilizing factor for her has been her joy in developing Christian fitness programs in mostly every church she has been a member of. Mind-body exercise is Laura’s specialty, but she also enjoys jogging and is an expert in many GROUP EXERCISE formats including but not limited to:

• Flexibility Training
• Step (Cardio on a platform)
• Strength Training in group exercise formats
• Cardio and strength training group exercise
• Strength Training with resistance equipment/machines
• Martial arts and dance type group exercise

Certifications:

• HFI ACSM -Certified Health and Fitness Instructor (AmericanCollege of Sports Medicine), 2003-Current #596391
• Chun Kuk Do Karate, Black Belt
• Certified Group Exercise Instructor – AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America)1986-present
• Certified Personal Trainer- ACE (American Council on Exercise)1991-1995
• Certified Group Exercise Instructor – ACE (American Counsel on Exercise) 1993-1995
• Certified Group Exercise Instructor – IDEA (International Dance Exercise Association)1986-1990
• Gold Certified Personal Trainer – IDEA (International Dance Exercise Association) 1990-1994
• CPR Certified, American Heart Association, current since 1980
• AAU Competitive Springboard Diver 1977-1979

Laura’s life verse is Is. 61:1-3 and believes it characterizes every Christian.