About Us

Hi! I'm Dr. Laurette Willis, Director of PraiseMoves Fitness Ministry.

I'd like to share a little about myself. Perhaps after you see the video below, you'll understand WHY I'm so passionate about PraiseMoves.

I'm also passionate about faith & fitness, and supremely passionate and excited about getting the Word of God into people in unique and uncompromising ways – through Fitness, Meditation, Music (and every way we possibly can!).

 

So, now that you know about me, check out more about PraiseMoves below!

Looking For PraiseMoves CLASSES?

Looking For TRAINING to be a PraiseMoves Instructor?

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About PraiseMoves

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About Willis Ministries International

37 Comments

  1. my name is pastor mutonga from kenya ministering impact celebration ministry kenya. i also like fitness, to exercise the body through kickboxing, we are reaching out with kickboxing ministry and many people are so interested. please am very much happy with your ministry since you are reaching out with unique ministry. i would like to share more with you. be blessed.

    1. Hi Laurette, I came across your website searching for answers to give my son who tells me he is doing the yoga exercises on YouTube. He is not aware, because it looks harmless, of how dangerous it is, by opening up, I believe, a door to the enemy.
      I was so impressed by your little video above and wanted to see what you had for DVD’s. I am 68 and need more energy, strengthening and flexibility and help with memory issues. I have retired from a job of 8 hours of sitting in front of a computer with little energy to exercise and need to do some things to help me live more fruitfully. Where should I start in this quest, as far as your DVD’s? I so appreciate your enthusiasm for the Lord.
      God bless you and your ministry, Shirley

  3. Thank you for sharing about your challenges,Laurette. That helped me a lot. I am a senior and looking for a personalized fitness program. I love the Lord and the idea of combining scripture with exercise is an inspiration. I have always been passionate about healthy living and have taught sustainable gardening in the past.
    Presently I am a 24/7 caregiver for my husband who has Lewy Body Dementia along with many physical challenges. This keeps me home bound most of the time. I have been considering yoga so am very glad to have “found” your website today. Weight is not a problem for me but core strength, balance, and stress reduction are my goals. I have developed hypertension and know exercise will help.

  4. Good morning! I have your Praise Moves Workout and enjoy it very much. I am looking for something in the Zumba/Dance workout. I have taken Zumba classes and enjoy them very much but I sure long for the Christian songs….do you have anything like this?

    Thanks

  5. Laurette,

    My name is Gloria Bengtson and I am a pastor’s wife. My age is 62 and I have worked hard to take care of my body — thanks to Jack Lalanne who got me hooked on exercise! I still enjoy working out in the privacy of my home and I continue to do face exercises. What you are doing is a dream I have had for years: sharing the gospel and helping others stay spiritually and physically fit!

  6. Hi! I have been looking at your site and am interested in Praise Moves. I have been involved in Christian Dance for many years and now teach music in a number of country schools. I am 60 years old and have osteo. I have been praying for God to help me improve my lifestyle and get back to exercising again as I do not want to go on cholestoral medication as well as the osteo medication. I very much want to improve through natural methods. An exercise regime has been difficult as my work is quite demanding and time is so valuable to me. I love the Lord and know that this type of movement will benifit my students as well. Thanks for listening Cheryl.

  7. Dear Laurette,

    I live in Bangalore, India (Asia). I was an ardent yoga practitioner earlier like you, but due to the same reasons like you, stopped recently and have gained lot of pounds back, I am 46 years old and am interested in becoming a Praise Moves instructor for the brothers and sisters in Lord Christ here. Kindly guide on the same.

    God Bless and Thank you

    1. Hi Nita, I live in Bangalore as well. I am a believer. I am looking for zumba classes with Christian songs and I came across PraiseMoves and you. Have you started any such thing or found someone doing something similar here. If so, pls fo let me know. Thanks.

    2. Hi Nita! 🙂
      I live in Bangalore too! I recently met with an accident and have an ACL tear. I’m still recovering and my physiotherapist suggested Yoga to help me in the process. I’m echoing Maria’s question..have you started ProvesMoves or know someone who instructs in the same? Please keep me posted. Thanks.

  8. Hi Laurette, Thanks for your sharing your amazing testimony; praise God delivering you from so much darkness and bringing you the into His Light to Praise Him by His moves. I’m a dancer (not professional), doing ballet mainly since I was 8 years, doing a little bit of amateur in Bahrain in my late 30’s and taught ballet for 10 years between living in Saudi, Bahrain and here in Dubai. I have given up for the last teaching in the last 2 years to spend time with my daughter and do find living in Dubai stressful if I take on more than I can chew. I also sing as backing Vocalist in worship team, do a little bit of art and produce cards with scripture now and again (not a full time thing). I’ve also been involved in a little bit of dance ministry, from 2009 – 2013, trying to get it started (though Im still learning about it) to those interested here in Dubai, which was fun. I saw many people healed, freed and even those “non dancers” and men that came to some of the workshop shared how surprised and blessed they were by moving before the Lord and as you say in your video, in moving for Him seeing how “He Moves!!!”. I connected with ICDF (intl. christian dance fellowship) finding them by accident on the internet and to equip us here in Dubai we held some workshops, being blessed to get some teachers from South Africa and Australia e.g. Di Wilson and then Mary Jones. Mary herself came and stayed at my home to do a CaraMayan Workshop last year which was good though I did not feel up to restarting dance ministry. Just to say your DVD was the first DVD or fitness programme I’d ever seen that glorified God with movements and I studied it for a while before focusing on Christian dance. I do the CaraMayan slowly as my daily devotionals and I really enjoy them. I did try to set up a dance / meditation group here in Dubai (calling it “Ligth Steps” however there was little interest so I decided to take a break from dance ministry and the only dancing I did for the Lord was at home and if someone was leaving I’d dance a short dance as a gift with a poem. Then shortly after that I got lower back injuries which I got healed from however, with a year following that of lots of dental work and surgery, I injured myself again after joining a gym getting rotary cuff tendonitis and following an MRI on my neck for numbness in my right arm, the doctors have discovered I have spondylosis where my upper spine, c1-4 is curved the wrong way!! I have therefore taken it easy having physio at the moment, praying the Word over myself and getting prayer so that I don’t have to do surgery as 2 doctors told me over Easter…one for the rot. cuff tendonitis and other for Spondylosis. The major exercise I am doing is aqua aerobics however coming back from the class this morning, I am very thankful I have more centred” programmes. How I rediscovered you, was I went onto the CaraMayan website to review the certification, which I would love to do at some point, however I am not in the place or have the desire to go back teaching, I came to http://www.lilishouse.com/praisemoves/ and decided to have a look at what looks like one of CaraMayan’s students. Then I discovered Lili has also studied your programme so here I am having a look and as I am reading the comments I am delighted to read all the amazing testimonies of healing and weight loss. So I will go back and take up your programme and probably purchase more when I can however, I just wanted to let you know yours was the first fitness programme I did for the Lord and shared with ladies who were interested in dance and fitness. My desire to dance for the Lord led me to the ICDF website and then to CaraMayan, so that is why I stopped doing your programme and when Mary came to visit she gave lots more DVDs as gifts so I have lots of material, which is soaked in The Word, to go through. Sorry this comment is so long…I’m a bit of a talker ..ps. forgot to say I’m Irish (hence the talker thingy!! :))..I’m 43 and have 1 child, a daughter Rachel and married to a South African Evan. God bless and I will keep in touch. Love and abundant blessing to you and your obedience to God and inspiration to many. In Christ, Elaine x

  9. Hi Laurette, I am a Christian, 51 yr old woman from Louisiana (where there are sadly no classes listed for on your website). I am married to my soulmate of almost 23 years. I have an 18 yr old daughter in college and a 17 yr old son at home still in high school. I work as a para-educator with elementary school aged special education students. I have had my own struggles with alcohol (deceased father and living half brother who was/are alcoholIcs), beat a smoking habit with help from the Lord, and presently still fighting a food (mostly sugar and bad carbs) addiction. I am 70 lbs overweight right now. I have hypothyroidism, arthritis in my knees, lower back and now neck (in fact I got a shot in my shoulder today). I take 6 different prescription medications and have sleep apnea. I also battle with depression that is controlled withone of the above mentioned medications that I would love to be able to stop taking!

    I was looking through a magazine today and saw how helpful yoga can be for all of my health problems. I have always been leary of all the “stuff” that goes along with doing yoga. I googled Christian yoga and your website popped up. I think Praise Moves might be for me. I love the thought of reciting scripture and praying and praise while exercising. Excited to learn more!!

  10. Hi, Im very interested in your Praise moves alternative to yoga. I do yoga without the ohms, emptying your mind, meditations and stuff. I do the poses and stretching only. But when i read about your Praise moves, it seems more beneficial like hitting two birds with one stone! I can exercise/stretch while praising and worshipping God! But i couldnt find the App!

  11. Laurette, thank you for your testimony. Thank you for your surrender to God’s call on your life to start this PraiseMoves Ministry.
    Alittle about me….I am 46 years old. A born again christian since the age of 6 yrs. old. Wife and mother of 2 young men, living on their own now. I have always loved to be active. I started my aerobics craze with Denise Austin when I was 22 yrs. old and progressed to being a runner. I have scoliosis and then developed degenerative disc disease in my lower back. As of late I have suffered with a bulging disc which is now a protruding disc in my L5 disc. Through many specialists, medication, shots and physical therapy I have come to realize this pain is what I am dealt so I want to handled it the best I can. I found yoga is a great way to learn to relax, resist and breath as my body stretches and becomes more flexible. These past 3 weeks I have felt in my spirit something is just not right with this practice so I searched for an alternative and found you. Praise God! I look forward to joining you in video as I continue my pursuit of “Godly” healing. Thank you again and again!!!

  12. Hi, I am from Manitoba. I am thankful that I came across your website. I didn’t want to do yoga because of the origins of it, but did want to find an alternative that would not comprise my conscience, my heart to follow and serve Jesus.
    I am training for a half marathon and was looking for a good exercises to do along side my running to strengthen my entire body to run my race 🙂
    Thank you for being faithful to know and follow Jesus in all you do. blessings

  13. Hello, my name is James. I am 36 years old and have muscular dystrophy. I am in a wheelchair and need assistance with daily activities. Always wondering if there was some sort of program or certificate that would allow me to teach Christian meditation based on the word of God. I too have studied meditation and the Buddhist tradition. Also many other forms of meditation. On my long journey through my spiritual process I began to realize that meditation was in the Bible. Instead of using the mantra idea I began to realize I could put Scripture in their instead of babbling on like a pagan. 🙂 So my thoughts were, as follows, would it be beneficial for me to get trained in praise moves to instruct meditation on the word. I could not do most of the physical aspects of the course. I just want to have something that I could show people when I open up a wellness center. All based on Christian principles and God’s word. I feel it is really beneficial for Christians to have an alternative to New Age thought and techniques. I was never a New Age type person. I have only studied everything from its roots. It is actually develop my Christian experience by learning about other religions. That way you have more base on giving opinions about other techniques and ideals. We have to teach our brethren the truth of meditation that without Jesus it’s not Christian meditation. I have issues with a mild form of anxiety. I also need some advice on what would be good for me to eat or supplement that would be beneficial to my heart and breathing. I don’t have a lot of problems with that I just need some help on how to get high doses of heart healthy foods. I also have some troubles with digestion. I know there are a lot of things out there that could help with this as well.

    I understand completely your ideal on health and meditation. I would really love to be trained in this. There are not a lot of programs like yours. Maybe a couple but not many.
    I hope I can get to know you more and your insightful thoughts that abound.

    God bless you Sister,
    James

  14. Hey Laurette!

    My name is Tawnie! I’m 22 years old and a mother of two children under the age of two, who are about 11 months apart! (The youngest just two days shy of two months old!) I really want to be in a place where I can feel peace, joy and confidence in who I am in and through Jesus Christ. I want to stand firm, confident and unmoving in the truth. And I am excited to look more into Praise Moves and bring glory to God through fitness! I was looking into yoga just minutes before finding you and your program and I felt something, now I see so clearly it was Jesus, urging cautiousness within me. I want to worship The Lord out God only. and no one else. So I opened a web page and typed in “Christianity and yoga” and boy am I glad I did. Thank you for your willingness to let God use you to bring Him glory and to help us to do the same! Praise God!

  15. Hi Laurette,
    As I watched your video I was overjoyed and overwhelmed. So much so that I had to stop the video and thank God for Him pointing me to you! I used to enjoy the physical benefits of yoga prior to my son’s birth about 10 years ago. I’m really out of shape now and starting menopause the weight is increasing despite me eating probably the healthiest in my life lol! Anyway I recently started taking yoga again b/c of some of the helpful relaxing moves. However I am a much more serious Christian now. Very recently God put a beautiful dream in my heart to be a teacher of something for lack of a better word yoga-ish but glorifying Him and using scripture also. I thought I was going to have to make something up but now that I found you I don’t have to! Now I will get my body in shape and then pursue becoming a trainer!!! I think the next moves for me w/b to get some of your dvds and start! I already emailed a trainer from your web-site that hopefully is the closest one to me. Any other advice you have would be greatly welcomed Thank God and God bless you!
    Patty Mezzo

  16. Hi my Name is Vanessa I just started taking yoga classes I volunteer some of my time in the studio so I can get free classes. My goal was to be in better shape I fell ill this year and I wanted to make sure I was in a great shape. I never took classes before but when they start chanting I felt uncomfortable in my spirit. I asked some of the teacher what do some of the word means and no one could really tell me. So I decide to look it up I didn’t want to do something that was not of the lord. When they would Chant I would say prayer instead in my head but I still felt off. I got on my knees last night and asked God for direction and I found your website today thank you. My goal is to lose some weight I got a hysterectomy and it is not easy to loss. I am looking for classes in new Jersey to go to Thanks

  18. I am looking for a Christian substitute for yoga, as well as a form of exercise that I do not have to worry about being displeasing to The Lord. I believe in modest dress and, being female, I am not comfortable exercising with males. I so need exercise to remain healthy. Without it, I become sick quickly. I also become depressed. I had a female trainer that came to my home for a while, but I can no longer afford it. I have to be self-motivated about most other areas of my life, and so, when it comes to exercise, I need some help. I like classes, but I am having a hard time finding something suitable. I need help! I also suffer from some arthritis and other joint problems, so yoga moves have helped me in the past. Stretching really helps me. I also struggle with using food as a coping mechanism, so I need exercise to help me control my weight.

  19. Hi Laurette, Thank you for sharing your story. I can relate with you on a couple of issues. I would love to talk to you one on one. I am 57 years old, retired — but still active. I am interested in health and fitness. I want to be energetic and healthy. Sadly I am currently overweight and I guess I would be considered obese according to the medical stats. I am compulsive overeater but I am in a support group to get that under control. I exercise regularly and am under the advisement of a nutritionist. I love yoga and the way I feel afterwards. I was in the process of looking for a regular yoga class when I stumbled across an article that talked about the truth of yoga in Hank Hannegraff’s CRI Institute Library. I was jolted when I read that yoga and Christianity can not share the same practice. I don’t want to make God jealous nor do I want to share Him with any other deity. I dabbled in the New Awakening thing and mindful meditation in past years. It all sounded good, but some elements didn’t line up with the Bible. But after reading that article, I decided to make a decision to stay clear of anything that is not 100% biblical truth according to my faith in Christianity. If Hank Hannegraff supports your program, then it must be trustworthy. I found an instructor in my area (Burton, Michigan) and I start classes Feb. 22, 2016. I am so excited. I have been listening to a few of your podcasts: Stormie, Terry Law, Pastor Franklin, John Belvere , Kerry Kirkwood on blessing was excellent, your 40 Days and the Receive! lectures were so inspiring. I wasn’t quite so fond of Dr. Leaf — interesting but too technical/wordy. I am currently listening to Thelma Wells. Another area you and I have in common is voice acting. I recently received certification as a professional voice actor but was overcome with fear and I haven’t pursued my passion in that area. Would love to hear how you got started. Well that’s it about me. Again, I am so looking forward to get my temple in order and giving my all to the Lord. Thank you for the opportunity to express myself. One last thing! I signed up a couple times to receive a free gift from praise moves but never received a response in my email.

    1. Hi, Twana — Just now saw your note. It was hidden in a spam folder! Sorry! Yes, your PraiseMoves gift is a downloadable sent to your inbox. You may need to subscribe again, and then look in your inbox AND spam folder for the link with the page which has the information for you. Thank you for your kind words. Glory to God!

  20. Thank you for this. I am looking to incorporate fellowship with God in my workout. My target areas are my abs, my glutes, and minor toning to my legs, arms, and back.

  21. Hi! We just checked out “The Connection Mind your Body” dvd by Shannon Harvey and were really impressed by the results from Yoga. So – as a Christian – I thought I had better look into what Christians said about Yoga. The Best article I found was written by CRI ministries and they referred to Praise Moves as the very best alternative to yoga. So – I looked you up and Wow! What a relief to find an excellent alternative!!! I guess the way “The Connection” dvd was presented, it left one thinking that yoga was truly the answer to stress, etc. So – it was so GREAT to see that you had come from that road and weren’t just another Christian saying it was wrong – well – just because it was wrong! You had been there and done that and Praise God for all of the testimonies of people using the Praise Moves and getting excellent results without the Hindu religion involved! So – thank you! We’re excited to start up! Which DVD would you suggest we start with? My husband has STRESS, back problems, weight problems, gerd and I have migraines. Thanks so much for your help!!!!

  22. Dear Laurette,
    I am Jeff and I live in the UK. I’m 59 years and have been doing Praise Moves off and on for about a year. I was looking for a way to exercise with stretching with movements that combined with breath control. I started watching videos on YouTube of yoga and Tai Chi wondering if I could combine these with praying and meditating on God’s word. I really didn’t want to take up practising them as I struggled with their background and roots in Eastern mystic religions. Then I was on Instagram and a leader within my Church (Hillsong Church) that I followed put up a picture of one of your DVD’s and saying about a Christian alternative to yoga. So I mentioned to my wife about Praise Moves and that I’d like to try it and she ordered a DVD which happened to be the Fit and Fabulous in 40 Days. I must say I haven’t regretted it, except that time hasn’t allowed me to be as committed to a regular use of the programme.

    I am not able to testify to any amazing health benefits yet, but will keep you posted of my progress. However, what I’d like to add is I like you watched a TV programme Yoga For Health with someone called Richard Hittleman presenting it. It was screened in the UK during the late 60’s and early 70’s and just appeared like gentle exercise. Next came the martial arts explosion with Bruce Lee and the screening of Kung Fu starring David Carridine (although Bruce Lee auditioned for the role). I then got quite heavily involved and became a practitioner of Tang Soo Do (Korean Martial Art) of the Mu duk kwan federation (Mu Duk Kwan has the same meaning in Korean as Wu Shu in Chinese). As you can imagine I read a little into the teaching of Taoism and Buddism (Incidentally, one aspect of yoga that is mentioned a lot now is its relationship with Tantric Sexuality Teaching.). I became a Christian during this time, but it took a number of years before I was fully free of the effects of practising martial arts. That’s why I am so thankful to God that He gave you the idea for Praise Moves. I am interested in learning more about movements based on the Hebrew AlevBet and your Flow DVD and saving up my pennies to purchase the DVD’s.

    Recently I had a spell in hospital earlier this year due to breathing difficulties (as I’ve had asthma since early twenties). However, it turned out not to be asthma, Bronchiectasis. Therefore, for me Praise Moves will help greatly with your emphasis on deep diaphragmatic breathing as this help in the clearance of the mucus build up I get.

    I haven’t managed to convince my wife to join me yet as prefers swimming as an exercise, but I am going keep drip feeding the idea.

    We live in a place called St Leonard’s on sea in East Sussex on the South East coast of England (it’s near Hastings of famed Battle of Hastings in 1066). I do apologise as I’ve written quite a lot and only meant to write a quick notes of appreciation. Many blessings with the ministry…

    Kindest regards

    Jeff Knight

  23. Hello Laurette –

    My name is Athena and I’m 48 years young :). I am so blessed for your program Praise Moves. It’s been in my heart to stay active (I’m a former US Reserve member). I know God started this “fitness” journey in my life, then, which was approximately 30 years ago, so I want to continue staying active in maintaining a healthy weight and tone up my vulnerable areas ( hips, butt, stomach, and legs). I’m not looking for a “body building” type of body. My fiance and I agree that we don’t like the solid muscle bulging thing.

    So, in my pursuit, I ran into the yoga “thing” about 5 months ago especially since I was looking to lower my BP. Well, in a prayer session with some of my church members, I found out that yoga was NOT God’s choice (to say the least) so one of the ladies recommended Praise Moves. I googled it and I found you.

    I wanted a program similar to yoga (I like the meditation and deep breathing) but, again, without all of the “history baggage”. Praise God. Thank you, thank you and thank you for starting your program. God knows….right?! and thank God He knows our heart. The last thing I wanted was to do something that denies or offends Him!

    When I found out about you, I immediately told my fiance and daughters to STOP yoga! We are going to do this the right way. God’s way!

    God bless –

    Athena
    Thornton, CO

  24. Hi Laurette, I am so excited to see this ministry! Thank God for you and your willingness to step out to do such a thing! I am 36 years old and I have never tried yoga. I have desired to, but I heard what many others have about yoga, that it could not be separated from its hindu roots. Every time I considered “Christian Yoga,” a “check” I would feel in my spirit just would not let me. I remember feeling the same discomfort when my daughter played a fitness disc on her Wii game system. The poses that I saw on the screen made me feel extremely uncomfortable. So much so, that I decided to check to see what she had clicked on, and sure enough, it was the yoga section of this particular fitness game. For me, that solidified the fact that yoga was just not something that I should try, and I continued looking for an alternative. I am not trying to lose weight, but simply trying to live a healthier life. I want to be able to play with my daughter without being easily winded. I want more flexibility, stronger muscles (including heart muscles) and core. How wonderful to be able to do this with God as my center focus, which I believe is what is going to keep me going with this workout! Thanks again, and I look forward to giving PraiseMoves a try and showing it to others that I know who are relying on yoga to keep their bodies in shape.

    With much gratitude,
    Zaranda Johnson

  25. I’ve recently begun doing yoga, and have really enjoyed it, except from a few things that make me uncomfortable. Not knowing what some of the words mean, such as “Namaste”, and being told to “think of nothing” feel odd. I also learned that there’s a high possibility that yoga helps people struggling with PTSD, and I am passionate about helping people that struggle with trauma-induced difficulties. However, my faith, my Christian beliefs, make me uncomfortable. I want to give this a try instead!

  26. Hi Laurette

    Is the Praisemoves app available in New Zealand? My wife is about to start going to your classes and i am keen to go to. I’ve been wanting to do something like yoga but without the spiritual aspects for ages so was thrilled to find this.

    Thanks

    Sam

  27. Hi I was always wondering if yoga was bad for Christians and found you on the Christian women sight Read your testimony and now I know its not for Christians even rho I know alot who do it. I also wonder surely there must be a way for us as Christians to do something similar but praising the Lord And you were the one who did it Thankyou! I have also been overweight actually after I got married 29 years ago I started gaining and loosing up and down I am almost 62 and do have small health issues high blood pressure and maybe cholestral. I am going to Curves 11 years and have done their weight program off and on. I do know it works if you stick with it. I am on it again also Lost 12 pounds 3 weeks hopely more tomorrow. But can your program help with my blood pressure. I enjoyed hearing you also on my cell phone Thank you Maryann PS I really want to not stop loosing weight this time but slowly. And wonder if your work out will help me along with my Curves workout and walking on my blood pressure. Thank you.

  28. Good Morning!

    My name is Karen. I live in Michigan. I am a Christian. I had been considering trying yoga as a way to relax and as an addition to my current fitness routine. I was concerned about the possible spiritual aspect of yoga. I found something called “Holy Yoga” through a friend, but it sounds like even that could be trouble. I’m glad I found you and your sight. It sounds like yoga is best left alone. I’ll have a look at the videos you have available for “Praise Moves” instead and check to see if classes near me are available. Blessings to you! Have a great day!

    Karen

  29. I have gained a lot of weight over the years due to too much sugar intake, aging and lack of exercise. I have resisted doing exercise for my whole life but I think praisemoves is such a cool concept that I would love to learn and practice it in order to look after my temple for the Holy Spirit. Moreover, I hope praisemoves can bless Hong Kong, the city where I live, as I know how much the people here need to take care of their bodies as well as to know God.

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