Cultivation Commitment
Connecting You to Yourself & Your Community
Funky Buddha Yoga is committed to continuously improve our offerings, ourselves, our communities, and our spaces.
In an effort to reduce barriers and serve the communities that serve us, we partner with local organizations each quarter to benefit from our weekly Community Class offerings. Learn more about our current quarterly partners below!
Jan-March
The Diatribe
The Diatribe is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering young people through the transformative power of restorative art; driven to challenge systemic oppression and reimagine education. By amplifying young, diverse voices The Diatribe’s mission creates accessible spaces for self-discovery, truthful expression, and community care. By fostering connection, support, and creative workshops, The Diatribe inspires individuals to use their voices as tools for change—a mission we’re honored to support and amplify.
April-June
GR Asian Pacific Foundation
At the heart of the Grand Rapids Asian Pacific Foundation lies a commitment to fostering understanding, respect, and unity within our diverse community. Through cultural events, educational programs, and advocacy initiatives, the Foundation serves as a beacon of inclusivity, celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander heritage while embracing the mosaic of identities that define our shared humanity–united by a shared dedication to creating space where individuals can explore, learn, and thrive together.
July-September
Pleasant Peninsula
Pleasant Peninsula is an artist-founded organization rooted in uniting artists, educators, and environmental advocates to celebrate Michigan’s rich ecological realm through public art. With consistent fundraising and community events, Pleasant Peninsula bridges the gap between art and science, fostering a deeper appreciation for biodiversity and the importance of conservation–together we share a deep passion for connecting individuals to the natural world, understanding this stewardship is integral to holistic well-being.
September-December
Anishinaabe Circle
Founded and connected by a group of elders, Anishinaabe Circle is devoted to supporting the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental welfare of GR’s Native American community through consistent connection to social services. From supporting the education and extracurriculars of Native youth to ensuring By honoring indigenous traditions and fostering self-sufficiency, AC provides spaces for community healing. With deep commitment to cultural preservation, the Anishinaabe Circle and Funky Buddha alike honor the wisdom embedded in indigenous practices.
More Organizations We Gratefully Support
From consistent donation to community events, these organizations hold a special place in our Funky hearts!
Grand Rapids Pride Center
Since 1988, the Grand Rapids Pride Center has been a beacon for the 2-SLGBTQ+ community, offering inclusive services, advocacy, and education to foster a more equitable society.
Out on the Lakeshore
Out On The Lakeshore serves as a vital resource for the LGBTQ+ community in Holland and the surrounding areas, offering programming, advocacy, and safe spaces that promote inclusion and pride.
AYA Youth Collective
AYA Youth Collective creates affirming spaces for young people facing housing instability, offering resources that empower them to build futures rooted in belonging and self-determination. Through supportive housing, mentorship, and community engagement, they address the multifaceted challenges of youth homelessness with compassion and resilience.
Kids' Food Basket
Kids’ Food Basket is rooted in the belief that access to nourishing food is a fundamental right, not a privilege. Through initiatives like the Sack Supper program, sustainable farming, and community food distribution, they work tirelessly to combat childhood hunger and promote food equity across West Michigan.
Ground of Support
Funky Buddha Yoga intends to continue to create accessibility, so all people may utilize the system of yoga and use it in any way that supports their own inner teacher. We promise to continue to learn so we can Know Better and then Do Better in the arenas of equity and inclusion–and supporting an array of individuals, communities, voices, and lineages.
Funky Buddha Yoga promises to seek ways in which we can learn from others, ways we can uplift others, and opportunities where we can offer a platform for yoga’s continued growth. Through the respectful cultivation of RICH Action–integrity, intentionality, caring, honesty, and humility–we hope to continue growing and offering tools, support, and a base of generosity and kindness for all to seek their own path to freedom.
Land Acknowledgement
Funky Buddha Yoga acknowledges and honors the lands on which we are living and serving. This land in West Michigan, or Anishinaabe Aki, is the unceded land of the Council of the Three Fires, or the Three Fires Confederacy, who are an alliance of Anishinaabe and is comprised of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. These tribes are the Keepers of the Faith, Keepers of the Trade, and Keepers of the Fire, respectively.
We offer respect and honor to this land and to the stewards of this land, the persons living and the ancestors of the Three Fires. We support through investing in our community partners, learning from and paying for the labor of education, and actively seeking opportunities to support Indigenous Peoples and all populations of people who have been historically underrepresented and/or silenced.
Spiritual Lineage
Funky Buddha Yoga honors the teachings of all yogis, in yoga’s rich 15,000-year history. Our guiding teachers have been taught and inspired by the traditional texts of The Yoga Sutras of Patajali, The Vedas, The Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, The Heart, Diamond, and Lotus Sutras, among so many other rich and important Buddhist and Eastern texts.
We honor, appreciate, and give reverence to the teachings, guidance, and inspiration of our South and East Asian teachers Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, B.K.S. Iyengar (Iyengar Yoga School), S.N. Goenka, Dipa Ma (Nani Bala Barua), the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet – Tenzin Gyatso (through Sharon Salberg), Thich Nhat Hanh, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Naomi Rao, and Kumudini Jayasinghe. The many western teachers we’ve been taught by and inspired by include Sharon Salzberg, Mark Coleman, Ruth King, Ram Dass, Jason Crandell, Stacy Dockins and so many more.
S.N. Goenka said of meditation and our practices, “Rather than converting people from one organized religion to another, we should try to convert people from misery to happiness, from bondage to liberation, and from cruelty to compassion.” We believe that the system of yoga is a system of connection and liberation and is available for all people. We also uplift and support the teachings of those that came before us in our spiritual lineage, and those that will come as we continue to learn and grow.
We are also guided by Buddhist psychology, the wisdom of the system of yoga, modern science, our own lived experiences, and the learned and shared experiences of others.
Healing for Every Human
Funky Buddha Yoga believes that all humans should have access to the community healing that supports their journey best. We have worked tirelessly to create and maintain wonderful relationships within Grand Rapids’ local niches and intentionally commit to continuing this.
We invite you to check out our Accessibility Scholarship, devoted to bolstering the yoga education of our nontraditional yoga spaces.
Thank you each for your continued to support in the work and Core Values of Funky Buddha Yoga, we are so proud to serve Eastown, Forest Hills, Holland in our studios as well as the Greater West Michigan community in our partnerships.
