Meet Jen! LPY 200 & 300 Hour Graduate & Teacher
Do you currently teach? And where? And what kind of yoga?
I currently teach at both the LPY Lexington and Woburn locations, It’s fitting since my very first yoga class was at the Woburn location many moons ago and I’ve been a student at LPY Lexington since day one! I love to teach a power vinyasa flow. I would describe my classes as starting off with a good stretch and waking up then building up to a flow that is playful and energetic then winding down with a good rest. I love HOT yoga!
What was one of your favorite parts about the training?
By far my favorite part of both the 200 and 300 hour was the people; both the students and teachers. Taking the training can be challenging both physically and emotionally, you have to open yourself to others in a way that can be scary. Fortunately, both of my training groups were an amazing compilation of humans. They all brought unique perspectives of where their yoga journey began, they practiced at studios with different philosophies and perspectives. I learned a lot from each of them. During my 300 hour training it was a particularly challenging time. About a 1/4 of the way through our training we went into Covid lockdown and had to resume our training on Zoom from our (or our friend’s) living room. We learned to be adaptable during an unprecedented time. For me, I had the time to practice yoga and meditation daily since there was no other commitments on my calendar. It was an unusual time but I am so grateful I had the training weekends to look forward to, each person showed up with vulnerability and grace.
What surprised you about your training experience?
What surprised me the most about the training was all the different ways a yoga class can be taught. I had a preference for a particular class, usually more active and challenging but I feel I changed as a teacher and student after the training. My teaching and practice is more grounded and based on breathe and holding poses. I find I put a lot more emphasis on giving students permission to listen to their bodies and to hold poses that feel good and avoid ones that no longer serve them. Using breath as an anchor is one of my biggest take aways as well as slowing down.
What keeps you inspired?
I love trying different teacher’s classes, I will take a pose or a saying that really spoke to me and incorporate it into my own class. Meditation is another piece that I learned a lot more about during the Gratitude challenge and continue to meditate every morning.
What does your yoga look like outside of the movements of physical yoga?
My yoga always starts with grounding breath that I think of as a mini-meditation. For me, it’s always more challenging to slow down and I continue to work on the balance of movement and stillness. Staying still is HARD!
What is a simple moment in your life that brings you great joy?
A simple moment in my life that brings me pure joy is watching my kids play sports. I think my whole greater essence is being a mom to 3 sporty boys. This time is especially trying since I’m sending my oldest son Cole off to college where he will play baseball. After sitting through a billion baseball games it’s exciting to watch him have the opportunity to play in college. It’s bittersweet and I’m having those daily moments of happiness and sadness.
I spend so much of my times at fields and courts but I love every moment of it. Sports bring good life lessons…especially baseball which is a game that if you strike out 2 out of 3 times at bat you’re considered great. That is a great metaphor for life, that you can fall on your face twice but if you get up and walk a few steps you’re a huge success.