Student Stories
Yoga Got Me Out of My Head, and Into My Body and Breath!
Before I practiced yoga, I had very few skills to deal with anxiety and stress. Being a creative person, I have an active mind that sometimes is flooded with ideas and things to explore, investigate, and create. Being bombarded with “thinking” caused anxiety and panic in my daily life to the point that it became unbearable. This lack of self-regulation affected my sleep, ability to travel, and even my social interactions. My world was getting smaller and smaller. I knew something had to change and I was searching. As a person in long-term recovery from alcoholism, every tool and every
I'm Emerging Refreshed, Renewed and Restored
It was a natural progression for me to begin to practice with Jennifer online during the pandemic. I understand well what it is like to spend a sustained amount of time in ‘stress mode’. Prolonged stress was familiar to me in my younger years---in fact, a friend who recognized my stress levels at the time gave me a t-shirt that read "If it were not for stress, I would have no energy at all!" Although I had substantially decreased stress from my early life, the "fight or flight" response was certainly amplified by the pandemic for me. My life had
I Have Built the Most Important Foundation for My Future
Before discovering Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra, I felt like I was mostly in a state of panic – fight or flight. My adrenals were overworked. My body begged for rest: I did not know how to invite rest or even begin to relax. Not knowing this only taxed my body, mind, and spirit further. I lacked true connection in nearly all aspects of my life. The ‘Three P’s’ as in ‘Parent, Public school teacher, and Pandemic’ had taken over the ‘Three C’s’ in my life: ‘Clarity, Control, and Connection’. I was spinning out of control. My attention and energy was
I Am Lighter and Brighter Now!
In the past, I was very disconnected from my body, and had little energy. Some challenging life circumstances - including being a care-giver - made me put myself last. I also was in a place of tolerating circumstances I would now find unacceptable. I endured physical trauma, was neglecting myself, and stress in my life compounded it. During the past two years, I have been focusing ‘letting go’, and on giving myself better self-care. But something was still amiss. I felt sluggish, stiff and depressed. Although I had a practice of daily art-making, journaling, and other sources to help expand my
Now My Nervous System, Mind and Heart Are Repairing Naturally
The memories of the experiences of unresolved trauma can get locked in the body. This can affect the nervous system and brain, and distract us from seeing our wholeness, our innate goodness. For me, my memories from my traumatic experiences had gotten locked in my nervous system. A few years ago, I suffered a traumatic depression, and lost 51 pounds, weighing about 80 pounds when I went to the hospital. I was in hospital for three months recovering. A couple of months after I returned home, the pandemic began. I was first introduced to yoga practice at Kripalu Center in
Now I Trust In My Calm, Peaceful Center
Before I began practicing yoga, I was very competitive and achievement-oriented - a classic Type A personality. I worked myself into exhaustion through over-effort in every area of my life. Through my academic training, I had become A linear thinker: analyzing data, reporting results of empirical investigations, and also teaching students to have the same skill set. I was not totally available or approachable to others because of my orientation to achievement rather than simple presence. My heart longed for more balance. I wanted a deeper connection with my friends and family. I felt like I had little to give
My Life Has Changed For the Better Because of Yoga Nidra
  I received this lovely and inspiring letter from Laura who began studying with me many moons ago, and I wanted to share her light with you! She agreed to post her letter here: "I want to thank you so much for offering your beautiful and healing yoga nidra sessions online. It has truly been a silver lining of the pandemic for me. I have loved your work and your classes ever since my first trip to Kripalu Center years ago, when I took your Friday evening yoga class, and you introduced me to mudras. That lead me on a
I Feel Complete the Way I Am Now
In the summer of 2012 I made my first trip from my native Greece to Kripalu Center for Integrative Yoga Therapy training. Joseph LePage announced that we would have a special guest teacher to learn about yoga nidra. He spoke very highly of her - her knowledge, experience - and her uniqueness for creating a program with her own signature. She was one of Kripalu’s long time respected teachers. I got very excited, but at the same time I was very exhausted as we were nearing the end of our intensive training program. Jennifer walked in with a big smile.
Yoga Nidra is My Practice and My Offering
When I was in my thirties over twenty years ago, I went through intense stress and suffering due to a serious illness of a cherished member of my family. I was a mother of two with a very supportive husband. I lived in a state of fear and terror for several years. I knew that my sympathetic nervous system was in a state of fight or flight for far too long, and I knew it was not okay, but at the time I did not have the tools to repair the damage that my body, mind and nervous system had
Yoga Nidra is My Keystone
In 2001 I was a municipal manager for a town of 55,000 residents. I oversaw a wide range of services including police, fire, rescue, public works, parks and recreation. My husband was an early career psychologist and we had two young daughters. While I enjoyed this time of my life tremendously, the pace, stress and magnitude of it all began to take a toll on my health. One night while sitting in the lobby of my daughter’s dance school, I noticed a flyer announcing a yoga class being offered by the dance teacher, Ms. Tina. I knew absolutely nothing about