by | Sep 29, 2015
Before I entered into the world of yoga and yoga nidra, I did not have the tools in life to deal with so many things. Sleep was difficult and inconsistent. I was agitated and moody and did not know how to tolerate the consequences of being myself from day to day. I was scattered in my thoughts. I had always struggled with feeling chaotic, insecure and ungrounded. I was searching and not finding.
In May of 2010, instead of walking across the stage to receive my graduation degree from UNCA, I flew to Kripalu to attend Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra Teacher Training with Jennifer! It was how I honored my rite of passage from student life into my professional life. That was almost three years ago, and that’s when everything changed for me… from the training itself to beginning a deep and consistent yoga nidra practice that I have since maintained.
Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra has changed my life. I had a very significant shift from ‘before’ to ‘after’ once I started a regular practice. Now I feel grounded and secure. It was a beautiful and sweet experience to be in Jennifer’s training and I still feel very connected with her. Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra is like a special ingredient in life from a very special recipe – if you leave yoga nidra out of life, like my Grandma leaving something out of her recipe for Pizzelles, it’s just not the same!
Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra is a magic wand. I cannot think of any aspect of my life that has not been affected by the training and by practicing. I bring it into everything I do. I have helped deliver thirty-five babies as a Doula and bring Yoga Nidra into the birthing milieu. That has been a powerful ceremony for the mothers, partners and me. I have reconnected with my roots by creating visualizations that have helped me to reconnect to my spiritual ancestry.
People mistakenly think yoga is only for particular people -bendy, stretchy, young, or even wealthy. Everyone can do Yoga Nidra and I’ve seen how it helps everyone who I facilitate. I have a degree in American Sign Language and primarily work with Deaf-Blind people and have adapted yoga and Yoga Nidra to lead experiences in a tactile and/or descriptive way.
I have taught Yoga Nidra to nurses who wanted to learn ‘integrative’ practices for health and relaxation (and they loved it!). I have lead Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra with veterans, and also with people who are in prison. When I am asked to do any project that involves speaking with groups, I always find a way to introduce it. Then people know that there is something out there, a possibility for healing that they can participate.
Recently my Dad had open heart surgery. My family are not yogis or people even interested in yoga, but they were open to ways of relaxing. I guided us right there in the waiting room with subtlety. It was stressful and there was a lot of commotion… we were surrounded by other families who were anticipating the news of their loved ones also going through heart surgery.
It was emotionally and energetically exhausting. I tailored a Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra experience for my family in a way that they could understand it, and it definitely helped us all. When I lead Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra, it’s how I pray out loud. Prayer was all that I had to offer in that moment.
And so things go, Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra has been a catalyst for great changes… I was a closet smoker. I loved smoking! Friends have since told me that they thought I would never quit because I enjoyed it so much. Even when I was an Intern living at Kripalu and was nutritionally and physically healthy, I was still smoking. I actually had intentions when I moved to Kripalu to quit smoking. I was there for almost a year and I never quit. A few years later I got pneumonia and practiced Yoga Nidra intensively. I never smoked again!
The affirmation I repeated in my yoga nidra practice was “My lungs are healthy, my body is strong.” It was the opposite of trying to quit… I was not trying to quit, I was allowing myself a chance to heal. My body and my mind changed permanently. I have at times wanted to smoke, but my body reacts violently against it. A profound change in my life.
My body assumed a state of truth about what is good and right for me. My body decided to regulate itself and now I am able to listen. Even my diet changed easily and naturally. Without trying, I have lost 25 pounds that have stayed off (which debunks the myth that people who quit smoking gain weight!). When I am tired or restless or feeling emotionally or physically stuck, I do Yoga Nidra and drop into myself, and become my ‘beingness’ again.
by | Sep 29, 2015
It was sheer joy to meet Susan last summer when she attended my retreat at Kripalu. She is completely down to earth, focused on her practice and discovering herself, and so bone tickling-ly funny! She had us all in stitches every time she shared with us what was going on for her. It is wonderful in her writing here to discover more about her journey and history.
I appreciate humor and opportunities to laugh together are precious. Thank you Susan for helping us all to take our ‘processes’ not quite so seriously and with joy and lightness.
“A child of the sixties, I grew up in a house where there was always a lot of noise and static. It seemed like there was always some drama going on, in the family or out in the world. And in our house, deep in the suburbs of Long Island, the TV news was always blaring in the background, fueling the anxiety. Nationally, we had Vietnam and Watergate. Closer to home: Fires, guns, and missing children. My mother was a constant worrier. No matter what I was doing – bike riding, going to the beach, or later, heading off to college – her words to me were always the same: “Be very careful.” So I’ve always had this low-level anxiety that just around the corner, something terrible was about to happen.
This past summer, I found myself feeling a similar sort of deer-in-the-headlights dread. I had just turned 50 and arrived at a personal crossroads that is supposedly common for women (and yes, men) at midlife. Despite the dark circles of age around my eyes, I felt myself paralyzed by the same existential questions that plagued me as a teenager: Who am I? What makes me happy? How do I want to spend the rest of my life? I seemed to be drifting. Everything was basically OK, but not terribly great. In the background, there was the haunting question: Is this it?
Around the same time, by some serendipitous turn of events, I went to the Kripalu Center for Jennifer’s Divine Sleep yoga nidra workshop. This practice of deep rest, or divine sleep, was so different from my vinyasa practice, strenuous “power yoga” done in a hot room. On a physical level, it was … well, no sweat. But still – the concept of lying down and dropping into silence seemed a bit terrifying to me. Just like the evening news when I was a kid. What kind of mayhem would I find inside myself?
At first, I was completely unprepared to lie still in the darkness. But there was a gentleness about Jennifer’s approach that seemed to encourage patience and grace. She made us feel that everything we might experience was OK. And, more important, we were OK.
After many days and many tries, I started breathing, relaxing, and visualizing. I started to trust myself, and the silence, rather than hiding behind the familiar static of my mind. At some point, I completely let go. Through yoga nidra, I went deep inside the stillness. The choppy waters of existential crisis went completely calm and I saw my own reflection in its truest form. It was the same Me, but with all the extra stuff stripped away – the personality quirks, the stories, the drama, and all the assorted history. When I let go of my attachment to everything I thought defined me, I saw myself very differently. I became a person who felt infinite joy in the simplest details (some real-world, and some purely in the mind’s eye of yoga nidra): warm beaches; the glassy eyes of rabbits and birds; autumn leaves floating in an icy-cold river. Close your eyes and relax deeply, and you’ll be amazed by what you might see. It’s a wondrous, almost magical, process that I still continue today.
I remember being a kid and building forts in the living room with sofa cushions and blankets. When I would crawl inside the little space, something definitely shifted inside my mind and heart. I’d feel both self-contained and infinitely free. I could stay there for hours, playing with stuffed animals, drawing pictures, or just listening to myself breathing. The world went on outside, but at a comfortable distance. Yoga nidra is just like that. You have a friend, and that friend is you. You are safe, and you are free.
Those are just some of the gifts that yoga nidra has offered me. I feel deep gratitude to Jennifer, and the turn of fate that brought me to the shore of pure self – tucked inside a protected, quiet cocoon of blankets – in her Divine Sleep workshop. Thank you.”
by | Sep 29, 2015
Bobbi was instrumental in bringing Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra Teacher Training to an amazing yoga community in Ontario. It was joyous to be invited and to meet a new community. Bobbi approached me with tears of release after one powerful yoga nidra journey. She said to me “I finally got what I wished for– I finally stayed awake the entire yoga nidra.” I knew something big within her was transforming. I wanted to share her story with you to help us understand just how powerful Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra can be.
“Before my daily yoga nidra practice I was living a busy chaotic life, scattered all over the place, Most of all I did not sleep well and that affected every aspect of my life. Being a type ‘A’ personality and being at a certain age when sleep is not always a sure thing, a friend gave me Jennifer’s CD, and it could not have come at a better time.
I was stressed out with my profession, which is public relations, and one of the aspects that was stressing me out was an upcoming “lobby day” in the capital, Ottawa, Canada. I had a lot of difficulty falling asleep so I began practicing Jennifer’s CD every day and I was immediately able to sleep and rest deeply. When I went to Ottawa for our annual Hill (lobbying) day, a colleague said “You are SO different.” And I was. I was much calmer, more grounded, and she could see it in my face, and how I conducted myself even during this very stressful time.
I soon got all of Jennifer’s CDs– they are a blessing in my life – and began listening to them faithfully every day because this practice helped me so much.
The amazing thing is I am handling insomnia without the use of any drugs – and that alone has made yoga nidra a savior in my life!
I go to sleep with Jennifer’s CD every night! I have been practicing daily for many years now but I hear something different and new each time. I pick up on what I need in the moment and it goes right into where I need to hear it, and to soothe me.
It was my dream to bring Jennifer here to Ontario to lead our community in Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra Teacher Training. I did the training for myself – I wanted to learn about this magic and how it worked. I wanted to meet Jennifer because her Divine Sleep® has had such a strong and uplifting impact in my life. I love yoga nidra so much and see how much its changed my life and want to give that gift to other people.
I love how my friends and students look when they come out of my yoga nidra classes! Pure bliss and openness.
I lead my friend who just went through breast cancer surgery and she found great peace within it. My work is in the healthcare field involving ALS — a disease that is terminal with loss of the use of arms, legs and all movement. Yoga nidra is perfect for this population because they have complete mental function but can’t move, so this offers an amazing way for them to connect with their body parts and open the channels of the nervous system, not to mention calming and soothing their emotions during what can be extremely challenging chapter in one’s life.
It also works for their caregivers, who need it as well – care for the caregivers. I have lead Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra at our conference for social workers, caregivers and so on who work with people living with ALS and they all loved it and were amazed at what a great tool yoga nidra is.
Jennifer goes with me everywhere I go — I will not leave home without her CD’s. It’s my guide.
What a gift to have this practice in my back pocket! I travel for work a lot and out of everything, the CD is the most important thing I take with me. It helps me settle in to other places and to sleep. I listen and I am calm – it’s no big deal and I go on into my day with more energy than before I practiced regularly.
Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra changed my life! Like most people, I have had difficult periods in my life and I feel so supported and confident knowing that when things get tough I have this amazing tool to get me through. And it does!
Now, I have become more accepting and surrendered, and the inner fighting has stopped. My sleep is much better and I awaken more rested.
I was in an extremely traumatic event a few years ago. During the Teacher Training, Jennifer led us in a journey and I came to a point where the feelings surrounding that ‘event’ came up. These feelings had been causing a lot of unnecessary pain in my life — I’d been living in the past with them and had been trying to move beyond. But what happened in this specific yoga nidra was remarkable – I felt the feelings, and I let myself feel it, and it was uncomfortable — yet I had the calm presence to state ‘I’m willing to let go now’.
And I let it go! It was a major breakthrough. You could go to therapy for years but yoga nidra really gets in there and shifts things in the deepest levels for the better. Jennifer, I can’t thank you enough!”
BOBBI’S UPDATE FIVE YEARS LATER:
“I have travelled to Kripalu many times, and whenever I’m there Jennifer’s classes are always a highlight of my stay. Then COVID hit… and the best thing to happen for me was that Jennifer offered virtual classes right off the bat! She was there for us. Now I get to take classes with her weekly. How lucky am I!
I had just returned from an around the world trip that was cut short by COVID. Jennifer’s online classes are the highlight of my week! She has built a community… I feel supported in her classes. And I love Jennifer’s Five Element Yoga® Workshops too.
Thank you Jennifer. I honestly don’t know how I would cope during this ‘transitional’ time. I just took your Five Element Yoga® Workshop: Transitions + Transformation and it was a great help to me.
With much love and admiration.
Bobbi in Toronto
by | Sep 29, 2015
It is said that ‘When the student is ready, the teacher shows up’, and Verne added: ‘regardless of age!’ When Verne turned 60, and she thought of being 65 one day, she wondered what will she do then? Something in her said she had to become a yoga teacher. Verne is a breast cancer survivor and began practicing yoga after having surgery. What an inspiration! She let her light shine and did her yoga teacher training for her 61st birthday!
“Teaching yoga is the perfect thing! I am so grateful for this opportunity and for my teachers.
I was able to attend Jennifer’s Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra teacher training in Ontario, Canada. I had been leading yoga nidra, but fumbling my way through the dark to some degree, and Jennifer’s training helped me to learn the depth of this powerful practice and also to feel confident in my delivery of it.
My life before my own yoga nidra practice was a little different! I was not calm. I jumped in with both feet. My personality was reactive.
Now I am less reactive, calmer, and more grounded. I use to go through periods where I felt disconnected and did not have my feet on the ground and that has changed. I have more space in my mind to stop and think. I am able to step back and consider things, and know what feels right before jumping in. I am less selfish and more expansive in my viewpoint.
Currently I am going through months of house renovation. The initial renovation uncovered more serious problems and it has been unending and very stressful to live amongst all the chaos with my home upside down. I am much more relaxed in how I am handling it all and less picky. “That’s life”, I say. Before I would have been tearing my hair out. The other day I sat down and laughed in the midst of everything and the renovator asked if I was okay? I said I am laughing, not crying! It is intense, but I am happy with how differently I am navigating through it all.
A family member aggravated me and I knew instead of reacting to her by opening my mouth and going into confrontation which had been my habitual way, I went outside and raked leaves! It was a good decision — it felt good to be physical and cleared my head and heart. That would not have happened before.
I now have clear boundaries with my adult children. I often felt in the middle of their interactions and arguments with each other. I am able to state what I will and will not do-rather than get sucked into it. Intuition and my inner voice speak. And now I listen now. I can hear it. That is new for me.
I act instead of react. And that makes me feel like I can breathe! I truly wish I had this 30 years ago. The way I once dealt with things – ugg! Yoga Nidra has given me tools that I now have within myself, that have a major impact on my life.
I am grateful to Jennifer and appreciative of her experience and knowledge. Generally people have knowledge but don’t share it. Jennifer gives away what she has in order to help other people — she gave me this gift.”
by | Sep 29, 2015
Dave and I first met when I gave him a bodywork session at Kripalu in Healing Arts. Dave then signed up for the newsletter and has incorporated it into his life ever since. He is so kind, open, relaxed and sincere, and when I met his wife, Bobbi, she was the same. I wondered how they lived their lives to embody these beautiful qualities, and asked Dave if he would share a little with us. And isn’t it about time we had a man in the Spotlight?
“In 1977 I graduated college and began to practice Transcendental Meditation — seated meditation on a sound or word. I had a strong practice and meditation gave my mind a way to relax tension and anxiety. But I still could feel it in my throat, chest and diaphragm. And when I hold tension in my body,it also affecting me mentally and psychologically. At that time in my life, I was less confident and more fearful. I joined the Navy to see the world and then saw it through a periscope! In the Navy I studied nuclear power. I always had a desire to cultivate both sides of myself — the mystical and the scientific.
Growing up, my father was an alcoholic. I learned to hold everything inside. I was in a state of flight or fight and would freeze, retreat. I wasn’t breathing. I would try to disappear. It was when I began practicing yoga postures that the avenue opened up for real communication to occur between my body, mind and heart. My wife Bobbi and I have been going to Kripalu nearly every quarter since 2007. I’ve found the reflective atmosphere parallels my inner process of evolving.
Kripalu is a community of self-selected people who come really wanting to be there. What is so powerful is that I hear my own story coming out of someone else’s mouth every time I am there. I am looking for a way to evolve where I can open up to all of life. Yoga has allowed me to get out of my head and into life.
Yoga has been a miraculous doorway to rediscover my body. Now I take a nurturing and understanding approach with myself and use yoga to self-sooth. I react less. I no longer retreat, withdraw, or hold a ball of anxiety within. When I am triggered, I am able to witness the process of how my body is responding. And from this place of witness, I can decide where it goes from there. This is not an intellectual thing – far from it. It comes from a place of body, mind, and heart.
Yoga allows me to go inward and reclaim parts of my body that I had exiled, parts of myself and things I liked to do. I had lost touch. Yoga has allowed me to build resilience and bounce back. I can be who I want to be and return to that calm locus of control. The result is that I more quickly and easily untie knots of anxiety that happen from work and living life. I feel more confident and at home in my body.
All of this has helped my work for a new generation of safer nuclear power. I had to give a speech/testimony about plant safety in Washington, and had I been younger I’d have wanted to hide! I told myself “I’m going to take good care of myself and I will do yoga right before if I need to calm myself.” And I did just that. I found an empty room and practiced the moon salute yoga flow over and over again until I calmed down. A guard looked into the room while I practiced, and I told him I was doing yoga. He said “Cool!” I felt the knots untie and felt more myself. I felt like the “Warrior Mystic” bringing my yoga practice right into the heart of technology. I am learning not to be shy or hide my yoga practice, but embody it, share it and love it out loud.
I love- love- love Jennifer’s newsletters. Radiant Being is so densely packed with information that I use to assist myself day to day. I’m always digesting the newsletters. I keep them in the Evernote program on my computer and sort the topics out so I can quickly pull them up. I liked the theme of the Five Elements and going through one at a time was a powerful experience for me. The last Student Spotlight with Sue Keane was so moving.
The Radiant Being newsletters have become a good resource – a library of wisdom. I’ve begun using some of the practices and I save some for the future for when I will be ready for them. That feels good – to have a direction and a roadmap of practices I can do at home to keep me tuned in and dissolve the tension away.
Jennifer’s newsletters have opened me up to new and different kinds of experiences – seeing energy flows and feeling new things in my own body that Jennifer wrote about on the elements. I have been doing an energy healing practice called Therapeutic Touch my whole life and am part of a healing circle at church offering free energy work. After the ‘Fire Element’ issue of Radiant Being, the things I read and learned washed through me, and then I had a felt experience of my own fire element during our healing circle. It was amazing how it came up as I was working on someone and felt an internal map and points of heat, fire element, and I could control it by moving my body slightly. It gave me a new understanding about energy, elements, yoga, healing and how it’s all related.
I really enjoyed practicing Yoga Nidra with Jennifer when she led a session during “Afternoon Yoga” at Kripalu and I look forward to sharing it with other members of my family.
These practices help me to stay integrated. Yoga gives a quiet mind and allows my body to relax, and I am able to move into my body and experience life with greater compassion.”
