JEN

Jen’s journey into yoga and pilates began 13 years ago, with Becky, during her humble beginnings at Penylan Leisure centre. It was Becky that inspired Jen to “believe & achieve”, follow her heart and do the teacher trainings. She fell in love with Pilates first, quickly followed by the love of yoga. She achieved her Level 3 Pilates training in 2014, and her 200hr YTT in Vinyasa Flow and Hatha in 2016. For Jen, movement is medicine, connecting the mind, the body and the breath, allowing her mind to find stillness. She has a deep love of nature, plants and animals, as well as a profound interest in all things mysterious. 

Why do you teach yoga?

Before I started practising yoga, I suffered from anxiety attacks, tension headaches and other anxiety related issues. Yoga taught me to regulate and release this anxiety, and ultimately (without sounding cliche) saved my life. I became a warrior instead of a worrier! The gift of yoga is one I would like to pass on to everyone and anyone!

Describe your teaching style

I teach a variety of different styles and approaches to yoga, however at Stretchys you will find me teaching a strong and dynamic, core based flow. In all my teaching, I encourage people to observe their bodies from a non-aesthetic, non-judgemental viewpoint, with an emphasis on the connection to their wonderfully unique bodies and focusing on how it feels over how it looks.

If you were a yoga pose, what would you be?

Crow Pose is the one I relate to a lot. Crow pose teaches you to fly, it's fun and challenging and not only takes a good amount of strength, balance and flexibility, it also requires a lot of self belief and trust. It teaches us to face and overcome fears, learning to stand in a different way, and learning to fall and feel safe- repeatedly-before laughing it off, getting up and trying again. The same could be said about life and my journey as a teacher, and as a person.