The Journey of
Yoga Teacher Training
Ubunutu Napa 200 Hour Teacher Training Graduation
The first time Jennifer stepped onto a yoga mat was during a community college class in 1998. She loved it so much, but her college years afterwards were only speckled with classes here and there. It wasn’t until 2005 she met Sharon Dawson, a Forrest Yoga Instructor in Napa that classes began consistent. Sharon’s classes taught Jennifer another layer of the practice. She studied with her for the following eight years. “In fact, it wasn’t until I she suggested I become a teacher, that it felt right to enroll in teacher training.” After Sharon’s blessing, Jennifer enrolled in the Ubuntu Napa, 2002 hour Vinyasa Teacher training, which Sharon was on the teaching staff. (As the one-Michelin-star vegetarian restaurant was in the midst of closing, it was the last teacher training Ubuntu Napa offered).
In teacher training at the former Castro Yoga Tree, SF
During her 200 hour at Ubuntu, Jennifer met Janet Stone, San Francisco based Vinyasa & Bhakti yoga instructor. Upon completion of that program, she immediately began studying towards her 500 with JSY. Jennifer joined Janet’s assisting team soon after, offering hands on assists and support to every Saturday class doing 2013 -2016 and traveled to assist at Wanderlust Squaw Valley and BhaktiFest in Joshua Tree as well. During the roughly 6 years of study Jennifer found a passion for chanting and studying the spiritual aspects of the practice, such as learning the dieties, Yamas + Niyamas, and so much more. “I feel so fortunate for all the time I was able to spend both at her home-base studio in San Francisco — and the places I was able to travel with her, like India in 2015/2016. Learning Bhakti with a teacher like Janet was a gift, as she seamlessly weaved in the deeper yoga teachings to powerfully guided + expertly nuanced classes. It’s always an honor when students tell me they see her influence my own teachings. Deep bows….”
Prenatal Yoga Certification
In the midst of studying towards towards 500 hours, Jennifer also found several unique teaching opportunities that led her to pursue equally unique training. In 2014 she completed a Pre-natal Vinyasa Yoga instructor, in 2014 with Jennifer More after being hired to teach pregnant and postnatal teens through Napa Adult Education. She taught the group for 3 years. In the following year, she was offered a scholarship for The Yoga Purpose + Action training with Off the Mat into the World, at Squaw Valley after Wanderlust 2015. “It was a gift to connect with such a diverse group of people passionate about taking the principles of yoga more deeply into the world we live. It was deeply impactful for me + created many lasting connections.” One of which, was with Firefly Yoga International, who Jennifer completed a certification with for their Trauma Informed Yoga course in 2015. Also in 2015, she obtained a SUP Yoga instructor With Lazy Dog Stand Up Paddle after the 2015 Race the Lake of the Sky in Lake Tahoe, California. She taught SUP Yoga for one Season with Highwater Stand Up Paddle in Napa.
OTM Social Justice Training, Squaw Valley 2015
After hosting Tamara Vodovoz for several workshops in Acroyoga at Zen lot, Jennifer’s interest was peaked to obtain a certification herself. In closing Zen Lot in 2018, she planned her training in 2019 an AcroVinyasa Yoga Instructor with Claudine and Honza LaFonde in Bali. Upon returning to the states she taught yoga in Santa Cruz at Divinitree where she built an AcroVinyasa Community through a series of monthly workshops.
These unique offerings have challenged the parameters of what yoga means and to hold space in circumstances where there literally is no ground. “I value these educations for the emphasis on play as a crucial part of deeply relating, with not just each other, but also our surroundings.”
During the pandemic, Jennifer reconnected with Hala Khouri of Off the Mat + Into the World (OTM) to learn her approach to trauma-informed yoga. Her education continues with Tantra yoga, as she met Brooke Sullivan through flower essences during the pandemic too….the journey always continues…
