We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jen Lo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jen below.
Jen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
The absolute most illuminating and potent defining moment of my teaching career happened after adopting the functional approach to asana. Steering the language away from the aesthetic towards the functional was a paradigm shift for myself and students.
Most yoga asana teachers will have students who have an outwardly “advanced” appearing practice—people that can move into impressive acrobatic postures with steady ease. This story is about a student who can do any pose in the book.
One day during a public class, we were practicing a kneeling backbend (pose: virasana/saddle). I approached this student and asked “where do you feel this?” followed by “it’s okay if your knees don’t touch” and floated onward.
This student came to me teary eyed after class—and told me she had never been asked to “feel” the pose and by adjusting her knee position, she gained access to a part of her body she had not thought possible in her decades of practice. She also shared that her primary teacher had always held her knees together and down in this posture, causing her physical distress she thought she just had to push through.
There’s no fault to this teacher (and any teacher) who was teaching what she believed to be true. The real lesson to me is that I commit to always learning and as soon as I know better, I will do better.
Jen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi everybody! My name is Jen and I am an art and yoga instructor in the Bay Area of California. I am currently teaching 8-weekly public classes on the Penninsula (Redwood City, Los Altos, Mountain View), offer bi-annual art and yoga retreats, and longer format hybrid deep dive Bhakti studies.
I teach Bhakti vinyasa and yin yoga. You can expect to sing and move in my classes based on how you’re feeling—not how it looks. My classes can be safely called “more spiritual” and I want to always acknowledge where this practice came from—India.
Official bio:
Jen loves to teach. From painting to yogasana, she brings her devotion and sensitivity to all she offers. She believes that every person is creative and her mission is to be a torchbearer for artists—Yoga as artistic meditation. She seeks to inspire clients by being their muse, a playful conduit that aligns with the spontaneous nature of creation.
Jen is a graduate of the Bhakti Nova School, her dear teachers include Nubia Teixeira, Toni Cupal, Jennifer Lane, and Edwina Ferro, and Leah Adams. She is influenced by the work of Sally Kempton, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés and Professor Andrew Huberman.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn the aesthetic approach to teaching asana.
Here’s my story:
Since the beginning, my yogasana teachers—all of whom I love dearly to this day—were telling me where to put my arms and legs in postures.“Line up your arms shoulder height, align your front heel to the arch of the back foot, bring your front thigh parallel to the ground.”
As a complete beginner in 2006, this type of aesthetic instruction was essential for me to get my bearings and learn the basics. 12-years of practicing this way eventually led me to complete a yoga teacher training. I was trained aesthetically (alignment based)—and naturally became how I taught. I based all instruction on how it looked and aligned all students the same way. For the first couple years this was working well, my classes were full and a regular studentship began to form. I was riding a fun wave.
A few more years passed and this little voice asked, “are you sure this is safe?” I began to really look and think about the bodies moving in class. The answer was no, I wasn’t sure this practice was safe anymore. The self-doubt and confusion was overwhelming, so I signed up for more anatomy workshops and a 300-hour yoga teacher training with dear Nubia Teixeira in the Bhakti Nova School.
The first module of this 300-hour training was Yin Yoga. I was instructed to notice the felt senses of my body and to relax in postures other than savasana. Right then, a seed sprouted leaves. I became instantly magnetized and began to cultivate a deep curiosity for joint health, mobility, and how neuroscience intersects with yogic practices. I agreed to teach a handful of yin classes while my colleague was on vacation. During that time I was confronted with that voice again, “are you sure this is safe?”
While the nature of Yin Yoga is slow and gentler, I began to question the variations my students were choosing. Aided by the longer hold times, I could get a nice long look at the bodies in front of me. Again, I arrived to answer, “no, I’m not sure this is safe.”
Once again I dove into more trainings and will be eternally grateful to be lead to functional anatomy by way of Paul Grilley. Every question I had about Yin Yoga was answered definitively as if the course was designed for me. Understanding skeletal variation and how it presents in poses was light switch that immediately illuminated every dim corner. Guiding students based on how they feel and away from how they look was the answer for me. This is how to teach non-injuriously, and I am so enthused to share this with you.
With deep gratitude, to the best of my knowledge, I say yes, I am sure it is safe.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Stay consistent!
* I try my best to teach 80-90% of my weekly public classes.
* I stay present and open in my chosen avenues of marketing and promotion
* I am always striving to be the first to say hello and be consistent with kindness!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jenloyoga.com
- Instagram: @jenloyoga
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jenloyoga