We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Meek. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

There was a period of time when I would bring my rescue dog with me to teach certain yoga classes. One day when we went around the room sharing how we were doing that day, a student expressed feeling sadness. My sensitive and somewhat timid dog who usually just sat on a blanket next to me, got up and calmly walked over to the student. My dog laid down on the mat in front of her, essentially cuddling with her. You could just feel all the hearts in the room witnessing this sweet unspoken heart connection. The woman was so touched! It’s one of those moments where you truly feel how deeply connected we all are and how natural it was for my dog to get close to her to comfort her. Something I wish we as humans could do more of with one another.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was a professional contemporary dancer for many years and I was always looking for ways to stay in great condition. I found Yoga and initially did it to get more flexible. Fairly quickly I realized there was so much more going on! I had a profound experience one day in the final relaxation pose (savasana). I realized it was the first time I could ever remember feeling comfortable in my skin. I was so used to being critiqued, trying to change my body in some way to make it better or forcing it do the things others were telling me to do. It became the beginning of a long story of personal transformation, self love and compassion.

Now as a Trauma Informed Yoga Therapist and an Embodiment Coach, I specialize in helping people (primarily women) who struggle to prioritize their wellness needs. I help them come back home to their body and their body’s innate wisdom. I intuitively guide them to enjoy moving their body and support them in clearing stuck energy and trauma stored in their body.

Commonly in Yoga classes you are told what to do and how to do it, however in Trauma informed Therapeutic Yoga classes you are given autonomy over your body and are guided into feeling what options are most supportive for you in the moment. You begin to befriend the body and create a long lasting healthy relationship with yourself.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think being a good listener and making genuine caring connections with your students or clients is essential for “success”. They can feel that you truly care about their wellbeing and they begin to trust you. They will likely share about you to others and feel interested in continuing to learn from you because this trust is developed. They value what you have to say and what you share.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Having people directly share their experience of working with me with others or me sharing their testimonials has been a good way to help people decide if they’d like to work with me. Other than that, just showing up consistently and authentically whether in person or on social media or newsletters.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jennifermeek.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embodimentwithjen/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifermeekyoga/?ref=hl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-meek-31b83414/
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/Gvr1nEXeupOfZBKA5CL2Vg