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

Sarah Jane , appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

A defining moment in my career is right now. I am releasing a tarot deck I co-created called Be With Your Body Tarot. This is a tarot deck designed to help people connect to their bodies, just as they are.

I have been in active eating disorder recovery since 2015. Since then, I have been a huge advocate for people to stop dieting, stop over exercising and start finding peace with their bodies. I have helped so many clients through my work as a massage therapist, yoga therapist, astrologer and tarot reader. All of this information is compiled into the guidebook I wrote for the deck. I hope this helps so many more people find the peace and freedom possible from being with their bodies, not trying to control them.

Sarah Jane , 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?

My name is Sarah Jane Chapman. I am a yoga therapist, astrologer and tarot reader. I created a tarot deck called Be With Your Body Tarot. It is about using tarot as a tool to find peace in your body. I wrote the guidebook, which has definitions for the cards, affirmations and tools to help you connect to yourself, just as you are.

I have been in eating disorder recovery since 2015. At that time, I was also learning about meditation and tarot. I would sit for meditation every day and pull some tarot cards. I noticed one day, that I was sitting in a room by myself with my eyes closed and I was actively sucking in my abdomen. I started laughing to myself at how ridiculous that was. No one could see me, not even myself, and yet, I had trained my body so well to try and stay small, that she (my body) was pulling in unconsciously. I knew something needed to change. At the same time, I would pull tarot cards and would often distrust my own intuition around the cards’ meanings. I would always have to look them up.

So much of diet culture insists we look to someone else for what to do with our bodies. What to eat, how to move, what to feel. Tarot slowly helped me to learn how to trust myself. By pulling cards regularly, I became more in tune with their meanings and my own wisdom.

This was a pivotal part of my recovery. I started being kinder to my body and listening to her. It’s been a long road, but I now feel so much peace within my body and trust within myself.

All of my experience as a yoga therapist, massage therapist and astrologer have also helped me to connect to myself. A huge part of my eating disorder recovery is realizing that if I think some bodies are better than other bodies, it will be hard for me to find peace in my body. So, I am also a big advocate for size, ability, age, race and identity inclusion for everything, but especially yoga. Since I truly believe it can be such a healing modality.

I taught yoga both in public studios and in treatment centers for years. Yoga, when used wisely, is a beautiful practice to help people feel more connected and at ease in their bodies and with themselves.

In 2018, I started my 1000 hour Yoga Therapy program in the Viniyoga lineage. Through supervision, I have been seeing clients and patients ever since. I graduated in 2021 and continue to be amazed at how this lineage has such success in helping people learn about and attune to their bodies.

I now work both in private practice and at a clinic as a yoga therapist. In the clinic, called Nero Therapy Nashville, I mostly work with stroke survivors and folks with other neurological conditions. I apply similar ideas and support for these patients that I do with my clients in private practice. In private practice, I see all sorts of folks who are looking to better connect with their body. Some people are in pain, struggle to sleep, or struggle with their body image. For everyone, I help them cultivate a kind relationship to their bodies. In a typical yoga therapy session, we talk about the individual’s experience or pain (physically or otherwise), and I put together a practice just for them. That practice will often include breath work, gentle movement, a guided meditation and possibly some lifestyle support. Lifestyle support might look like: setting a bedtime routine, finding areas to cultivate joy, or how to self massage. I see folks regularly so we can tweak their practices for their needs and I can continue to support them as they heal. Healing is like an onion. Once you start peeling back the layers, there are always a few more underneath.

I often use my tarot and astrology knowledge in sessions. Sometimes pulling a card can give a jumping off point of discussion or some unknown insight. Tarot isn’t magic, you are magic. Tarot is a mirror.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

One million percent. I started practicing yoga when I was 14 years old. I was deep in my eating disorder at the time. I remember hating being in my body, except when I was practicing yoga. For one hour a day, I felt ok. I didn’t know that yoga therapy was a thing I could be, but I would often say, “I want to help people with yoga”. I would go back 20 Years and tell her we are doing just that. And that I wish she didn’t have to suffer so much for us to get here.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Maintaining a practice and being present. I am a yoga therapist and I have a yoga therapist. She keeps me honest about where I am at and about maintaining my daily practice. The other part is being present with our patients and clients. It is easy to assume we have the right tool to help them, and we might, but really, people just want us to be present with them and truly see them. By keeping our systems regulated, we can help other people be regulated as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: Sarahjanechapman.com Bewithyourbodytarot.com
• Instagram: @sjanechapman @bewithyourbodytarot
• Other: https://undietonline.com/?rfsn=7099461.4768c9

Image Credits
Olivia Franklin