This is exactly why I teach and share my passion of yoga. Jennifer's words have touched my heart and life. I am so thankful that I get to be a part of her journey towards healing and health.
"When Mara asked me to write a testimony about my private yoga sessions, I felt honored for being asked but nervous at the same time. I did not want to sound silly or that I was just giving a friend a good review because she asked. It has taken me a month to be able to gather my thoughts.
Four years ago I approached Mara about doing private yoga sessions. I went sporadically, canceled many sessions due to work or just plain laziness. At that time, my heart just wasn't into it. I enjoyed getting to know Mara better, our talks and doing something just for me, but felt guilty with the money I was spending when we were still strapped living paycheck to paycheck. I was also trying to work two jobs at the time! One day shift teaching homeschoolers and the other working 4 on 4 off nights at the credit union. I had a son still at home in high school and the older son in the Army who was going through his own problems that were breaking my heart. Looking back, it was not the right time for me. I was burning the candle at both ends.
In July this year I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw Mara had some bracelets on sale. I purchased two. Mara and I met for coffee, something we have done periodically (every 6 months to a year) since 2015. While catching up, I asked her if she would be willing or was planning on doing private yoga sessions in addition to the classes she was teaching. She was extremely open to it and was branching out. She sent me a link to her scheduling website which also allows for you to pay at the time of scheduling. The system is easy to use and makes scheduling a snap. Immediately after scheduling a session, I receive an email. It will let you schedule multiple sessions at a time. About a day prior to an upcoming session the system/scheduling site will send a reminder email.
Having done private sessions before, I expected on our first visit to get right back to doing intense flows with warrior pose, tree pose, etc. I think these types of things intimidated me before and I wasn't quite ready for it. I think Mara knew that too. Before our session she sent a questionnaire that asked the typical medical questions and reasons for wanting to do yoga along with my goals. She read the 4 page questionnaire in total and made a plan. At our first session we discussed it all. She said we are going to start slow and build into the more advanced items/poses. This appealed to me. I have asthma, high blood pressure and so out of shape from being sedentary for so long. Each week I go I notice I can breathe a little deeper, stretch a little further and feel overall better. I look forward to going each week even if I don't feel well. I had a massive sinus headache one day when I arrived for our appointment. Mara adjusted what she had planned to accommodate me. We did things to relieve the pressure and headache. I still ended up taking sinus medicine later that night but I could relax better with techniques Mara showed me. During another session we discovered my right knee could not handle having pressure of a pose on it. I have been having knee pain and discomfort for some time and with Mara's gentle persuasion I contacted an orthopedist who has started me on physical therapy. I sent Mara the exercises and she is going to incorporate them into our sessions.
Not only is Mara a good friend, she is a wonderful Christian instructor. She takes the time to listen to her clients. She explains what we will be doing during our time together. She truly cares for me as a person. At the beginning of each session she asks how I feel and how I feel afterwards. She takes the time to see which exercise I liked the best and least each day. She gives ample amounts of encouragement and reassures when you feel down. Over the past two months I can see minor changes in my breathing, health and flexibility. I look forward to future session. I now crave yoga and try to incorporate it into my daily life whether it is doing some breathing or a particular stretch/pose. I am glad that this was the right time in my life to start back doing private lessons guilt-free.
Thank you Mara for going on this journey with me and being my guide."
~ Jennifer (9/29/2019)
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