By Lori (Priya) Kenney

One of my students has been taking yoga classes for 20 years, most recently online. She has been an Embodyment^® client of mine for almost two years. Her online asana teacher suggested she would benefit from in-person classes to reduce pain and become calmer. She is the reason I started teaching!   

During her weekly Embodyment^® sessions, I see and feel the benefits from her years of asana classes.  Muscle tension releases much more quickly, and she has greater range of motion.  Likewise, I see her flexibility and range of motion increasing dramatically in classes due to her Embodyment^® sessions.  

She is leaning into all the poses more deeply. Her Lunges are more extended. She’s taller and more lengthened through her rib cage in Seated Side Stretch. She has more ease in doing poses that were challenging before. And she’s a stellar example of coming to class, getting settled in Shavasana and immediately turning inside. The combination of Embodyment^® Yoga Therapy and asana classes is very effective.

I feel connected to this student in a very human way.  We have an easy and trusting relationship. I noticed this again upon returning from YTT1 when I began teaching new poses. She has taken Foundations at least twice and used to occasionally substitute teach for another teacher.  

From the beginning, she has been supportive and encouraging about my teaching. Her awareness of the teaching and class process goes beyond that of being a student. She’s like a silent cheerleader for me and the other students.  

She’s patient with those new to Svaroopa^® yoga.  I see her quietly giving suggestions to nearby students working to get into a pose when I’m assisting others. She brought her partner to class, who is now a dedicated student too.   

Her original teacher subbed for me when I went to Lokananda for YTT1.  That teacher also noticed a difference in this student — her greater mobility, her spot-on Lunge alignments and more ease in her poses overall. 

While this student has a reserved nature, she’s a steady presence in our yoga class community.  She is engaged and spontaneous with other students. Sometimes she chimes in about how she feels different the second time we do a marker pose.  Or she will joke with another student.   

I especially appreciate this student’s tenacity and determination while going through several very difficult life passages. She has leaned into yoga through all of it and talks about how it has steadied her.   

She has experience turning within and settling.  She knows the power of an open body and quiet mind.  She is a miracle in progress.  I see her deepening and blossoming, all at the same time.  

Such transformation is due to the power of this yoga. Gurudevi Nirmalananda, our Master Teacher, created this yoga in order to bring asana practice back to its original purpose. The goal is to open us to our deep, expansive and timeless inner essence.