I have been thinking about hearts a lot this month, not specifically around “Ash Valentine” as a friend of mine referred to it. Making it even harder for my Catholic upbringing as Ash Wednesday and Valentines Day fell on the same day. A day when most of us give up sweets or something else for Lent. Luckily for me I am not a big celebrator of Valentines Day & have not been for years, like most things it has become commercialized and it feels like I HAVE to do something, instead of treating people with Love the other 364 days of the year, why must it only be on THIS day?

Instead my thoughts go to ones I have lost, as it involves my heart. My heart breaks at the loss of my dear friend Ez…more so because in the last years I have not made enough time away from my “busy schedule” to fully connect with him, then guilt comes into the picture and it’s even harder. This makes the loss no less, it makes it even worse because I was not with him enough as he fought a disease that attacked everything in his body and he slowly pulled away from those who were close to him. As I look back at the times we spent together, the stories that we shared and the times we sat in the breakroom telling stories to each other, we worked together for about 10 years. I remember the pranks we pulled on each other, the time he and some friends put shopping carts in the bed of my truck while I was at work, and the kind things. When he so lovingly left a drum in the seat of my truck when he knew I wanted to learn to drum and sending me poems from T.S. Elliot, or finally when I sewed wings into a unitard as part of his short film. He loved music and played with a full heart. I miss him, he was someone I could just pick up a conversation with, no judgement ever from him, around some of the stupid shit I did in my younger years.

I come away with a broken heart, that he died way too YOUNG and that he was alone. I found myself asking God why he took him so young and others that are not so kind and generous live so long. I realize there are no answers here, it’s my mind trying to make sense of this life that was lost!!

What I can do is live life and remember him and others that I have lost. Remember to not “wait until tomorrow” tomorrow may not be here, no need to save for a rainy day if I never go outside, when I die I will take nothing with me, so why not leave it ALL HERE while I am here. Beware folks…if you have not heard from me in a while, I will begin to stalk you, in the kindest of ways of course.

Thank you my dear Sangha for always allowing this space to share my heart and thoughts with you…

Love. Light
JennyO 

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Free Practice

What do you see in this picture? Is it about the colors, the hands, the shadows or the textures that the light represents. I would venture to guess that it is different for each one of you looking at this picture. We all “see and define” differently. I recently made a trip to the Blanton in Austin as part of a group I work with called Restore. I am part of a robust system that includes mental health and yoga therapy, and we work with PTSD and Trauma survivors. It is a part of my job that I truly LOVE. The ability to watch Yoga Therapy in action and to see how many lives this group is able to change and support.

This is Yoga, this is Yoga Therapy, the individual. The idea that each and every one of us is different, it requires that we are also given different practices and experiences. In this manner we can become whole and without samskaras/patterns, providing us clarity in our daily lives through these very experiences. I enjoy working with clients one on one and finding what experiences and practices work for THAT individual.

What practices do you have? Are you looking for practices to enable you to slowly come away from patterns? If you are looking to shift some things or looking for new practices, book with me online https://corazonyoga.com/yoga-therapy/services-packages/

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Free Cleansing Practice

I wash away any energy that is not mine to carry.

I release myself from the burdens of the past.

I nourish myself in a comforting golden light.

I am restored.

I am recharged.

The Universe….the dictionary gives it this definition “all existing matter and space considered as a whole”. I love this definition and I love that it happens for me and I am sure for many of you as well. It’s the idea of everything as a whole coming together to help support you. You want to know how to get there? YOGA…yoga is everything, it’s everywhere and it’s always on. Meaning its yoga 24/7 and when you find that attunement, then the Universe brings everything together for you, it brings you to a place of WHOLE.

For me this is how it manifests, I am leaving in the morning and I get in my car and I notice the light above the garage is on. No biggie, right? Sitting in my nice warm car, I say to myself “it’s just the light what will it hurt to stay on? And plus my car is nice and warm, it will be fine. I can turn it off when I get home”.

I used to just drive off, but now I listen before putting my car in drive, “fine, I will go in and turn off that pesky light.” I go inside, and there on the counter on the way to the garage is the folder that holds the reason I was going out in the first place, my shopping list and my phone. It may not seem like a big deal, once you begin to listen the idea of “whole” comes into the picture, the more you listen the more other things fall into place. Some are big, like being delayed because I cannot find my keys. Did that delay save me from a car wreck or something else? I trust that it did, because the Universe is working FOR ME.

Then something like this happens for me, two separate students hundreds of miles away from each other sent me cards and they are alike in so many ways. Bringing two things together into a whole. Those colors, those images, they brought in another component to complete something that I had not been able to bring together. I listen, and I thank the Universe for having my back. This comes from the ability to still the mind during my Yoga practice. So, next time you get that nagging feeling that you are annoyed to do something, just trust, it could save your day, or at the very least make it better. How does the Universe show up for you?

Love and Light,
JennyO

Svādhyāya is a compound Sanskrit word composed of sva (स्व) + adhyāya (अध्याय). Adhyāya means “a lesson, lecture, chapter; reading”. Svā means “own, one’s own, self, the human soul”.  Therefore, Svādhyāya literally means “one’s own reading, lesson”. I have been moving through a lot of “self study” lately and the universe has put this word in front of me so many times in the last few days. So I thought I could share a bit about my own “readings and lessons” in my life. I struggle with the Lesson of how much I should or should not insert myself in my moms life? At 91 she has been on her own for 53 years, how much does she need me? Am I inserting myself through guilt or actual need? I am so thankful for those around her who can translate for me!! She does not often tell me everything, so I depend on others to help me decipher what is really going on there. This is my Lesson, that I do not have to know it all, I just have to be open to the outcome of the Lesson. The recent loss of my ex-brother in law, I found myself actually “reading” a situation and asking what was really needed of me. I wanted to support my niece, but did not want to insert myself in a situation that may not have needed me. My niece and I spoke and what was to be a “celebration” of his life was really about his siblings. I had to heed the voice in my head to “fix” it so that the whole family could come together, but that is not what was needed. She had it under control, she felt good that he was not suffering anymore and that he had found his way to God. It was a good place. When I get out of my head and let the teachings of Yoga flow from me, there is no self doubt, there is no imposter syndrome. I heed what the Sutras tell me Sutra 2.46 – “sthira-sukham asanam”. to find the balance between effort and ease, my teachings come from the heart and my teachers before me and I can believe in myself. What does Svādhyāya tell you? Love and Light, JennyO

A dear friend and colleague made this for me. I love the idea that you can grow your mind. How, you may ask? Well, by spending time learning from others and from yourself. Spend time reading, learning something, doing a daily Practice, studying Yoga, because for me it’s all about Yoga.

Yoga has been such a big part of this time in my life. It was not always that way, but in the last 20 years or so it has been. I remember a teacher of mine during my first of many training sessions, leading us through meditation and chanting. I also remember leaving that class and waiting in the hallway until the meditation or chanting was over. And now, look at me, teaching that very thing and completely loving it!!

What grows my mind? Teaching, sharing this idea of Ayurveda, Yoga Therapy and Yoga. And being able to share that with fellow teachers, students, both new to yoga and seasoned yoga practitioners.

Join me over the next couple of weeks as I roll out more of my 300hr Teacher Training. These are Modular trainings and can be taken separately if you are looking to hone your skills or simply interested in deepening your Practice. You can complete the 300 hours and put them together with a 200 hour and become a 500 hour teacher, or complete some CEUs. Kaytee Hernandez and Laura/Kirtan Marcotte will be joining in from time to time to help out and create wonderful trainings to deepen your knowledge of Yoga.

Love and Light,
JennyO

Acceptance and Patience are quite different for all of us. Recently in our Saṃgha Offerings we spoke about this very thing. And while Acceptance and Patience takes on many lenses, such as death, aging, and how we interact with our loved ones, I have come to these thoughts. I still miss Mabel very much, the house is so quiet, Acceptance gets me through the day.  Patience with myself to remember to turn off the garage light, since her food was out there, and I do not have the need to go out there any more.

When we find Acceptance and Patience we find a very different flow to our lives. We no longer live in our Kleśa/Affliction. We can release our Raga/Attachment of what we look like now not 5 years ago,  what we were that we cannot go back to (maybe headstand is no longer a good idea), what we lost that is now only a memory.

When we release Raga, we can open ourselves up to other things, like this beautiful garden of Dahlias and my best friend being surrounded by them. She recently lost her father and like me we were able to find beauty in the flowers and be in awe of their colors. All the while being able to toast her dad and Mabel and the things we love(d) about them, because our Love is present, it does not die with them.

What Raga/Attachments do you have that are holding you back? Can Acceptance and Patience help you through them? Remember that grief has no timeline, and NEVER let someone tell you what that timeline looks like.

I love you all and the continued support you share with me and with others in this community.

Be well. Be Safe. 
Love. Light.
JennyO

We had to say goodbye to our sweet little Mabel. She warmed everyone’s heart and was always happy and just looking into her eyes was like looking into the soul of a person. She was with me anytime I was teaching online, students tell me they miss her gentle snores that were so comforting.

It was a hard thing to have her die in my arms, but I would rather have her with us than somewhere cold and alone. The day before she went into my Yoga room, she had never gone in there with herself before, only if I was in there. I knew then that she would succumb to the tumor that was diagnosed 9 months prior. I had to make a CHOICE right then, was I willing to let her go? She has always spoken volumes to me so it was up to me to listen. She went downhill quickly, I held her and spoke in her ears that it was “ok to go, she did not have to stay with us anymore.” I had to LET GO no matter how freaking hard it was. This is the circle of life, we must all go, how we choose to let our loved ones go is up to us. Is it painful, hell yeah, that pain will be there for a long time, but how I suffer, that is my choice. I can choose to look at all the love she brought us and that I chose to let her go, so that she did not hang on for us.


The Sutras teaches us about pain and suffering, choice and letting go. I have to lean on those teachings now as I move through this next chapter in my life. I remember saying goodbye to my Dad, an entirely different story, so much chaos, pain and no choice. I have come a long way… I do not fear death, you must make your own choices about that. I told her she did not have to fight anymore, that we loved her and she could leave, she had friends on the other side waiting for her. Do not fear death, as it often frees us from pain on Earth. Choice. Do not let others stay for YOUR benefit, let them go when they are ready, tell them it’s ok, no matter how freaking hard it is. Choice, not the one I wanted, but it was a CHOICE.


Thank you as always for providing the space for my thoughts and for always holding space for me and my life as I navigate my world and my yoga teachings. These teachings have given my mind somewhere to go as I move through grief and I thank YOU, my students for that opportunity.☺️

Be well. Be Safe. 
Love. Light.
JennyO

I took this picture in India, a place where Ayurveda is alive and is part of everyone’s life. I was surrounded by this ancient knowledge and have a full respect for this Practice. I knew then and there I wanted to go deeper. 

In the last year I have finished my certification to be an Ayurvedic Health Counselor and Practitioner. Although I knew that I would never stop being a Yoga Therapist, Ayurveda allowed me to connect to my clients in so many ways. Like these leaves, Ayurveda and Yoga just fit together –  they are “sister sciences.”

In this training Ayurveda for a Heart Centered Life we will cover the macro and the micro, how all the elements present themselves in EVERYTHING that we do, eat, who we spend time with and even our clothes. Think of the idea that “like attracts like”.

Be well. Be Safe. 
Love. Light.
JennyO

Those of you who know me are aware that 1). I do not like having my picture taken. I had a student the other day say “hey I think we took that training together, I will have to go back and look at the pictures.” I told her I am always hiding or finding a way to be outside when pictures are getting taken. My standard response has always been “I am in witness protection and cannot be in the picture” but it really oozes into the next thing 2). I have a hard time talking about myself and my accomplishments. A picture proves I was there, but does it prove I know everything? No and that is me, not fully believing in myself – something I have always struggled with. It has gotten better for sure, but it creeps back in time and again.

My dear teacher once told me, that his teacher told him, “be your place card.” Meaning, LIVE what your business card says, don’t just list it out. So I take that to heart, I am trying, to the fullest of my ability, to LIVE what I know and share that with others the best way I can. For me that is sharing my love for teaching, my skills of all things sacred and ritual based, and living my yoga every day in whatever I do. Sometimes patterns and negative thinking get the best of me, like sitting in traffic on Mopac when it takes me 50 minutes to drive 12 miles. But through the years I am LEARNING and LOVING sharing my experiences from years of studying and teaching.

A good friend and student gave me this t-shirt. The creator of the t-shirt based this sentence on the fact that she had 5 kids and she was never going to be “thin” in the eyes of the public. She was good with that. For me, this t-shirt means that I have a lot to give, that I am “thick” with knowledge. On good days, I can even say “yes, my body is thick and I am ok with that.” Again, Yoga works on so many levels. What does the “thick life” mean to you?

Be well. Be Safe. 
Love. Light.
JennyO

We each spent many months in our mother’s womb listening to her heartbeat, a steady rhythm… lub, dub… lub, dub… lub, dub. This natural beat is entrained into our nervous system and can be tapped into once again.

Drums have been used in every culture for many purposes from religious rituals and other ceremonies, to sporting events, and as a way to communicate or signal. Shamans used drumming as a means of reaching an altered or trance-like state so that they can connect with the spirit dimension.  Drumming has also been used therapeutically since ancient times.

The “medicine” drum is still used in many Native American ceremonies today for good reason: drumming can promote physical and emotional healing, boost your immune system, produce feelings of well-being.

Be well. Be Safe. 
Love. Light.
JennyO