If you have an injury or condition, a series of semi private or private classes may be more suitable to address your specific conditions. Regular practice of Iyengar Yoga Therapy is a highly effective tool to help ” cure what can be cured and help us endure what cannot” (BKS Iyengar).
An individual 60 minute private class with Jess either in studio or online is $150. Email clearyogarhinebeck@gmail.com to schedule a class.
Semi- private sessions are also available at $160 per hour.
Sign up through clearyogarhinebeck@gmail.com
Private and semi private classes are:
- Designed to help you improve strength, range of motion, stability and support to an injured or impaired joint, or area of the body.
- Each class will provide a safe and effective sequence that addresses your specific need.
- You will learn a sequence of poses unique to helping your condition so you have tools to modify your poses at home, and in a regular class.
How can Iyengar Yoga help your injuries?
Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher Stephanie Quirk said “Therapeutics isn’t a separate specialty. There is not yoga here, and ‘therapeutics’ over there”.
The practice of Iyengar Yoga has been documented and researched as being highly effective in the treatment of physical and psychological illness and disease. Every Iyengar Yoga class is therapeutic, because:
- What we call the “actions” of the poses – specific instructions help us pay attention to how the pose can help an injury or condition.
- The poses are sequenced to strengthen, stretch, reduce stress and anxiety, bring support to the student, both physically, and emotionally.
- The poses are held for different periods of time to create understanding and promote healing.
- The teacher observes the student’s needs as unique to each student.
Testimonials from Clear Yoga students
“Learning and practicing Iyengar yoga with your expert guidance is something I’m most thankful for. Through your careful, flexible teaching, a hopeful path forward has been illuminated. Flare-ups in my lower back due to neurological conditions are occurring less frequently, so there’s more free time to enjoy being active, especially outdoors with my husband and dog, which is priceless. Iyengar yoga is also chipping away at fear. I’ve discovered how the practice can counter unreliable signals from nerve damage by building awareness and connections in new ways. I’m developing “sea legs” that are anchored by the four corners of the feet. And a greater sense of balance and confidence enable more strength-building movement and flexibility. As a beginner student, I’m reflecting on my first year at Clear Yoga with a grateful heart. Thanks for sharing this powerful practice with a diverse and eager group of students.”
“I started doing yoga with Jess about 10 years ago. Over those ten years I have be dealing with shoulder discomfort. Jess has given me asanas to do to strengthen my shoulder. At first these poses seemed counter intuitive, like “How can you put weight on a shoulder that hurts?” Jess is someone I trust. When she gives me instruction to help heal a pain I listen to her. I did the asanas she told me to do. Gradually it got better. My shoulder is an area I have to pay attention to. It is a weak joint for me and needs me to regularly do weight bearing poses to keep the pain in check. My shoulder (and Jess’s voice in my head), remind me when I’m slacking off. I have deep gratitude to Jess for her dedication to Iyengar’s teachings, to her teacher and her skill and commitment in bringing those teachings to us.” R.S.
“The five years I’ve studied with Jess have had a tremendously positive impact on my body and life. As someone with a chronic disease studying Iyengar yoga with Jess has been a life changing experience. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis over 20 years ago, I tried a series of different approaches; physical therapy, Pilates, chiropractors and gyms,none of which had any long lasting effects. Jess’s strategy was so different from any of these methods. Her personal involvement and commitment created a partnership that has made me stronger and more flexible . Thank you so much.” S.G.
“I came to Iyengar with knee problems, micro tears that seemed to be getting worse. I was pleased that Jessica did not have a doom and gloom attitude and put me on restrictions, but created in the work each week a focus on a particular part of the body and describing how the work was linking us to other parts, taking strain off here and strengthening there. Soon I had only intermittent knee problems, but more important, I began to understand how to take responsibility for the integrity of my body through understanding and through the knowledge gained by the guided work we do in class.
Although the work focuses on the physical body I realize I am confronting past psychic traumas that have found expression in postural and attitudinal patterns. For this reason in own work as an analytic therapist I often recommend Jessica’s classes as a compliment to client’s work with me.” A.M.
“I have struggled with headaches my whole life. When my headaches are really bad I have a certain medication I take to make them go away. This morning on the way to yoga I got one and I didn’t have my medication with me. We were doing a class that addressed the neck and shoulders. It was difficult at the beginning, but as I went through the class my headache was less irritating. By the end of class it was completely gone. In all my life, I have never experienced anything that helped to improve my headaches, let alone take them away completely. Chiropractic, massage and acupuncture lessen my headaches, but did not make them fully go away. The practice of Iyengar Yoga has helped me understand that it is possible to get rid of these headaches. It is unbelievable how much Iyengar yoga helps. Thank you.” K.E.
Further reading
Iyengar Yoga for lower back pain
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/lower-back-pain-yoga-therapy-can-help
Iyengar Yoga for arthritis in the knees
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16131293
Iyengar yoga for osteoarthritis in the knees
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17827096
Iyengar Yoga for ptsd and other anxiety disorders
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304564/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393557/ (lower back)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4278133/ (neck and upper back)
http://iyala.org/articles-essays/symposium-yoga-therapy-and-research#.WgTd9rD82i4
http://iyala.org/tags/research#.WgTeGLD82i4 (Iyengar Yoga and the treatment of Depression)