Jan Wheeler

I first did yoga in the early 70's in Silverton, CO during the long cold winter days when it was storming and I couldn't go skiing or hiking. I taught myself from the book Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation by Jess Stearn. Even though I didn't know what I was doing, it still helped me feel good about my body and about myself in a way that was important to me at the time. I felt drawn to yoga (and it helped me avoid depression… although I didn't realize that until later.) Although I only practiced regularly for a few months that winter, yoga always had a special place in my heart after that and I sought out yoga classes wherever I lived.

More recently, I talked with a friend who taught yoga classes where I lived in Emporia, KS about her process of training to be a yoga teacher. After that conversation I decided that my retirement from working for the state of KS would be the perfect time to pursue my own teacher training. I spent a month at Shoshoni Yoga Retreat near Boulder, CO where I was certified in Shambava yoga, a spiritually focused type of hatha yoga. That month changed my life! I became calmer, more centered and grounded and more accepting of myself than I had ever been before. The physical flexibility and relief from back pain were bonuses!

Through my own personal experience as well as studying the experiences of others, I have come to believe that yoga is an excellent way to not only keep the body flexible and healthy, but more importantly, yoga is a great way to keep the mind grounded and the mood stable. In my work as a psychologist, I try to guide people every day to ground themselves in the present moment in order to experience and deal with their lives better. Yoga is quite an effective to help people to do that.

I am thankful for the opportunity to share my love of yoga with the yoga community at alleyCat Yoga!!

Jan and her daughter, Emily, in
UrdhvaMukha Navasana, Upward Facing Boat