I’ve always been a seeker. My life’s work has been about service, bringing people together, and having fun doing it. I’ve always sought out safety, power, and empowerment in all things. I’m also someone who needs to laugh, be light in the process, while still being the best I can be. I’m proud to say I am a mover and a shaker now, but it was not always this way.
Growing up I was a very shy, quiet kid who loved to dance, to do gymnastics, to simply move my body. Movement is a form of self-expression and use of energy that inspires me. I would dance and sing for hours by myself, and I always felt pure joy in the process. When I was 21, I became a ‘gym rat’ because I fell in love with how empowered I felt by getting strong. I loved running, and lifting weights, but I kept getting hurt - physically injured - in the process, which had a ripple effect on my mind. I knew I had to make a total shift.
And then I found yoga: When the gym began offering yoga, I realized I needed a serious change so that I could stay sane, peaceful - joyful - without getting hurt. I began taking yoga as a compliment to running and lifting weights. The shift happened once I realized I could stay safe and still feel empowered by movement while practicing yoga. I also saw my low back pain disappear, my deep core strength improving, and I had better posture than ever in my life.
After a few years of finally feeling stronger and safer in my body I knew I had to teach. I had struggled for years prior trying to get clear about my life’s purpose. Following the constant pull toward yoga, I decided to pursue my first 200 hour yoga teacher training. Even though I was always petrified to stand up in front of a crowd and speak, I taught my first yoga class to 30+ people with hardly a waiver in my voice.
It was as though something else spoke through me - something greater, a feeling like I had never experienced. I had actually stood up in front of a crowd and taught. I knew then I had to make this come alive. The realization that I COULD be a yoga teacher, and a great one at that, became my life’s dream.
Simultaneously I went on to pursue my bachelor's degree at Cornell University from the Department of Natural Resources, but something just did not feel right. I knew I needed more, and was looking for a lifestyle as well as a way to create real change in the lives of people I could touch. I then went on to pursue my intensive masters degree in education from Ithaca College. I completed the program in 13 months. Even though both programs were highly prestigious, my yoga teacher training gave me the clearest direction forward of them all.
Finding my calling: As a new yoga teacher I meandered through multiple iterations of what that was ‘supposed to’ look like, feel like, and should be. I was becoming more confident leading others through a greater sense of calm and empowerment, while trying to find my own inner voice and life purpose. I had been practicing with as many different teachers as I could, and developed a home practice in the process to keep up with my own learning. When my daughter was born naturally from the power of yoga and ujjayi breathing (or ‘breath with sound,' literally 'victorious breath') I knew I had found something so incredibly powerful, so peaceful. And I felt more alive than I had ever felt. I realized then yoga had become my life’s true calling.
Ultimately, I just wanted to help people find their true power just like I had. During my first yoga teacher training I began leading basic Power Vinyasa and Ashtanga Modified Primary classes to interested individuals at a variety of locations. Soon after I again studied the human body and got in front of as many individuals as I could so that I could integrate other yoga styles and diversify my knowledge of modifications for every practitioner. The more I taught, practiced, and studied, the greater my knowledge became. Even though I loved working with people through the yogic lens, there were always gaps in my knowledge. I realized I needed to keep experiencing, studying, and practicing so that I could be a top yoga professional - a highly trained yoga expert.
What yoga success looks like: When the first Covid lockdowns hit I was going through a separation and divorce, was a newly single mom, and I had lost everything I thought I had with my profession. I had been teaching for close to 10 years, and most of that time as a full-time yoga professional. Everything I knew (and had grown on my own) had completely vanished. I not only had to reinvent how I helped people find their calm power if I wanted to keep teaching, but I had to reinvent myself. I dug in, and fought hard.
The medium through which I taught became virtual, and I took everything online so that I could continue to provide support and transformation through yoga. I decided to take on more studies AND grow Jenni Sol Yoga simultaneously.
By 2021 I had built Jenni Sol Yoga and The Yoga Badass Academy to include daily virtual yoga classes, meditations, pranayama practice, and masterclasses and courses. The Yoga Badass Academy is a yoga school where students can take classes and courses to increase their overall skills and strengths in order to find true transformation.
Upon taking trainings with handstand experts at the Circus Culture and Cirque du Soleil, getting certified as a personal trainer (and now undertaking the nutrition coach training) through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, I have the desire to work with people who need a total shift in lifestyle, through the lens of yoga. I want to create a greater impact in the lives of my students, and a holistic approach is a beautiful way to unite all the pieces together.
I love creating safe spaces where my students can explore a greater sense of playfulness, empowerment, total lifestyle change, and serious breakthroughs in their practices. Simply because I've been there and know that by participating in this sort of a commitment - no matter what - will hold them accountable to see real change in their lives.
Yoga Badassery happens when we let it in. Real change happens as a natural bi-product of our willingness to try. Going upside down with confidence or nailing that awesome arm balance is just one way we explore our potential together.
I am focused on helping my students find their greater sense of health by offering live classes, Video On Demand, private yoga intensives & accountability sessions, The Yoga Handstand Breakthrough Program (among other courses), and a Yoga Teacher Mentorship Training Program.
Yoga success moving forward: During the pandemic I also took an advanced 300 hour yoga teacher training in the Ashtanga tradition so that I could exceed my own expectations of how I can keep growing as a leader. My training was with world-renowned Ashtanga yoga teachers Kino McGregor and Tim Feldmann and amazing company of The Miami Life Center: it was the first and only advanced Ashtanga training outside Mysore, India to be approved by the lineage holder, Sharath Jois. I've also completed my Certified Personal Training under the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and am almost finished with NASM's Nutrition Certificate.
Today, I am proud of what I’ve accomplished, and excited to hold the torch of this truly inspiring journey for my students.
I'm here to support you: Now that I’ve gotten to this point I’m able to help hundreds of yoga students each year learn more about yoga, fitness, and health; not only as a safe, physical form, but as a philosophy that guides each of us to live in harmony with our world. Together, my students and I laugh (a LOT!), we learn, we play, we practice proper alignment to stay safe; and we continue to grow into the highest forms of our true selves.
I like to think Ashtanga is for more ‘studious’ and serious yogis (it is a ‘yoga teacher’s practice', after all), where Power and Vinyasa Yoga are like taking my students on a field trip to the best and most diverse playground we can find. Because I teach from the lens of the Ashtanga lineage, I have a serious foundation that will last lifetimes; Power, HIIT Yoga, Yin, and Vinyasa Yoga, and The Yoga Badass Academy courses help bring the playfulness back in.
What I teach isn’t just ‘yoga asana’ - instead it’s a lifestyle that has a beautiful ripple effect in our world. Without it, I wouldn't be the best mom, partner, daughter, and friend I am today.
I’m truly grateful to be a part of each individual Yoga Badass Breakthrough journey, and I hope to be able to support yours.
Yoga Badass Academy courses include:
*Basic Badassery: Yoga & Fitness Foundations,
*Handstands & Inversions
*Ashtanga Summer School,
*Handstands & Power Challenge,
*Yoga Teacher Mentorship Program: Launch & Scale Your Wellness Practice
I am currently offering programs in these areas and will be opening spots up for registration. Book your free consultation with me to learn more about how you can be transformed.
Local Covid Precautions
I am currently working according to the Tompkins County Health Department requirements:
*I do not offer physical adjustments or assists at this time, unless previously discussed.
*You are asked to wear a mask unless on your mat.
*We will be in contact prior to our meeting about how we are feeling; if there has been any possibility of Covid exposure or illness I ask that we postpone in-person sessions or classes.
Thank you for understanding.
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