"Self-Preservation is the first law of nature." -Luisah Teish
About your guide.
Blessed with natural empathy and a nurturing spirit, Sarah Jenness has been coaching and guiding others her entire life. A graduate of Integral Yoga Institute, Sarah has also completed Piedmont Yoga’s Iyengar-inspired Advanced Studies Training, and is a certified "Relax and Renew" restorative yoga teacher through Judith Lasater’s accredited program. She has studied with Anodea Judith, PhD since 2006 and is a certified Sacred Centers Chakra Yoga Teacher. With a background in classical dance, Sarah completed her personal training cert through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, specializing in therapeutic and corrective exercise. She shares a healing arts practice with her husband, David Sloves, at www.balahealingarts.com.
Sarah leads sound healing, restorative yoga, and guided meditations through the yogic system of the chakras. She has been a dedicated meditator since 1993, and has 20 years of experience in various alternative healing modalities.
Sarah leads sound healing, restorative yoga, and guided meditations through the yogic system of the chakras. She has been a dedicated meditator since 1993, and has 20 years of experience in various alternative healing modalities.
My Personal Journey
Yoga saved my life. Really. It sounds dramatic but it's true. As a young adult I struggled with anxiety and depression, trying to reconcile the mishaps of childhood. I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and rape as a teenager. For years I felt stuck in my pain, so much that I was tempted towards addiction. My innate strength, however, always kept me fighting for a way to overcome my struggles. I knew that addiction would lead to demise, and that medications were a way to numb the pain, not to release it. I turned to a healthy diet, meditation, dance, and yoga. In the early days, it wasn't easy, but it worked! I feel now that everyday is a gift, and honor that life is always evolving. I know that the brilliant light within me is untouched by past stories and circumstances.
I share this practice because I believe in it. When we can connect with our true nature, and have the courage to face our pain and heal, we discover the power that lies within and become free. Circumstances come and go. Life ebbs and flows, but if we have the courage to look within and discover our own divinity- we can heal and move forward, through whatever challenges arise.
About this work.
Yoga is an incredible gift that is accessible to everyone. At first glance, we might think of yoga as only a physical practice. We see the glossy magazines covered with beautiful, bendy yoga people and think it could never be for us. Not so! The physical practice of yoga that has swept the west is simply a tiny limb on the great tree of yoga.
The Energy Body: What are the chakras?
The word chakra means "wheel" or "disc." Chakras are wheels of energy located along the central column of the body, from the base of the spine to the top of the head. There are seven major chakras, corresponding to vital points in the physical body- major nerve ganglia and endocrine glands. Each chakra governs different qualities within us. They can be open, flowing, and balanced- or excessive, or deficient- causing difficulties. When we awaken to the present state of our chakras, we awaken to a personal path of resolving the imbalances in our lives. Using the chakras as a map, we can strengthen and heal ourselves to wholeness.
Chakras are the organizational centers for the reception, assimilation, and transmission of life-force energy. They are the stepping stones between heaven and earth." ~Anodea Judith, PhD
The Energy Body: What are the chakras?
The word chakra means "wheel" or "disc." Chakras are wheels of energy located along the central column of the body, from the base of the spine to the top of the head. There are seven major chakras, corresponding to vital points in the physical body- major nerve ganglia and endocrine glands. Each chakra governs different qualities within us. They can be open, flowing, and balanced- or excessive, or deficient- causing difficulties. When we awaken to the present state of our chakras, we awaken to a personal path of resolving the imbalances in our lives. Using the chakras as a map, we can strengthen and heal ourselves to wholeness.
Chakras are the organizational centers for the reception, assimilation, and transmission of life-force energy. They are the stepping stones between heaven and earth." ~Anodea Judith, PhD
The Yogic Koshas... a bit of philosophy....
The ancient scripts of yoga teach us that the human being consists of many layers, or koshas. We can think of these layers like multiple lampshades, filtering the light from our inner truth, our Soul. Kosha translates roughly to, "sheath." There are five main koshas:
The teachings state that at the center of these sheaths, lies our Atman, or Soul. That which is never born and never dies. That which can never become sick. At our center lies our Satya, our Truth, that which is eternally peaceful and content. Sound good? Sounds great! So, how do we get there? Practice. Start where we are. All we need to connect with is already within.
- Annamaya kosha - this is our physical body as we know it. "Anna" means food.
- Pranamaya kosha - this is our energy body, breath, or life force.
- Manamaya kosha - this is our mind body, or subconscious emotions, thoughts, etc.
- Vijnanamaya kosha - this is our wisdom body, that which is underneath the thinking, processing aspect of the mind.
- Anandamaya kosha - this is our bliss body, peace and joy beneath the mind, the most subtle kosha.
The teachings state that at the center of these sheaths, lies our Atman, or Soul. That which is never born and never dies. That which can never become sick. At our center lies our Satya, our Truth, that which is eternally peaceful and content. Sound good? Sounds great! So, how do we get there? Practice. Start where we are. All we need to connect with is already within.
Annamaya and Pranamaya Koshas
Through the practice of yoga postures, we become embodied. We awaken to presence within our annamaya kosha, our "food sheath." Yoga postures make us feel great!
The next layer inward is our pranamaya kosha, or energy body. It consists of our life force, vitality, or prana. When we die, there is still a body, but our breath is gone. Pranamaya kosha is this life force- the energy, the physiology of our bodies.
Just as we practice yoga postures, or asanas, to feel strong and embodied, we benefit from yoga's contempletive practices (such as meditation, pranayama, and sound healing) to discover balance, contentment and peace. The path of yoga is this work- moving through all the layers of "illusion" that keep us from knowing our deepest inner peace, our Soul. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
The next layer inward is our pranamaya kosha, or energy body. It consists of our life force, vitality, or prana. When we die, there is still a body, but our breath is gone. Pranamaya kosha is this life force- the energy, the physiology of our bodies.
Just as we practice yoga postures, or asanas, to feel strong and embodied, we benefit from yoga's contempletive practices (such as meditation, pranayama, and sound healing) to discover balance, contentment and peace. The path of yoga is this work- moving through all the layers of "illusion" that keep us from knowing our deepest inner peace, our Soul. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.