Jennifer Lawson
American Power Yoga, The ARIES Method, The Mat Yoga Studio, Tranquilo, Uptown Yoga, Uptown Yoga, Lakewood
I grew up primarily in Cincinnati, went to Indiana University for college, receiving a BA in Psychology and Spanish, and then received a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy in 1996 from the University of Indianapolis. Following graduate school, I took, what was a very big leap for me, and moved to northern California to start my career as an OT working in a rehab hospital with adults. Since that time, I have lived in several different places in the US and in western Canada, and have spent the majority of my professional life as an Occupational Therapist working with children with special needs. I am currently the OT Staff Development Coordinator at THERAPY 2000, a pediatric home health company based in Dallas, TX. I am also a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200), having completed two different 200-hour yoga teacher training programs.
I discovered the practice of yoga during a complicated, challenging, and extremely sad time in my personal life. Like many yoga instructors, I had been physically active for several years. When I began practicing yoga, I was also running several times a week and lifting weights. Prior to my experiences on the mat, on days when I did not “exercise”, I was often ridden with guilt and disappointment with myself. Gradually, yoga began to take the place of other physical activity and within about 4 months I had stopped running and stopped visiting the gym. Like many women, I have struggled throughout a great deal of my life with issues around body image, self-confidence, food, exercise, etc. However, at this point in my life, through my yoga practice, as well as a growing understanding of emotion, I have finally found a sense of comfort in my own skin…most of the time.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” Anaïs Nin
I love having the opportunity to connect with different communities of people through yoga, so you can find me teaching and practicing at several different places in the Dallas area: Tranquilo, American Power Yoga and Uptown Yoga (in Uptown & Lakewood). You can also find me sharing the practice of yoga, along with my husband, Charles, and dear friend, Danielle, through The ARIES Method. The ARIES Method encompasses the practices, processes and frameworks that have spoken to my body, heart, mind and soul, and have allowed me to experience a sense of finally “coming home” to myself, and I want to share it. Developing The ARIES Method (formally and informally over several years) with my husband, Charles, has been a process of discovery, learning and growth. As a result, The ARIES Method, to me, is about discovering that although we each may have shadows in our past, wounds that may have rendered us emotionally paralyzed, pain and fear that caused us to act in ways that we can hardly even talk about, things can absolutely change. We can learn once again how to love ourselves, and can open ourselves up to being loved by others as well. The ARIES Method encourages development of greater awareness, an honoring of past and anticipated future, and an acceptance of, even an appreciation of, each step of your journey.
