Nirodhaḥ Yoga Blog
What brought you to yoga? A few years back, when I first moved to a new city, I stumbled upon a hot yoga class. Even though I was a bit nervous at first and felt like escaping from the room, I pushed myself to give it a shot. Over time, it helped me build a healthier body brought balance to my mind and a sense of belonging. What is your approach to teaching? My teaching approach centers around meeting individuals on their unique journeys in their practice, creating a space for everyone. I am passionate about crafting a flow with different options that encourage people to attune to their bodies, fostering self-trust. Together, we embrace challenges, ensuring that everyone leaves the class feeling more empowered than when they entered. This approach leads to a practice harmonizing the body, mind, and soul. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? Their belief that yoga is for everyone really resonates with me. There was a time when I felt lost, navigating life in a foreign land, and later stepping into the role of a first-time mother. Yoga became an unending source of support and strength for me. I hope that everyone who needs it can feel this power too. What makes your soul sing? Food and coffee! Chicago's diverse international cuisines and countless coffee shops are something I'm truly grateful for.
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What brought you to yoga? As a dancer, yoga was always an adjacent art. I was drawn to it because of my phenomenal teacher, Linda Lehovec, who taught yoga classes at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She really inspired a burning enthusiasm in me, and I have been at it ever since! As part of her teaching, Linda would write quotes on the whiteboard before each class from her favorite books such as Meditations from the Mat and Pema Chodron. Another of her favorites was Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, which serves as my yoga-bible today. What is your approach to teaching? My goal as a teacher is to safely take bones, muscles, and organs through healthy extremes of motion while cultivating length and strength. On the way, we will discover that yoga is not just a physical practice, but a spiritual one as well. Breath-work and meditation exercises build mental strength and help cultivate inner peace. Through this rigorous combination of practices, we will hopefully uncover the collective joy of a sound body and an unclouded mind. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? I love teaching at 5KY because it’s a great opportunity to interact with wonderful students in an intimate setting. Here, I feel comfortable teaching with all of the skills and nuance that I have developed over years of practice, passing on the full extent of my knowledge to my students. What makes your soul sing? Finishing a long and taxing flow class with a supine spinal twist… Wow! I wish that could be a part of my life every single day. You can find Jason teaching Intermediate Yoga at 5KY on Sundays at 9 AM.
What brought you to yoga? My mom has been doing yoga since before I was born so it’s always been a part of my life. My mom always jokes that yoga was my first babysitter because she would sit me in front of yoga for kids tapes when I was little! What is your approach to teaching? I try to create classes that allow people to connect with their bodies and breath while exploring new ways of moving their bodies. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? I chose to teach at 5KY because I love the sense of community at the studio! Everyone is so kind and all the instructors have such an open and inviting energy. What makes your soul sing? Spending time with people I love, chocolate, and good food :) What brought you to yoga? I came to yoga as a way to positively connect to my body and heal after injury, starting my life-long journey of exploring therapeutic movement. What is your approach to teaching? Above all, I want my students to have a joyful and safe experience of yoga. My classes are a space in which all levels of students can explore and develop a meaningful personal practice linking body, heart, and mind. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? 5KY’s mission to make yoga and therapeutic movement available to all bodies and all ages is one I feel in my heart, and aligns so perfectly with everything I truly love about teaching yoga! What makes your soul sing? The city of Chicago! I’m so grateful to live in this uniquely beautiful place. You can find Helen at 5KY teaching Beginner Yoga on Mondays at 6 PM and Intermediate Yoga on Tuesdays at 5:45 PM.
What brought you to yoga? I became interested in yoga in college after seeing some friends of mine practicing crow pose on campus. It looked so cool and effortless! I still aspire to make crow pose look cool and effortless. It’s a journey! What is your approach to teaching? I want to teach yoga in an accessible way, through a trauma-sensitive lens. I want my students to feel safe and empowered to connect with their body through movement and breath. I hope to foster that connection in any class that I teach. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? I found Five Keys Yoga when I was looking at yoga studios on the north side of Chicago. I was immediately drawn to the studio’s focus on folks with special needs. When I read “Yes, you can do yoga!” on the website, I knew I was home! That is exactly the message that I want to tell every person that I meet! What makes your soul sing? I love to be in nature. Feeling fresh air, listening to water as it moves, watching the light filter through the leaves of a tree - these simple things always leave me in awe of all creation. They help me feel connected to myself and to this earth, and they truly make my soul sing. You can find Rachel at 5KY teaching Slow Flow Yoga on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM, Gentle Yoga on Thursdays at 5:45 PM and Candlelight Restorative Yoga on Fridays at 5:30 PM.
She also leads quarterly Intro to Yoga series on Saturdays at 3 PM. What brought you to yoga? I was first introduced to yoga when I was 4 and watched Inhale with Steve Ross with my dad on the Oxygen channel. I practiced yoga frequently as a kid and then infrequently as I got a bit older and became more dedicated to competitive sports. My time was filled with school and basketball, track, soccer, etc. practices. In 2014 I moved to Chicago for college and that’s where I met my yoga teacher, Suddha Weixler, who has run The Chicago Yoga Center since 1984, he was also teaching yoga for credit at my university, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Suddha has since retired from teaching at the school). After taking Suddha’s yoga course at the school a few times, I decided to become a teacher as well, and embarked on my yoga teacher training course with Suddha at the Chicago Yoga Center. I have been teaching ever since! What is your approach to teaching? Through movement and breathing I am interested in teaching how to deepen the awareness of the mind and the body and discovering the profound peace in silence and stillness, and enter the space beyond your ideas to discover your true authentic happiest self. I’m interested in creating unique and fun Hatha Yoga sequences to create an enjoyable and fun yoga flow. Why do you choose to teach at 5KY? I choose to teach at Five Keys because of the studio's beautiful energy and community. The space is calming and grounding and I love teaching and practicing yoga here. Erin and Rita have cultivated a truly magical yoga studio and I feel so fortunate and humbled to be a part of Five Keys. They care about the little things, like fresh flowers every week, the best kind of people. What makes your soul sing? Besides practicing and teaching yoga, my soul sings when I’m painting, gardening, playing basketball, skiing, surfing (most adventure sports), and cuddling with my sweet cat, Prince. You can find MJ at 5KY teaching Dynamic Intermediate Yoga on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:30 PM and Advanced Techniques on Sundays at 1:15 PM (starting Nov. 5th).
What brought you to yoga? I was "physically" brought to yoga by my dear cousin Janet! ( She is now one of our regular students at the studio!). I had no idea what yoga even was at that time...about 15 years ago! :-) The more I practiced the more I found peace... What is your approach to teaching? I teach with an open heart & try to offer my students the opportunity to connect to their own version of peace & joy! I am honored & humbled to share yoga with them! Why do you choose to teach at 5KY? I chose to teach at 5KY because of our cornerstone as a Yoga for the Special Child studio! I connect very much to sharing the deeper meaning of yoga with all our students! I consider the opportunity to teach as a gift! What makes your soul sing? My soul sings at the studio when my students find meaning beyond the physical aspects of yoga! My soul also sings when I receive big hugs from my daughter Sammie! :-) You can find Rita at 5KY teaching Restorative Yoga on Sundays at 3 PM.
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FIVE KEYS YOGA
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WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAYFive Keys is fantastic! The studio is lovely and soothing, and the teachers are very caring and attentive. |
I've ... probably been to 25 different yoga studios. This is one of the most welcoming, calming spaces with very talented instructors. |
I love this yoga studio. It's a great balance of a good workout and relaxation and feels like a real community. |
An ideal studio for someone new to yoga. |