Get to know Jill

Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) and Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW)

I am a Licensed Master of Social Work, a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher, and Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). I am currently offering both group classes and private one on one sessions; in person and online.

Why the name Closed Lotus Yoga?

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to call my business. My family and I go to the Adirondacks on a yearly camping trip. While we were there, we went kayaking on the lake. The lake has a little inlet that runs off the main lake and in that inlet there are lots of water plants including lily pads and lotus blossoms. One night as we kayaked, I saw a lotus flower all closed up for the night. It got me thinking about the meaning of the lotus as it relates to yoga and the Buddha. "No Mud No Lotus." is about having to grow up through the mud in order to become the beautiful lotus.

Many of us have experiences in our lives that have made us wade through the muck at the bottom of our lives. We have trauma events that form who we are and how we respond to others, how resilient we are and how we deal with the events thrown at us. In order to find your way to the sun and become the lotus, you first have to get through all of the stuff on the way that tries to drag you down. Yoga therapy helps you discover the you that was meant to be before life happened to you, so you can be the lotus.

My Story

Yoga has always been a part of my life since I was about 19 years old. It has evolved as I have aged. I have trained with Dona and Amba Stapleton at Omega, where I got my 200 hours teaching certification. I have also taken weekend trainings with Siva Rae and Baron Baptiste. During this time, I was more focusd on the fitness of it all. It gave me a sense of strength and contentment. When I did a vigorous class. At the time i could feel something turn on inside of me. I felt endorphins running through me but at the same time I felt calm and at peace. At that time, I didn't have way of explaining this nor did I know that this was the magic of yoga. I loved this rush and the feeling of accomplishment that I could keep up with the Big Guys.

As the years passed, I came in and out of this kind of vigorous practice. There were times where I was too tired or too busy to return to my practice for an hour time frame. There were lots of times where I would pass on a practice just because I couldn't fit in an hour. Then I came into Yoga therapy. I came into this at a time in my life when I was starting my family. I had two little girls at home and was married and life was very busy. I had been working as a social worker for home care and was feeling really burned out. I was starting a new job and was feeling good about it but there was a small bud growing inside of me that felt like I wasn't quite done with yoga yet.

From the outreach of another yoga teacher, I came to a sample class with Sarah Kaczor from Phoenix Rising. The class made me feel uncomfortable but it also awakened a knowing inside of me, that this was something I needed to explore. After a private session with her later that day I went home and talked to my husband about it. He was supportive and shortly after I signed up to take the Introductory training and began to experience the magic of this work. It helped open my eyes to how much the negatives in my life had formed me. There was a lot of baggage to unpack from my childhood, teens, and adulthood. I realized how much my low self-esteem was holding me back and that I didn't need to carry that around with me anymore. I began to feel where all of these things were being held in my body and have worked hard to try to let these go. It's not something that happened overnight and honestly its still in the works every day.

I have been practicing for almost 8 years now and I have begun to find myself again; the loving, compassionate, sincere, caring girl I used to be before the world happened. I don't believe I am alone in having lost this part of myself. I believe that all human beings come into the world this way and build walls to protect from the outside world, that can be hard and uncaring, even dangerous. We do what we have to in order to survive in the moment. But what if we went beyond this and back into the self that we were before? What if we allowed ourselves to be vulnerable with ourselves and with others whom we trust? How might that change our lives?

Now at age 48 I am entering a new part of my life, Menopause. The tools I have gained during the past 8 years have helped to lead me to a place of acceptance with my changing body. Instead of doing a vigorous practice these days, I choose a slower moving practice, with more awareness, kindness and compassion for my changing body. When I have a good day, I do more. When I am sore, depleted or tired I do less. Yoga has taught me the skills for this. Now I am certified in Yoga Nidra and Healthy Aging yoga. The days of flow are not gone but no more Hot Yoga or making myself sweat in my practice. The hot flashes do this on their own. I believe all bodies can benefit from this inner knowing. If we only are silent enough to hear it.

This is my story. What's your story? How might your story change if you take the time to listen, be with and perhaps even transform. Let's take this trip together. It's already within you.