Meet Jen Akob

We recently connected with Jen Akob and have shared our conversation below.

Jen, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I have felt from a young age that I was meant to help people. But it was not until about 15 years ago that I would say I found my purpose. My sister-in-law was doing her post-doc in Germany. My family (husband and 2 kids) flew over to visit her family. On the way home we hit terrible turbulence, and I had my first panic attack. I knew it was a panic attack because I am a mental health counselor and worked with people who had them all the time. I did not want to frighten my children, so I fought off the panic attack for over four hours. Anyone who has ever had a panic attack will know that it is best to let it ride it’s course; fighting it is the worse thing you can do. Anyway, this then led to months of anxiety and panic attacks. Which I finally overcame through therapy, family support and yoga. It was this experience that led me to realize how valuable a healing tool yoga is. I also realized the piece I always felt I was missing when working with my mental health clients; the connection of the body and the mind.
In 2014, I completed my 200 hour yoga certification followed by my 500 hour certification in 2017. I left my work in the mental health field and opened my yoga studio, Peaceful Yoga with Jen, in Brodheadsville, PA in 2018. In 2020, I completed my Yoga Therapy Certification through SPANDA Yoga Movement Therapy. I am so fortunate to be able to do what I love, what I believe my purpose is here on this Earth; to help people find peace and balance through movement and mindfulness.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Peaceful Yoga with Jen is a business that provides daily group yoga and pilates classes, private yoga sessions, yoga therapy, energy healing, Yoga4Cancer classes and occasional workshops like sound healing, mindfulness, breathing classes. Our group yoga classes are offered daily both in person and on-line.

Yoga Therapy is dedicated to the promotion of personal growth, well-being, and the prevention of chronic illness and injury whenever possible. The yogic model of health is unique because it addresses every aspect of life rather than considering each body part or system separately. Yoga Therapy utilizes the time-tested yogic techniques, principles and practices – postures/exercises, breath-work, mediation techniques, and more – to support and facilitate natural mechanisms of healing, improved functionality, and increased self-awareness.

Yoga therapy is a safe way of working with the natural capacity of your body and mind to optimize well-being. It can help with the following conditions: pain from various sources, major illnesses, neurologic issues, healthy aging, mental health, death, and dying. Yoga therapy can also support people who are dealing with stress, and those who simply want to increase their overall well-being.

When I work with individuals, it is a collaborative effort with myself, my client and perhaps others. It is not a cookie cutter experience, but a unique one for each individual. We work together to find what will best help someone with whatever it is they come to me for. I do always emphasize stress relief in my work, because stress contributes to so many health issues. But then, we come up with other goals to address what the individual might need.

I am not a doctor, so depending on an issue, I may refer someone to their doctor, psychologist or physical therapist. But I can work with them to help them heal. For example, a physical therapist will focus on say a knee injury. While they may focus on strengthening the knee, I will teach my client how to work with the rest of the body, to aide in helping not just the knee but the whole person to heal. Whether that be rolling on balls to release fascia, or stretching other parts of the body that have overcompensated for the injury. I will work on helping them to release tension and teach them to relax through movement, relaxation exercises, meditation, energy healing, whatever is needed really. I take on a holistic approach, whereas Western Medicine will just focus on the symptoms for the most part. Again, a collaborative effort is needed where the client is the one in complete control. My favorite part about working with individuals is playing and exploring, finding what will help them heal the best. So, an open, creative and playful attitude is helpful to this process!

I provide private yoga therapy sessions, in person or virtually. I have also run groups in the past, such as Yoga for Anxiety (a 4 week workshop), Everyday Mindfulness(a 10-week workshop). I am currently writing a workshop called Stress Less through Movement, Mindfulness and more. This will be a 2- 3 week workshop focused on stress reduction. All of my workshops can be in person or virtual. I am willing to offer any again or different kinds, I just need to know what people are looking for.

My newest project is my Oncology Yoga classes. A few years ago, I was sitting on the beach talking to my cousin. She had just completed treatment for breast cancer. She was naming all of the side effects of the treatment that nobody had told her about. Things like range of motion issues, fatigue, anxiety, lymphedema, to name a few. I remember thinking, yoga could help with all of these. At the time, I was still just beginning my yoga teacher journey so I was not yet ready to do anything. But, this past summer, I completed my Yoga4Cancer training.

I received my Oncology Yoga certification from Yoga4Cancer, founded by Tari Prinster. Oncology Yoga is an evidence informed yoga method tailored to address the specific physical and emotional needs left by the cancer and cancer treatments. It is a comprehensive yoga practice designed to mitigate the short and long term side-effects and achieve long term health. Adaptable to all stages and cancer types.

I am currently offering Oncology Yoga classes twice a week: Wednesdays at 6pm with Breast Friends of PA and Thursdays at 1pm. I am willing to offer more, perhaps on a Saturday, if there is any interest. Typically, these classes are $5, but I recently received a generous donation and for a little bit at least, the classes are free. These are held in person, but can be online too, I just need to know if anyone wants to join.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

As I was pondering this question, the three qualities that kept running through my head were flexibility, patience, and kindness. Flexibility, not in a physical sense, though being a yoga teacher that does help a little. When I think of flexibility, I mean being able to adapt to situations and circumstances, to not be rigid in things being a certain way. And most important, not being attached to an outcome. Covid hit in the middle of my Yoga Therapy training. Though we had been meeting in person, that had to change. Although not ideal, we were able to finish the trainings via Zoom. We had to figure out ways to adapt in order to finish, and we did!

When I work with my clients, I have “go to” exercises that the majority of the time will help someone. But then there is always a time when my go to does not work for someone. Then it is time to be flexible and creative. Find ways to help someone that will work for them. I don’t force them to keep doing something just because it works for somebody else. That would be silly and a bit unrealistic. Sometimes I also may not know how to help someone. Then I need to be flexible in my research, finding ways to help, or accept that I cannot help them and find a place to refer them to get them the help that they need.

Patience is the next quality that I came up with. One has to be patient with oneself as well as with others. When I first started my yoga journey, I had the end goal of being a yoga therapist. That was a 6 year process, over 1000 hours of training. I knew going in it would take time, didn’t realize how much, but I got through it. I was patient with the process. I could have done all of it in a year or two, but I did not think that wise. There is a lot to learn in each training. And then, one should embody what they learn, practice, gain skill and more knowledge. That takes time. I would not do the next training until I felt that I understood the first rounds enough, honed my skills. Then and only then did I move on to the next step.

I need to be patient with my clients as well. Just because I teach them what to do, does not necessarily mean they are going to apply it right away. It is not my timeline that I follow, I have to follow theirs. There are some people that will go full speed a head with what they learn, but others who will go at a snails pace. Or, more often then not, people will take a few steps forward and then back peddle. So, being patient with the healing process, with change. Essentially, I am asking people to make changes and change is hard and a bit scary. Being patient with them helps them too, because they are most likely not being patient with themselves. We live in a society where everyone wants a quick fix. The work I do takes time but the end results are lasting, so patience is very necessary.

Lastly, kindness is a word that I use to encompass many words: compassionate, empathetic, understanding, caring to name a few. We should be kind all the time to everyone and everything but, it is especially important when working with an individual in a therapeutic setting. Yoga therapy is a holistic approach to working with someone. They may come in with a physical issue, but you explore everything that is happening in their lives; mentally, emotionally, spiritually, energetically and physically. When you are kind, they are more likely to open up about things, they will feel safer to express what needs to be expressed. When they are open, when you have built a connection based on trust and kindness, then you can help someone to heal.

Kindness is not just applied to who you are working with, but one needs to be kind to themselves as well. I have to tell myself this more often than not, “if you want to take care of other people, you have to take care of yourself first.” It is not selfish to take care of yourself. If you want to help, then you need to practice what you preach. Move, eat well, talk to someone if you need to, journal, play, be out in nature. Do things that will help you to stay healthy. Be kind to your body, mind and spirit. Because if you are not then you will not be able to do what you are meant to do.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

I live in a small, rural town in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. People are rooted in their ways and change is not always welcome. That being said, yoga is not the most popular past time. Doesn’t stop me from trying though! Yoga therapy is even more of an unknown. Though our national organization (The International Association of Yoga Therapists) is trying to get it more mainstream and trying to get it covered by insurances, it has not had any success yet. So, my biggest obstacle/challenge is letting people know I am here and that I can help. Helping them to get over their misunderstanding of what yoga is and show them how it can help them heal or benefit their lives.

I have tried, especially with the Oncology Yoga classes, to reach out to hospitals in the area. Administration has to run everything through the legal department (I have been waiting on one legal department for almost a year now just to approve a flyer) It amazes me, how all I am trying to do is help their patients and it won’t cost them a dime and yet, nothing. I have found that the nurses are who to talk to, but that is if you are lucky enough to know the nurses. I have also found support groups to be helpful in getting the word out, but even that is not enough.

My colleagues, who live closer to cities, much more heavily populated and a bit more open-minded areas, are more successful in their practices. Based on that knowledge, I just need to figure out how to reach more people. I guess that leads to trying to figure out how to establish something online via an app or Instagram or something. I am certainly willing to do that, but it is not the same as working with a person in-person. Though that is the direction that the world is heading or has headed I suppose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peacefulyogawithjen.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacefulyogawithjen/?next=%2F
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peacefulyogawithjen

Image Credits

Jen Akob