WHERE IT BEGAN:

Jen Rae is a Cleveland-based yoga teacher who began practicing yoga at age 13 for exercise and physical transformation while spending most summers in Minden, Ontario-Canada exploring jiu-jitsu, meditation, and philosophy. Logging in 10,000+ hours of teaching yoga, she does it not for the paycheck, and more so the love of the practice, and the sharp curiosity that unfolds in deeper practices. Dedicated to building a school and training programs that helps preserve authentic yoga teachings while making practical connections for modern day householders, therapists, and professionals.

Jen holds several wellness certifications such as: Registered Yoga Teacher, CrossFit Level 1 Coach, Thai Massage Therapist, and Reiki Level 2, and formally began helping others cultivate their practice in 2009. She is trained in Haṭha, Aṣṭāṅga Vinyasa, Yoga Nidra, and Advanced Prāṇāyāma. She has completed many yoga trainings and intensives in India, Portugal, Spain, Canada, and Mexico, gathering insight from the subtle energy of mantras and meditation to the energetic and anatomical alignments of yoga.

THE EXPERIENCED PATH:

In 2022, she began a serious commitment to study Sanskrit and found her Vedic chanting mentor, Tara Mitra, who invested years of disciplined practice with Dr. Vigneshwar Bhat, Menaka Desikachar, and Sāvitrī (senior student of Śri Desikachar), paying deep respect to the Krishnamacharya lineage towards a long line of Ayurvedic doctors, yoga therapists, and healers. Jen practices weekly on various śanti mantras, ślokas, Upaniṣads, Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, and much more.

She is also a dedicated student under the mentorship of Dr. Raj Balkaran of the Indian Wisdom School, who is an expert in Sanskrit (Saṃskṛta), Indic traditions, and advanced philosophy. Her weekly mentorship continues to encapsulate the Bhagavad Gīta, Devīmāhātmya, Māṇḍūkya & traditional Upaniṣads, and many more śāstra based texts; inclusive of reading Sanskrit, refining the deep analogies of these structured texts, and relating the teachings to modern day living in our times.

BEING OF SERVICE:

She specializes in continuing education for established teachers in the areas of anatomy, hands on assisting, teaching techniques (āsana and prāṇāyāma), and yoga philosophy. Her blended approach highlights that yoga is a cherished physical, mental, and spiritual practice with its sacred roots to India. This shapes how she is truly drawn to the values of yoga that are practiced on the mat, which are equally as important off the mat.

As a mother and teacher, her goal is to bring awareness, acceptance, and action to the philosophy of yoga which asks that we become better humans for ourselves and our community. She continues her yoga journey as a dedicated Aṣṭāṅga practitioner, chanting mantras daily, and is deeply dedicated to guiding students towards understanding how movement is medicine and philosophy is foundational. When not on the yoga mat, you can find her at the gym, playing the piano, hiking with her dog, and taking trips to Mother India.