Read a few testimonials from Jen's students.

I had my first experience with yoga in college. I was attending the University of Michigan, pursuing my degree in Economics. My dad invited me to come to a class at the health center, and I reluctantly agreed. Little did I know what was to come of it. That first time in class didn't really move me, but I knew it made me feel pretty good.

It wasn't until I graduated college and moved to Chicago in 1998 that I discovered yoga again. I needed something to keep me from going insane. I was working 40 hours a week in a job I despised, surrounded by people who just didn't get it. Some days, I felt like banging my head against the wall. My one saving grace was Sunday. Every Sunday, I would take a 90-minute class with Liz Myers at my health club. Class with Liz was my escape from the reality of life.

After working four years in asset management and being laid off twice, I felt the universe was trying to tell me something. What it was, I wasn't quite sure. So I decided to apply to graduate school and pursue a degree in Journalism. It was while living in the middle of nowhere, Champaign, Illinois, that I truly fell in love with yoga. It was in Champaign that I met Deb Lister at the Living Yoga Center. Deb's free-spirited flow inspired me to reach beyond my boundaries. Deb inspired me to realize that anything was possible. Deb inspired me to start teaching yoga.

So I moved back to Chicago in August 2003 with grandious delusions that I would actually use the degree that I had spent so much time and money earning. Instead, I started teaching yoga. Everywhere and anywere they would have me. I was not certified and had virtually no training. All I knew was that I was pretty good at this teaching thing, and more importantly, I LOVED it. So one day, I decided to shell out the money and buy a package of classes at Moksha Yoga Center. And so my life's journey started on a new path.

At Moksha, I found a community where I was cherished, embraced and fully loved. I became part of the volunteer staff, working a front desk-shift in the fall of 2004. During that year, I completed trainings with Shiva Rea and Duncan Wong. Towards the end of the year, Daren Frisen, director of Moksha Yoga, invited me to take part in his 200-hour Yoga Alliance certification.

After completing the training with Daren, I felt even more confused than ever (but in a good way). I knew I needed to continue my studies in an effort to provide my students with the best yoga experience possible. My thirst for knowledge was unending, and I had the opportunity to study with some of the best: Tias Little, Aadil Palkhivala and Gary Kraftsow, just to name a few. But my world was turned upside down the minute I walked into the Yoga Circle and met Gabriel Halpern in the fall of 2006. It was in that moment that I knew I had found him: my teacher.

I found in Gabriel someone who would push me, challenge me, keep me on my toes and also keep me in stiches with laughter. A man who would support me, question my decisions and push me to my edge all in an effort to make me a better yogi, a better teacher and above all, a better person. I devoted myself to Gabriel and the study of Iyengar yoga and yoga therapy. While apprenticing with Gabriel, I have developed a knowledge of how to work with injury, chronic pain and disease in a yogic way. I use this knowledge in my group classes as well as in working with private clients. I have seen that yoga has the power not only to heal the body, but also the mind and spirit, leading to a total transformative healing experience.

My classes are an eclectic, challenging and fun mix of Vinyasa, Hatha and Iyengar, with a emphasis on safety. First and foremost, I encourage my students to listen to their bodies and find the practice that is right for them, in the present moment, rather than indulging the ego or striving for the best pose.

I challenge my students to find the right amount of sukha (ease) and sthira (effort), to find their boundaries, not only on the mat, but also off. I hope to provide students with a practice in which they can explore and cultivate a deeper connection to themselves through asana, pranayama (breath) and meditation.

I believe that the most authentic practice comes not from simply the practice of asana but from the connection to the heart. I see yoga as an opportunity to get to know ourselves on the most intimate level possible. In order to experience evolution, we first must experience involution - turning inside to get to know ourselves at our depths. To connect to the internal, the source, the light, God, whatever you view it to be. Sure, it's scary, and it's risky, to open your heart and to put it out there for everyone to see, but the rewards are well worth the effort.