Over the weekend of February 12th and 13th, San Francisco Iyengar yoga instructor Janet Macleod will teach a workshop at Gen-Nih Yoga, a brand-new yoga studio in Sacramento located at 1049 Broadway at Riverside, Suite 10 in Sacramento, Janet has been teaching yoga in San Francisco and the Bay Area and at workshops around the world for more than 30 years, and was a mentor for Gen-Nih Yoga owner Mary Chan.
“I've been sponsoring Janet's workshop in Sacramento for six years and students come from surrounding areas as she has become quite popular not only for her teaching and her dedication to the Iyengar method of yoga, but also for her sense of humor, vitality and great personality,” says Mary.
Iyengar yoga is a form of Hatha yoga distinguished by its use of blocks, straps, blankets and other props to aid the body into finding the posture. Since her certification in 1983, Janet has continued to study with the Iyengar family in India and in the West and to teach classes, workshops and retreats in the Bay Area and around the world.
“This is an exciting weekend for me,” said Janet, “as one of my most remarkable students, and now a certified Iyengar yoga instructor herself, Mary Chan, has just opened her own studio at age 73.”
Mary’s story is inspirational. Fourteen years ago she decided to try a yoga class at her gym, but didn’t really like it. “It didn't make much sense to stand with arms and legs stretched out and do nothing since I am such an active person,” said Mary. “I tried classes a few times, but left feeling yoga just wasn’t right for me.”
On a subsequent trip to Maui Mary felt compelled to attend a small church yoga class after seeing a flyer on the bulletin board. It was a traditional yoga class, quite different from the classes she tried at her gym back home. In that short period of time, Mary began falling in love with yoga. In fact, she was so overcome with the experience that she immediately told her friends that she wanted to become a yoga instructor.
At home, under the guidance of an older Iyengar teacher in Sacramento, she received her first teaching certification in just three days. Hungry for more, she enrolled at the Iyengar Institute in San Francisco where she immersed herself in a curriculum of anatomy, physiology, philosophy, body alignment, pranayama (inhalation, exhalation, retention), and teaching techniques.
Her teacher training encompassed dress, clear voice, and demonstration. “I learned how to teach, correct, help, listen to, and control a class,” said Mary. It took Mary six years of study to receive her certification. The assessment required two days of demonstrating and holding all poses for 45 seconds to a minute on each side, completing written tests, and teaching six to eight students five to six poses within a certain period of time.
Gen-Nih Yoga, which just opened on February 1st, is named for Mary’s daughter, whose Chinese name means “One Who Loves All.” Mary explains, “I think this is appropriate as Yoga is for everyone of all ages, all sizes regardless of what physical condition a person is in and for all cultures.” The studio, which welcomes students of all ages, levels and abilities, is the only yoga studio in Sacramento dedicated solely to Iyengar yoga.
For reservations to the workshop at Gen-Nih Yoga on February 12th and 13th, please email Mary at ma9777(at)aol(dot)com or call (916) 731-4831.
For more information about Janet McLeod or her classes, contact her at (415) 912-1741, or visit her website at http://www.jmacleodyoga.com/.
About San Francisco Yoga Instructor Janet MacLeod
As well as teaching ongoing yoga classes in San Francisco, Janet teaches in the Teacher Training Program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco (IYISF) and conducts yoga retreats and workshops worldwide.
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