Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Agrawal.
Hi Jennifer, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In 2019 I started an online Yoga Studio with the goal of making quality yoga instruction more accessible to a wider audience. In the past I felt that my own yoga journey had often been delayed due to the hardships of expensive studio memberships and the travel distance to good studios. I am a certified yoga teacher with over one thousand hours of teaching experience. Yoga has had such a positive impact on my life. I used yoga to cure my own back pain following an injury. Without yoga I would be living a life filled with pain. It is my passion to share the benefits of yoga with others. Therefore I created Yoga Club on the Beautiful Souls Academy so that I could bring quality yoga instruction directly into people’s homes at a fraction of the membership cost that physical studios charge. It was fortunate timing because of course the following year the pandemic arrived and Yoga Club was already running with weekly classes and a wonderful community of dedicated students. I feel that it helped all of us during the pandemic to stay connected to our yoga community and to continue taking classes together.
The next year I moved to India to build a life with my Indian husband. It has been a very eye opening experience to view the practice of yoga from the actual birthplace of classical yoga here in India, and to share the teachings with my students. Yoga Club offers 5 weekly classes now direct from India. Remarkably, in 2024 two of my yoga students came over to visit and travel here in India. It was fun for everyone in Yoga Club to see these two students on “my side” of the camera during classes at that time.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest obstacles I face are in struggling against false stereotypes of yoga and getting people to understand the amazing benefits of yoga. Social media shows incredibly strong and extremely flexible people doing contortionist types of poses and I feel that it gives the wrong idea about yoga. It gives the impression that strength and flexibility are a requirement of yoga and that is absolutely not true. Yoga is for every body, not just for the strong and flexible. The yoga I teach is gentle and very joint friendly. I demonstrate to my students how to safely support and modify the poses in a way that makes sense for their individual bodies. Yoga is an invaluable tool for staying mobile as we age. Additionally, yoga is SO MUCH MORE than just poses. Yoga is a complete path to your best self. It addresses the health of your body, mind and spirit. Sure the poses are a great starting point, but yoga can also calm your mind, relax your nervous system, and even help to heal emotional wounds. It is difficult to get that message out into the world.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Yoga Club on the Beautiful Souls Academy?
Yoga Club is my fully online yoga studio on the Beautiful Souls Academy, which is my online academy teaching a variety of courses including meditation, music, yoga and more. Yoga Club is a membership program that offers 5 live classes a week via Zoom and a HUGE library of recorded classes, pose tutorials, meditation instruction and more. Over my many years of teaching, what I have heard from my yoga students again and again is that they appreciate how specific I am when giving cues. I tell them exactly which body part to move. I give detailed instruction so that anyone can move safely into and out of the poses without requiring any prior knowledge of the poses. It is more than just explaining how to move the body into the pose. I help my students connect with the specific muscles to engage and also help them identify which muscles can be relaxed. For example, in a standing pose I might indicate to engage the thigh muscles and then also remind students to relax their shoulder muscles. Yoga is a multilayered practice. Each time you enter a pose you have the opportunity to experience it on a deeper level. As you invite the pose to settle into your body, you are learning a lot about your own body’s abilities and also limitations. Additionally paying attention to your breath and your thoughts can help you go more deeply into your practice. Besides my reputation for detailed instruction, I am also known for teaching students how to modify and support poses at their level of ability. Safety is my top priority. In my classes nothing is ever forced. Awareness is always the aim.
In these seven years since launching Yoga Club, what I am most proud of is the community itself. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of students who are friendly and caring. They always give a warm welcome to new students. They genuinely care about each other. It has been such a joy to see some friendships that started online in Yoga Club have expanded into the “real world.” I always open class ten minutes before the actual start of class so that anyone who wants to socialize before class with me or with other students is welcome to do so. I am also OK with anyone who prefers NOT to socialize. I remember when I first began attending yoga classes at a studio so many years ago, I was extremely self conscious about doing yoga in front of others. For that reason I also allow people the option to turn off their cameras. You might wonder how I can teach yoga without seeing all of my students all of the time, but I have full confidence in the detailed cues I give during class. I also have confidence in my students, knowing that they have access to individual pose tutorials in the Yoga Club curriculum. I strive to make everyone feel welcome, safe and comfortable in Yoga Club. I also make myself available after every class for students who might have specific questions regarding their practice. I am always very happy to help my students with their practice, and especially in regards to any particular issue they might be facing. For example, after one student’s knee surgery, I spent some time giving her options, alternatives and modifications to suit her needs so that she could safely continue with yoga classes during her ongoing recovery.
I feel that the individual attention combined with accessibility, comfort, safety, and low cost is what sets Yoga Club apart from other yoga studios.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
During my yoga teacher training we were required to read “Light on Life” by B,.K.S Iyengar. I would recommend that book to any yoga student who wants to take their practice to the next level. There is a wonderful quote from that book that says; “It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.” I have found this to be a very true statement about yoga.
Additionally I feel that any book by Thich Nhat Hanh can help anyone live a happier and more peaceful life. He has a beautiful style of delivering deep wisdom in a very simple way, and with a lot of love.
As for useful Apps, I admit that I use the Todoist app daily for organizing and prioritizing my tasks for work and for home. I would be lost without it.
Pricing:
- $22 per month for Yoga Club Membership
- $220 per year for Yoga Club Membership
- $60 per hour for Private Yoga Instruction
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jenniferka.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jenniferkathleen11
- Other: https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club
Image Credits
Jennifer K Agrawal
