Slowing Down (except when she's skydiving)
For our second installment of Pearl-sonality, meet Janeen - Brox native, Nuyorican, yoga teacher, Pearl student, and the person behind the beautiful seasonal workshops you may have sen popping up on our schedule. Janeen is trained in both trauma-informed and restorative yoga, and a lot of her work centers around something most of us could use a little more of: slowing down.
This Saturday, September 26th, she'll be back at The Pearl for a special workshop marking the transition from summer into fall. So before then, we wanted you to get to know her a little better :)
Janeen, what's your favorite - sunrise or sunset?
Sunrise
Summer or fall?
Summer
Favorite yoga pose?
Standing Goddess + Floor-based Fish
Most dreaded yoga pose?
Pigeon.
Morning practice or evening practice?
Usually evening. I like to relax and take my time in the mornings, so evening works better for me.
Perfect free Saturday?
Maybe a flea market, brunch, a cocktail, sitting outside somewhere. And then home before dark, preferably. I’m at that age now where I enjoy day timing.
What's your favorite place in the Bronx?
The Botanical Garden. I was a member for a long time, and then life started lifing and I wasn’t able to go as much. But they always have really cool events. I love the Garden Nights, when there’s live music and you can have some wine and walk around and see all the flowers. There’s always something going on. Right now they’re getting ready for Día de los Muertos, and I was just telling my mom about it because you can bring the kids and they have a whole parade. We really do have so many amazing resources here in the Bronx - we're so underrated, it's like our little secret.
How has your relationship yoga changed since you first started practicing?
I was first exposed to yoga in my early 20s. I’m 51 now, and at the time I really didn’t know anything about it except that people were getting into these extreme-looking poses that just seemed really cool. I was intrigued, so I started exploring different practices.
I used to write a lot in my journals in my 20s, and I still have them. And I had actually written in there, I want to be a yoga teacher.
Of course, life happens. But as I got older, I became much more interested in being mindful of what my body was telling me and taking care of it in a different way. Finally I was like, I’m gonna go, and I signed up for my 200-hour training. One of my mentors, who lives in Mexico, told me about the woman whose course I eventually took. It was in person, which was really important to me. I like that connection. I prefer it. And the training was trauma-informed.
I’ve learned so much through the process about what yoga really is. It gave me the confidence and the understanding that not everything has to be in a box. Things don’t have to look one way or be one way. Everyone has something different they can teach and bring to someone else, and it really depends on what that person is looking for in their own practice.
How has your practice changed as you’ve gotten older?
For me now, so much of it is being mindful of what my body is telling me and taking care of it in a different way.
And when we talk about self-care, getting your nails done is beautiful. I love getting my nails done! Massages are beautiful too. But I mean the things you can do that really reconnect you to your mind, body and spirit. People don’t always make space for that, especially in our communities.
I think that’s changing, because there are more spaces opening up where people can actually do that and get to know the people in their community. Not just, oh hey, that’s Janine, if you even remember the person’s name. There’s something different about actually having that connection.
What's something people might be surprised to learn about you?
People who don’t really know me might be surprised because I have a little bit of a fiery spirit. I'm afraid of heights, but I’ve gone skydiving and bungee jumping. I love getting tattoos, even though I really don’t enjoy pain.
I know it seems contradictory. I’m always talking about wanting to slow down and then I’m going to jump out of a plane. But that’s the little fire that’s in me. I learned that two things can be true at the same time.
Your workshops at The Pearl are tied to the changing seasons. What does the transition from summer into fall mean to you?
For me, it’s really about slowing down and becoming present. I just don’t think we do that enough. The world is so fast-paced and there are so many distractions, like social media and television. We can always find something to do so that we don’t have to sit with ourselves.
So one of my little rituals is always to make some kind of time to prioritize myself. And that’s outside of what we might normally think of as taking a break. It’s actually sitting with myself and reflecting.
I might ask myself, what are some things I desired to do this year that maybe I didn’t get to? And why?
I’m just a very reflective person. You sit with it, and you don’t have to analyze it too much. Just become aware.
Studio Updates 🐚
Mott Haven is turning ONE! 🎂
We're celebrating one year of The Pearl Pilates Haven with Boogie Down Birthday, September 26 at 5pm at Rosa's at Park in MH. DJ, food, your first drink, cake, dancing, and a few mini dance sets from The Pearl crew!
Kids programming is back the first week of October!
Little Yogis and Little Ballet are back on the schedule starting the first week of October. If you've got a little one itching to get on the mat, sign up now :)
Teacher Training starts October 24!
Registration is open for our Fall/Winter Pilates Teacher Training, running October 24 - January 9. Seminars rotate through City Island, Mott Haven, & Riverdale, with observation and practice teaching available at any studio. Early bird pricing ends at midnight tonight!
One spot left in Kingston 🍂
Our Leaves, Light + Linger fall retreat is otherwise sold out, but we've got one spot left in a shared room with a female roommate, October 9-12. Pilates, yoga, fall leaves, very good food, and a few days of disappearing from real life. Come with us.