Owning my own yoga studio was a dream come true after I started my yoga journey eight years ago. I’ve been a yoga teacher for six of those years and have completed 1000 hours of teacher training.
I offer adults and kids classes at the centre. The kids twin classes are approximately 45 minutes long and the three main types of yoga that I teach at the moment are Yin, Vinyasa Flow and Hatha.
Next year I will be bringing Men’s Yoga to Eternal Yoga & Wellness, and Chair Yoga which is for those who want to be able to do yoga and sit on a chair and still move, but possibly may not be able to get up and down off the mat.
Over time yoga can improve your flexibility. It can help you with the movement of the joints, in particular Yin, is very meditative so it is targeting the joints and the deeper fascia in the connective tissue. It can help with many things like flexibility, strength, mobility, it can ease some anxiety and stress, it’s got lots of many benefits.
I’ve aimed to create a safe, sacred space where people can come, walk in the door, leave everything behind, and spend 75 minutes on their mat and practice yoga and breathwork. To provide a sacred space has always been my goal, so what happens in the studio on the mat stays in the studio on the mat. We’ve had a lot of laughter, some tears, and some really beautiful yogi’s.
I moved to Loxton with my family three years ago and it’s a beautiful place to be. Everyone’s really welcoming. It’s been a beautiful journey and I just love making a difference in people’s lives and making that connection with yoga, breathwork, and mindfulness. If I can make an impact in someone’s life, that makes me feel happy.
My space is very relaxing, it’s non judgmental, so I’m all about the person that’s coming in and acknowledging that everyone’s different, and how you move and shift and create a pose is different.
I believe yoga is for everybody. Perhaps not every teacher is for everybody, you kind of resonate with people. You can start anywhere, anytime, I think you’ve just got to find the right teacher or the right space because if there’s a space which offers more than one teaching you quite often will resonate with a couple of teachers.
Yoga is about teaching to the people in the studio, so that they come in feeling comfortable, and they may be feeling very relaxed, and not so stressful, or feeling stronger or empowered so feeling better overall.
It’s changing lives and making a difference in someone’s life. I teach a few different classes so if someone’s never done yoga I can recommend a class to suit a beginner and then there’s the advanced class but it’s still changeable and one pose can be changed in so many ways that everyone is accommodated.
All the classes are on my website www.eternalyogaandwellness.com.au and you can book on the website so it’s simple and so easy.
For me, wellness encompasses quite a bit and I joined a company about 18 months ago as a brand partner, it’s called Neora and it’s a skincare, haircare and wellness range and I absolutely love it.
I like to follow my heart and follow my dreams, and be true to myself and that’s what I feel yoga has done for me, honouring myself in my journey.
After I stepped on the mat about eight years ago, I just resonated with the teacher and two years later, I completed all my teacher training within 12 months. I’m very passionate about it, because it’s moving your body, whether it’s yoga, or walking, whatever you’re doing, it’s moving your body but I think with yoga, it’s the mindfulness and the meditation part for me, where you switch your mind off. And that take a bit of time for some people and others get into it really quickly.
I like yoga for the movement and the breath and switching the mind off and I encourage my students when we’re in a flow or we’re doing particular poses that they know, to close their eyes and take away that sense and just feel. What is it you feel here? What does it feel when you move? What brings you joy?
Simple Yoga Exercises at Home or Work
At home, I often recommend legs up the wall. It’s very therapeutic. So basically find a nice solid wall and pop yourself up there, put your bottom on the wall and put your legs up the wall. It’s really therapeutic because it gives your heart a chance to slow down and the pumping of the bloods to slow down and you see the world from a different perspective. That’s one I tell everybody to do at home before bed time.
Child’s pose is very soothing as well. Then at work, you can sit at your desk and put one leg out and you can bring your other leg up and put it on top and do a little bit of a seated stretch or you can do a desk puppy dog pose laying over your desk and stretching.
Sphinx or Cobra where you lay down on your stomach and you come up with your arms, is really good for lower back issues.
Anything with a little inversion. There’s a pose called rabbit which is a forward fold. Anything with your head below your heart so you’re bringing all the blood down to your face which is anti-aging and really therapeutic as you’re increasing the blood flow down to your brain – memory, focus, headaches, migraines.
Suggestions for people new to yoga
Get out of your head.
I biggest thing for newbies is that they need to watch the teacher. If I’ve got new people in my class, I encourage them to watch me, and I will teach on and off my mat and sort of teach halfway in the middle of the class so they can see me as well. Take it very slowly and if you need to rest, come down to a child’s pose, or lay down and rest. Just honour your body and if something doesn’t feel right, don’t do it because we’re all made differently, and bones and joints and everything like that are made differently. Let the teacher know you’re new and whether you’ve got any injuries or concerns, and what you want from the class so that the teacher can be aware when they plan their classes, of what the students want.
It’s really to honour your body without any judgment whatsoever. If someone next to you has been coming for two years, you’re going to look totally different to that person and that’s absolutely fine. We all start somewhere.
Move with the flow and if you need help, any good yoga teacher will see that you need help.
Hiring the centre
We’re open to collaborating with others so if anybody needs a yoga teacher for their workshop or for their retreat that they’re running, I’m happy to consider coming along and actually offering yoga classes for those. Also, if someone wants to come and hire my space, and use it and have something out there or collaborate with me.
Are you open on the weekend, Jo? I tend to do workshops. I’ll do a workshop maybe once a month. And I’ll offer a Sunday morning class, but I’m more during the week at the moment, I find that’s what the client’s needs are here. I’ve got six adult classes, but next year, I’ll have maybe nine to 10. So I will put on an extra day.
So no classes really on the weekends, I tend to like to do workshops where I might do a seasonal workshop with the change of seasons and incorporate essential oils with that and things like that. But talking about doing some sound
Kids Yoga Classes
Next year I’ll be offering two classes – one for four to eight year olds and another for eight to 12 12 year olds, as many of my 12 year olds have been coming for a few years and they’re now in the adult class. It’s beautiful to see them continue their yoga journey.
In these classes, I teach about mindfulness, awareness of their bodies and the function of their movement, and strengthening their bodies, their minds, and teaching them about balance.
For the younger ones we tend to play more games with them, and with the eight to 12 year olds we do more of the sun salutations and feature a bit longer meditation.
I incorporate lots of different props we can use, such as magnetic butterflies, where they have them on their forehead and they have to balance whilst doing a yoga pose. We use blocks and eye pillows, so it’s fun. It’s teaching them to regulate their breath, develop strength and balance and stability, as well as encouraging them. There’s no competitiveness in my kids’ yoga classes and it’s not about competition, it’s about working together as a team.
We sit in a circle, so there’s no beginning and no end, and if someone is talking, then it’s their turn to talk and respect that and listen. It also helps with memory and concentration.
Contact Details
Jo Hentschke
6B Drabsch Street, Loxton, SA
www.eternalyogaandwellness.com.au
