Compass Communications

Story and photos by Lisa Rowell

As an observer at the back of the studio, it didn’t occur to me that I could also be participating in the chair-to-mat yoga class that day, with instructor Jenny Williams — or silly me would not have worn a long skirt. Awkward, out-of-shape me, in my skirt and having busted a toe the day prior, surprisingly got through almost every part of the class. And it felt amazing. 

Jenny, who co-owns Embody Yoga and Pilates, designed the chair-to-mat class to meet the needs of students who cannot move up and down from the floor easily. The class incorporates strength, flexibility, and relaxation exercises.

Although it is attended mainly by older people, Jenny said younger people can also benefit from taking the class. 

With two decades of experience to her credit, Jenny’s students are quite partial to her. It’s easy to see why after the first meeting. 

Beginning with rounds of mindful breathing, in a safe and peaceful setting, the tone was set for the gentle movements which followed. 

As her voice guided the movements, Jenny reminded her students to do what they could with no pressure. It was peaceful and fun, and in spite of the use of the chair, it was a workout. 

In what felt like no time, the hour-long class ended and I knew this was a place I wanted to visit again. I would come back to Jenny Williams guiding my movements for a blissful hour and instructing me to be mindful of my breathing and energy. I would come back to be in the presence of this great group of people with their laughter and acceptance, in the safest of places. I was even safe within myself that day, which I admit does not always come easy. I carried the energy of that morning with me for much of that day. 

Mind over matter and vice versa

“I think that we sometimes underestimate the mind’s ability to generate the experience of the body and many times what we’re experiencing as physical stiffness is actually a mental pattern that needs to be released,” Williams explained. 

She reworded her thought with, “A movement can help you release a stuck mental pattern — but also — a changed mental pattern can help you release a stuck physical pattern.” 

In her humble nature, Jenny will not take credit for her students receiving what she has to share. 

“They are open to me and I am open to them,” she said. “Then magic happens.”

The group of students, who regularly meet at the studio as their schedules permit, finished their session with boundless enthusiasm and energy that Tuesday morning. After helping to put the mats and chairs in their proper places, some went on to the next class in the room down the hall, while others happily went about their day.  

I stopped to reconnect with an old friend who had occupied the mat in front of me during the class. 

It began as a gift 

I met up with Libby later that day to catch up and learn more about her journey into yoga. 

Libby Mattingly has been attending yoga classes with Jenny Williams since 2015. Wherever Jenny is teaching, it is clear Libby will follow. 

“Ben died in February of 2015,” she said of her late husband, “and I started yoga in May of 2015.”

Rather than sending her flowers when she lost her husband, Libby said two trusted friends instead gave her a month-long subscription to their yoga class. 

“That’s when Jenny had a little studio downtown on East Mt. Vernon. That’s where we went. Then afterwards we would go to Baxter’s for a coffee and it was just so good for me. To have those two trusted friends and that yoga release.”

She’s been going regularly ever since.  

Libby recalled those very first sessions while she was navigating her grief. “I can remember when we’d get on the floor for the savasana —  the relaxation part — tears would just roll down my face. It was just such a release.”

Nine years later, Libby is still going to those classes, now filled with joy and laughter. Having scoliosis,  she said she’s found that yoga helps keep her mobile and strengthens her back muscles and her core. She also attends the wall-to-mat Pilates classes at Embody, which she said also helps. 

With yoga three days a week and walking two days a week, the retired Somerset Community College employee stays quite active. 

“I totally think it’s transformative,” she said of doing yoga. 

“When I have to miss, my body knows it and my mind and spirit know it too.” 

“I am not going to get over the scoliosis but that is very beneficial to me,” she says of her participation in yoga. “It has made a big difference in my life.”

“It’s like your car needing a tune up — just taking care of the maintenance — in order to stay independent, you have to do the maintenance.”  

Libby said having a network of friends she can laugh with and go places with also helps keep her feeling young.  And they are present for each other. 

“For me, my church community and my friend groups are important.” 

Her yoga friends are very much a part of that. And I could not feel any more honored to have reconnected with such a special person.

Embody Yoga and Pilates is located at 15 Centre St., #3 in Somerset. Visit online at:  embodyyogaandpilatesstudio.com