Instructors
Abby Chemers
Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Introductory Teacher (CYIT)
Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Embodyment® Therapist (CYET)
Svaroopa® has become my passion because of the profound impact it has had on me - both physically and mentally. I have been teaching and giving therapy treatments since 2009. These experiences have been extremely rewarding as I often see profound changes in clients and students as they relax and experience a sense of peacefulness. Clients and students alike have reported improvements throughout the entire body - from head (migraines) to foot (plantar fasciitis). I am committed to furthering my teacher training as it is important to me to provide my students with the best service possible.
I became a Certified Svaroopa® Introductory Teacher and a Certified Embodyment® Therapist in 2009. I passed the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Teaching program in May 2011. I am enrolled in the 500-hour Yoga Teaching Training Certificate course that begins in December 2011.
Over the past 30 years I have practiced various styles of Yoga. My interest in yoga and desire to start an exercise routine led me to attend my first Svaroopa® style class in 2005. I appreciated both (1) the slow and deliberate poses as I had injured myself in other exercise classes where the movements were fast and competitive and (2) the extra attention the teacher provided to ensure the poses were being executed safely. After only a few months of practice, not only did I find relief for my neck and shoulder pain, but I began to notice drastic improvements in my sleep and allergy related sinus problems.
For me personally, the sequencing of the fully supported poses in Svaroopa® along with its breathing and body awareness and relaxation exercises gave me the tools to better cope with the stresses of every day life. What led me to Svaroopa® was my interest in maintaining an exercise routine and to manage chronic pain and what I found was so much more - a deepening sense of happiness, empowerment and peace.
Contact Abby at dekalbyoga@gmail.com or 815-762-8515.
Ed Miguel
I am a beginning instructor having taken the Svaroopa® Foundations class. I have been teaching the Saturday classes for about a year now starting with Jen Sebastian and now with Abby.
I started studying Yoga with Dale Ingersol in 2003. I was not a yogi at that time and never really thought about it until I became desperate for relief from hip and leg pain that would not allow me to walk more than half-a-block at a time. Chiropractors who have saved me in the past were not able to fix this. After reading an article about Dale in the paper called “Yoga for Your Back”, I started, but it was not easy. I got a little worse at first and dreaded some of the poses, but Dale kept saying “Do more Yoga”. So I kept going and in about a month I started to feel some results. In 3 months I was hiking Yellowstone. Really. It saved a vacation we had been planning for years. I got better, stopped doing yoga, and the pain would return. I would run back to Yoga and get better again. I continued this pattern until I started to feel better in ways that are harder to explain. My wife, Chris, said I was different, more loving. So I thought that maybe there was more to this than just laying around on blankets, which is a lot of what we do.
If you have a medical issue, especially a back issue, please try this for a few months. After seeing a chiropractor for 20 some years religiously before, I have not needed to see one for the last 7 years. It is quite amazing. This style of Hatha Yoga consists of natural body poses and stretches that are well supported. The support is one of the main ingredients for healing. With support your muscles can relax to allow more blood flow. With more blood flow there is more healing. It is a simple formula with profound results.
Svaroopa® teachers are well trained and very detailed in the asannas, or poses. If you cannot do a pose, there are always alternatives. Every ‘body’ is different and thus each yogi gets individual attention. You are guided every step of the way.
My goal with Yoga is to continue my practice and study the advanced teaching classes so that in a few years I will be fully certified when I retire to teach Svaroopa® Yoga and other healing arts full time. My desire is to bring more men into Yoga, especially those who suffered like I did. I am also studying other forms of energy healing modalities, Shamanism through the Four Winds Society and Reiki with Joan Protano. I am a full time Engineering Manager for an electronics firm for the past 14 years and I am also an adjunct instructor for the Technology Department at NIU. Prior to Yoga I studied Aikido for 18 years. I have lived in DeKalb for about 40 years now. I am married to Christine and have a daughter and three sons.
If you wish to discuss this style of Yoga with me you may reach me by email at edwmiguel1@comcast.net or by cell phone at 815-501-4207.
Svaroopa® and Embodyment® are registered service marks of S.T.C.,
Inc used under license.
Visit the Master Yoga Foundation website at www.svaroopayoga.org.