Mighty Teacher of the Month (Ithaca)

Meet Jessica!

What is your favorite self-care ritual? In the winter, a bath is one of my go-to self-care practices. It gets me away from doing work or anything else productive so that I can really commit to resting. Some bath salts, a candle, a good book, and a glass of wine, and I'm all set!.

What is your favorite yoga pose? As does everything, it evolves from season to season. Lately, more than a particular pose, I've been enjoying focusing on a certain type of breath awareness in particular poses, especially breath retention in twists. Holding at the top of inhale in a revolved standing hand-to-foot pose taps into an energy of focus and potential, whereas holding at the bottom of exhale in a twisted down-dog invites a very different energy of grounding and anchoring within. Twists are very challenging for me, so they are a prime place of learning and study for me.

What is something others may not know about you? I am also a classical pianist and singer/song-writer! When I'm not practicing yoga, I'm somewhere teaching piano, performing, or making music with my local band Jenny Stockdale and the Wax Matches.