Meet Jackie Shaffer
What brought you to yoga?
I took a meditation course while I was living in England in 1971,
Transcendental Meditation, popularly known as TM. I remember
a few of the details of the initiation ceremony very clearly -
bringing a piece of fruit and flowers, and receiving a mantra - and that started my practice of meditation.
Some ten years later, I took my first yoga asana classes here
in Washington at the YWCA and later from Swami Gurudevananda,
(Sita Frenkel). She was my first and only teacher for many years,
and I love her dearly for what she taught me. I also visited
ashrams that taught in this Sivananda tradition. In 1998, I had the
good fortune of coming to Sun & Moon and having JJ as my primary
teacher. I have also had the opportunity to study with the
internationally known teachers who come to this area such as
Erich Schiffmann, Barbara Benagh, T.K.V. and Kaustaub Desikachar,
Rodney Yee and Rod Stryker. I'm inspired to continue learning.
Why did you want to become a teacher?
When I discovered this studio and JJ's sublime teaching, I was
intrigued by the teacher-training program and realized it would
be a way to learn a whole lot more about yoga, especially philosophy
and anatomy. Since I expect to practice yoga my entire life,
I wanted to be more knowledgeable in sharing with family and
friends. The only teaching I had ever done was swimming lessons
for kids. Now my eighty-one year old father practices yoga! The
part I have grown to love the most about teaching is seeing how
much better people feel because of having yoga in their lives.
Yoga students gain a fresh experience of themselves, physically,
emotionally and spiritually.
How would you describe your style of teaching?
The comprehensive approach that JJ encourages among the
teachers at Sun & Moon is fundamental to my teaching. It is
important to me to share with students the breadth and depth of
yoga - that means including breathing practices (pranayama),
good alignment for therapeutic benefit in asana practice, an
asana practice that is vigorous when appropriate and restorative,
and an understanding of experiencing the energy that we are. In
addition, I teach simple meditation practices, Sanskrit chants, and
read from traditional and modern yoga texts to help students
understand the holistic philosophy that yoga is. We can use any
or all of the yoga practices to bring us to the experience of our
underlying divinity and connectedness which then guides us as
we ask how do we want to live our lives.
Any books you can recommend?
My all-time favorite contemporary yoga book is Yoga, the Spirit
and Practice of Moving Into Stillness, written by the extraordinary
yogi, Erich Schiffmann. JJ has invited Erich to Sun & Moon several
times to teach. I recommend his book to my yoga students not
only for the detailed descriptions for moving into asanas, but also
for his poetic and down-to-earth way of sharing the essence of
the philosophy of yoga. Erich tells the metaphor of how we usually
experience ourselves as separate, unique waves in the sea, and
then we realize we are all part of the same ocean, that we are not
separate. Erich's meditation teachings created a big change in
my own meditation practice. Another book on meditation which I
have just started to read is The Heart of Meditation, by Swami
Durgananda. She describes with clarity what is happening when
we meditate and why we meditate. There are two amazing books
about yogis in India, which I found fascinating, the Autobiography
of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda and At the Eleventh Hour, a
biography of Swami Rama, by Pandit Tigunait.
Do you feel any similarities between being an artist and practicing yoga?
Both yoga and art are physical expressions of our inner energy.
Often while drawing, I would experience such one-pointed focus
of attention that time would just fly by, just disappear. It's that
same one-pointed focus in meditation, allowing for pure awareness.
As a painter, the emotional energy I can feel from pure
color now makes more sense to me having studied the energy of
the chakras.
And you enjoy being outdoors?
Yes, I became a busy gardener when I took over the care of my
mother's garden, after her death. I grew a passion for irises,
peonies and lavender! This expanded my interest in growing
herbs and the use of herbs therapeutically. I love hiking. I also
spend time on the water, rowing and sailing. My partner Bill and
I have traveled months at a time aboard our sailboat for several
years. That is a very direct experience with Mother Nature that
helps me thrive.
Do you have a favorite asana?
Yes, I really love the fun of going upside down in handstands and
headstands. Do you remember the cartoon of Eyore that was on
the wall here at Sun & Moon, where he says, "I'm so happy I
could just stand on my head!"?