Nurture Yoga Therapy and Bodywork

11/02/2025

A beautiful way to grieve, through music. ❤️‍🩹

Concert pianist Adam Tendler had a distant relationship with his father. So, when he inherited a sum of money from his dad, he used it to commission piano wo...

11/01/2025

Lovely offering for a good cause! 🧡

🕯️ Simmering Serenity: A Yoga Fundraiser with Chris Burch 🌿

Join us for a peaceful, meaningful yoga experience designed to refresh your mind and restore your energy — all while supporting meaningful enhancements to our Aerobics Studio!

🧘‍♀️ Friday, November 7 at 6:00 PM –
Vin Yin Candlelight

AND|OR

🌅 Saturday, November 8 at 8:30 AM – Morning Flow

$20 Members | $25 Prospective Members

Registration is required by Friday, November 1 or earlier if capacity of 30 for each slot is met!

Register online or at Member Services.

Enjoy fall-spiced tea to sip here or take to go as part of our Simmering Sereni-TEA theme. 🍁🫖

Each session is a stand-alone class — attend one or both!

All proceeds benefit our Aerobics Studio extended improvements at the Kankakee Area YMCA.

📍 1075 N. Kennedy Dr, Kankakee, IL
📞 (815) 933-1741 | k3ymca.org

11/01/2025

“Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say, watch & listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.” Linda Hogan

10/20/2025

I’ve been taking a break from social media, but felt moved to share this story. Honestly like so many, I’ve been sad and overwhelmed with all that is going on in this country. The negative energy and hatred behind what is written in some of the posts and comments here is atrocious.
Earlier this week, I was asked by a friend if I’d be joining in the protests. I explained how I felt the need to help a client/friend who is grieving his wife and going through the arduous task of clearing out his home of 30+ years of memories. I went on to ask if she was familiar with The Starfish Story. I told her that I feel helpless with what is going on in the world, but maybe I can help in a small way with this man. Little did I know, Spirit would affirm not once, but several times over the weekend that I was where I was meant to be! ✨

The Starfish Story
Adapted from Loren Eiseley’s The Star Thrower
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?” The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens
of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish
and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one.”

10/07/2025

It’s not your fault but it’s your responsibility to deal and heal it. Your life depends on it! Yoga therapy somatic practices can help release and restore balance.

In Hawaii, there is a powerful phrase, Mai Na Loko, which translates to “inside sickness.” It describes how deep emotional wounds, particularly those caused by family conflict or trauma, can make the body physically ill. Modern science now supports this wisdom, showing that emotional pain often begins in the gut and spreads throughout the body.

When stress, betrayal, or unresolved trauma festers, the body responds with heightened cortisol and disrupted gut microbiota. Over time, this creates an acidic internal environment where harmful bacteria thrive. The result is chronic inflammation, a silent driver behind bloating, digestive distress, autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular issues, and even certain cancers.

Researchers are also finding that trauma-related inflammation doesn’t stay in the gut. It crosses into the brain, altering mood and cognition, increasing the risk of anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. The gut-brain connection proves that what happens emotionally is inseparable from what happens physically.

Hawaiian culture understood this long before Western medicine gave it a name. Mai Na Loko is a reminder that family dynamics, love, or lack of it, directly influence health. Toxic relationships can quite literally ferment inside the body, while healing, compassion, and connection can restore balance.

This knowledge calls for a holistic view of health, where emotional well-being, family bonds, and inner peace are as important as diet and exercise. Addressing unresolved trauma through therapy, communication, or mindfulness is not just about mental healing, it is also a powerful step toward physical recovery.

Health begins inside. What we hold in our hearts and minds shapes what happens in our bodies.

08/20/2025

Quite possibly the most perfect weather is in the forecast for this evening. I’ll be teaching a free yoga class at 6. Come on out!

08/13/2025

I’ll be teaching yoga at 6! Come on out. 🙏🏻

08/07/2025

I love being able to share in this beautiful space with these genuine, kind women.

✨Meet Jen Lowry! ✨

Jen began her yoga journey in 2001 after her doctor’s suggestion to ease her anxiety. Her love for yoga began after her very first class; feeling a new sense of peace and connection. In 2011, she wanted to deepen her understanding of the practice and took her first in-depth 200 HR Teacher Training through Moksha Yoga Center in Chicago. 

With a heart for sharing the practice with those struggling, she furthered her education with certifications such as Y12SR with Nikki Myers; an adjunct to 12 step programs and Yoga for First Responders, YFFR in Bloomfield, CO.

She completed her 300 HR and Yoga Therapy certifications through Purusha Yoga in San Francisco. During her Yoga Therapy certification she studied; Yoga for the aging, grief and death, yoga philosophy, holistic anatomy, somatic therapy, advanced meditation, Pilates and Thai yoga bodywork. 

It was through Purusha she developed her Moving Mindfully with Grief program and unique bodywork offering.

Jen truly believes in a holistic approach to wellbeing and that through self study, movement and breath you can uncover and release dis-ease. 

Jen enjoys leading a well rounded Hatha/Vinyasa style class as well as working 1:1 with clients based on their individual needs. 

In her free time, she enjoys connecting with nature through travel and hiking and listening to live music. She has also been a licensed cosmetologist for 33 years, with a genuine passion for helping others look and feel their best.

🧘🏽 Meet Jen on your mat, Thursdays at 6pm for Hatha Vinyasa flow. Or private message her for Bodywork consults! 🧘🏽

08/06/2025

Wherever you are, open your heart. 💪🏻♥️

07/23/2025

Come practice in this beautiful space! There’s something for everyBODY. I teach here 6pm on Thursdays.

07/04/2025

Here is a Metta mediation to start your 4th of July weekend.

Sit in a quiet comfortable place. Take a few deep belly breaths and exhale through an open mouth, then allow yourself to just breathe normally. Softening the muscles in the shoulders, belly, hips, arms and legs.

Metta is first practiced toward oneself, since we often have difficulty loving others without first loving ourselves. Sitting quietly, mentally repeat, slowly and steadily, the following or similar phrases:

May I be happy. May I be well. May I be safe. May I be peaceful and at ease.

After a period of directing loving-kindness toward yourself, bring to mind a friend or someone in your life who has deeply cared for you. Then slowly repeat phrases of loving-kindness toward them:

May you be happy. May you be well. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease.

Repeat this bringing to mind someone neutral in your life and then again for someone who is difficult to get along with or understand

Finally sending this Metta towards all those suffering in this world.

May you be happy. May you be well. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease.🙏🏻🕊️♥️