“Jenifer helped me access muscles I never knew existed, to connect again with my body, hold positions without force, and thereby heal.”

My goal is to share yoga in a welcoming and accessible way

My name is Jenifer Cartland, 500-RYT, Level I yoga therapist. I have practiced yoga for about fifteen years and have studied with gifted teachers from a wide range of approaches to yoga, from what can often be thought of a the ‘strict’ Iyengar tradition all the way to the ‘any thing goes’ Freedom-Style Yoga taught by the astonishing Erich Schiffman. Angela Farmer is one of my current teachers and guides.

My yoga teacher and therapy training is from YogaNorth, The International SomaYoga Institute in Duluth, MN, under the guidance of Ann Maxwell and Molly McManus. Inspired by Thomas Hanna’s approach to somatics, SomaYoga enables practitioners to restore and build functionality and strength. SomaYoga safely allows every student to increase function and re-educate their muscles in all the ways that are important them.

I am also a board member of YogaCare, a non-profit in Chicago that catalyzes the spread of yoga in low-income communities. In addition to teaching in Stevensville, I teach at the Benton Harbor Boys and Girls Club Teen Center and at Dancing Feet Yoga in New Buffalo.

My approach to yoga

To quote one of my many excellent teachers, ‘If the yoga you practice is not right for you, it is not yoga.’

I specialize in helping students find a path that suits them – whether it is a calming and settling practice for the mind or a healing practice for a long misunderstood injury. I work with students to find awareness in their bodies through breath, movement and meditation.

About me

Yoga teaching/therapy is my second career. In Spring of 2022, I retired from my first career as a researcher studying children’s health and well-being. Over the years, my work took me to rural, suburban and urban areas to help build high quality services for children and adolescents with mental health needs, complex medical conditions, and/or disabilities.

My husband and I recently moved to Stevensville from Chicago, where we both grew up and where we raised our two boys together. We are excited to be here and to enjoy the wonders of southwest Michigan.