Jai has been practicing yoga since 1999 and teaching daily classes since 2018, both public and private. He is a registered ERYT500 teacher with additional certificates in YIN yoga, Pranayama and Yoga Nidra. Jai is a pragmatic teacher, your development and wellbeing are his top priority. That said, a typical class with Japheth is a practice that is focused on:
- Gaining or regaining flexibility and range of motion to achieve more freedom in the body, building strength and balance to enhance physical confidence and competence through the safe and mindful practice of classic and modern asana
- Pranayama, breath control and breath-based movement to regulate the nervous system and bring present moment awareness.
- Mental discipline by practicing finding moments of equanimity while the body is under stress. If you can keep your mind serine and your face relaxed while in a challenging asana, you can do the same in the board room, with family situations, and if you really apply yourself, maybe even while on the phone with the cable company. Performing a complex or challenging pose is a great achievement and lots of fun, the real value of Yoga though as Jai sees it, is how you carry the practice into the world with you and how it impacts the freedom and enjoyment of your daily life.
On a personal note, Jai is a lover of all animals tame or wild. He is a dog daddy to three big dogs and a cat daddy to two feline furballs not to mention the countless neighborhood dogs that come running for hugs and kisses. Nature and gardening rate close to his love of yoga and critters, so much so that he turned his urban backyard in the pacific northwest into a densely planted ‘Food Forest’. He is having a lot of fun learning how to garden in the tropical environment of his new home in Puerto Vallarta, he has already grown bananas, papayas, starfruit, and Mangos on the property! Jai is a self-proclaimed introvert, recharging when alone and depleting in social situations, but under the right circumstances, when impassioned, you can hardly shut him up!