Fiona Jalinoos

Fiona Jalinoos
Foundations Program Graduate
Advanced Program Graduate
C-IAYT Yoga Therapist
Location: Larchmont, New York
Website: www.fionajalinoosyoga.com
Yoga Therapy Case Study: Menopause Symptoms

The Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program has shifted my perspective on how yoga can be used for different purposes for different people.

I applied to Breathing Deeply during the pandemic. I was looking for something positive to do during that time. I had been teaching privately and had always had an interest in Yoga Therapy and the program seemed to be the ideal answer. I chose it over other programs as it was wholly online and very flexible being a mix of self-paced and synchronous learning.

Through the Breathing Deeply teachings and philosophy, I have learned to ground myself properly by balancing my Vata! A huge amount has changed for me since I started the program. Grounding and balancing myself led me further into practice. Prior to the course my practice was solely a physical (Asana) practice with some breathing (Pranayama). Since joining the school I’ve developed a much deeper interest in meditation.

This approach has allowed me to help support clients better. It’s given me a clear framework to work within with practices for different issues clients are facing. It has informed my teaching for both physical safety and with mental health and trauma sensitive practices becoming integral.

It’s been the shift in my own practice that has been the most valuable part of the program. That has been transformative personally which has made me a more confident and grounded person in my life in general and a more sensitive teacher. I don’t know what I expected from the course…but I hoped I would get an understanding of the therapeutic aspects of yoga with good teaching and a supportive group of people to work with. On those fronts the course exceeded my expectations completely! The teaching, materials and support systems are great. I have made life long friends from all over the US too which was a completely unexpected bonus!

For anyone considering joining our school, the course is great if you want a flexible and accessible way to study Yoga Therapy. It is a lot of work though! It’s important to keep expectations realistic about the amount of time it might take to work through it all properly.

I taught privately beforehand, so for me, the career change process has been a case of transitioning from straightforward yoga teaching to a more therapeutic role with clients.

I’m currently working on Yoga Therapy for Menopause with individuals and a small group of women. It’s been very interesting to look at all of the different challenges and symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and how Yoga Therapy can help support women through this transition. It’s a great example of how every individual can use different practices that work for them and that may be completely different to their fellow students!