Genevieve Gerou

Genevieve Gerou
Foundations Program Graduate
Yoga Teacher, Yoga Therapist
Location: Kenosha, WI

So much has changed for me since beginning the Breathing Deeply Foundations Program. The first changes occurred in my studio classes, where I stopped asking people to overextend their bodies. We can accomplish more by doing less. In my own health, I learned to be gentle with myself. Yoga Nidra can fix almost everything going on in my mind. But the biggest thing I have changed is in listening to my clients. In their tone, their manners, statements, and how they move their bodies. They tell you what they need.

When I applied to Breathing Deeply, I had just finished my first year of instructing yoga and had some students who needed more physically and emotionally. I was called to find a way to give them more. Before my yoga career, I was a stay-at-home mom and caregiver to my grandparents. I chose Breathing Deeply because of its accessibility. I had applied to a few schools and was accepted to all of them. But, after the personal phone conversation with Anna I knew this was the program for me.

I am a reader, and I read the reading list, book suggestions during video sessions, and other books that came up along the way. Even though I have severe dyslexia, a learning disability, “I read them all.” My favorite books were Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, Life after Loss by Vamik D. Volkan and Elizabeth Zintl, and Peaceful Weight Loss Through Yoga Therapy by Brandt Passalcqua.

The program’s most useful/valuable part was learning that I don’t have to rush through everything in life. Sometimes, a better understanding comes when you linger for those few extra moments. What I expected was to whip through this program in less than a year and a half. I’m so glad I didn’t. It gave me time to get to know my instructors better, learn about the material, and learn how to apply it. Sometimes, I worry about knowing every muscle, but what I learned about interacting with my clients over this last year was more valuable than finishing in record time.

I would tell a potential Breathing Deeply student that yoga therapy is a toolbox that helps you unlock your clients’ true potential at their own pace. There are no quick fixes or magical yoga poses, but you can lead someone to find what works for them.

Now, as a yoga therapist, I meet with clients, and we use different yoga disciplines to address each person’s personal issues. My clients are slowing down their minds, finding time to breathe, and having a more positive perspective on how to deal with life. The majority of them have less frustration with their everyday experience and have begun to find ways to improve their lives without prompts.

One client I have is an 85-year-old with osteopenia, and after working with her for a year and a half, her symptoms have reversed. Her numbers are at a normal level!

Now, I am excited to matriculate into the Advanced Program!