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Steph and Jen met in the Spring of 2017 at their home studio The Nest Yoga & Fitness in Harrisonburg Virginia, where they were attending one of their first Yoga Teacher Training classes. Classically too friendly and funny for everyone else, they bonded through their inability to resist giggling in class, which likely explains their mediocre teaching styles and weak Sanskrit cueing. While definitely not the best Yoga teachers in town, they were masters of uninformed enabling, boisterously supporting each other's every idea and dream, until ultimately their shared addiction for creativity collapsed under the weight of an equally insufficient drive to follow through, and the best of their early visions for a healing center fizzled-out, along with their youth.
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Lucky for them, a terrible Pandemic swept the world - and them - right back into each other's arms, and pants. In 2022 they joined forces for reals this time, and brought CYANWOOD to life with a lot of luck, and just enough love to make it weird. They're best known now for incorrectly finishing each other's sentences, wearing the same cargo capris and sling-purses, and for going everywhere together, mostly because Jen has no sense of direction and Steph says "yes" when she really means "but why?"
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Their one piece of advice for entrepreneurs is "don't give up... it gets worse, but it's not worth it... seriously, financially and emotionally it's a waste of time, and your husbands will be disappointed and ashamed...but if you give up you'll miss out on what could be the funniest disaster you've ever had a hand in creating."
FRIENDS AND FOUNDERS
HOW WE HOLD SPACE AT CYANWOOD
With open hearts and a lot of laughter, we bring it all to our work at CYANWOOD. From a calling to create a space for natural living, we strive each day to hold the line we've carved out in the sand and uphold our most cherished ideals. We're not perfect, but we've already sunk everything into this so there's really no way to get out of it now. Here's what we promise we're committed to, even if it doesn't always match our actions, thoughts, words or pants.
Personal-Energetic & Environmental Sustainability
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Personal-Energetic Sustainability is what we call our commitment to work-life balance, and is reflected in our bi-annual sabbaticals in deep winter, when we need restoration, and in high summer, when our gardens need us the most. Our commitment to Environmental Sustainability is reflected most notably in our elevation of bioregional, no-spray and organic foods and herbs; our minimalist and “green” design sensibilities; and our Natural Lifestyle Design services.
Transparency &
Integrity
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We approach business as a secondary function of our desire to pioneer a truly nourishing space for the betterment of our community. We depart from traditional business practices in our transparent financial discussions and our steadfast upholding of our founding goals to prove there’s a better way to do business. Our clients and colleagues can rely on us to hold the lines we’ve drawn, setting higher standards for healing and holistic wellness.
Equitably Supportive
Community
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We believe this world belongs to everyone, and we refuse to operate in a spirit of competition; without regard to social inequities; as spiritual authorities; with a blind eye to cultural appropriation; or as participating members of cancel culture. We commit to listening to others, supporting and uplifting our colleagues, creating access to our services, promoting self-empowerment, not selling what isn’t ours; and actively using inclusive language, while avoiding “othering”
ABOUT JEN - AKA,THE LAST MELON
JEN
CoFounder
Therapeutic & Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor 200E-RYT, 500RYT, YACEP
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Jen is a wild woman at heart, but mouthier than your typical naturalist. Despite her intensity, she's a pretty gentle Yoga teacher and reasonable herbalist, with fewer expectations than you'd guess of a greying redhead. She enjoys guiding clients toward self-empowerment by sharing the same techniques that help her transcend her own traumas and self-limiting stories:
Values Work
Mindful Movement
Breathwork
Sense Withdrawal
Meditation
Natural Space Making
Bioregional Foods and Herbal Medicines
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JEN'S THERAPEUTIC YOGA & MINDFULNESS BACKGROUND
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- 300 RYT Therapeutic Essentials with Nya Patrinos
- 200 RYT Kunga Yoga, Kristin Cooper-Gulak, Nicole Fitzwater and Noelle Whittington
- 100 Yoga Teacher Training Hours from Yogafit - Levels 1-3, Yogafit for Warriors, Yoga Anatomy
- Decolonizing Yoga and Deconstructing Racism with Nya Patrinos and Frankye Riley
- Yoga Nidra with Nya Patrinos
- Yin-Yoga, Marla Cantor
- Mindful Educators coursework
- Pilates Mat 1, Balanced Body
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Want to know more about Jen's Herbal Education and Work? Read her annoying second bio at theblackberryherbarium.com/the-experience
