Certified Yoga Therapist / Trauma Informed and Adaptive Yoga Specialist

Hello! My name is Jessica von Schlichten, and I have been the owner of Mystic Lotus Yoga in Cabbagetown since 2013 and possibly your neighbor since 2006. If we haven’t met, allow me to tell you a little about my work. 

As a yoga therapist, I do not teach poses; I teach people. My classes include a variety of somatic movements that focus on your internal physical experience, rather than how the movement looks on the outside. I also break poses down to make them accessible at whatever level is appropriate while maintaining the essence of the pose. These nuances in a practice can open the doors to a whole new way of being present in the world. 

My primary goal is to first regulate the nervous system. Our nervous system needs to be able to glide smoothly between work and rest. There is a very important principle in yoga called sthira sukham asanam, which points to the balance of effort and ease in our poses. It helps us navigate the space between extremes: flexibility and rigidity, striving and letting go. Much like the world around us, these experiences exist on a spectrum and are constantly in flux.

Through practice, we develop greater awareness of balance, boundaries, rhythm, and space as points of possible connection. We then learn how to explore those connections.

Above all, it is a practice that begins and ends with the breath. Each breath offers an opportunity to return to the present moment and engage more fully with life. Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by how much life is in each breath.

~ Jessica