Janet Lavin

Janet came to Om Sweet Om in June of 2007. She had read the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert for her book club and knew that she had to give yoga a try. She had always been curious about it, tried it over the years but it never stuck. She could never get past the idea that she wasn’t good at it. So when Janet decided to try again, she showed up at Om Sweet Om and did the new student special. She came every day. She soon began to realize that no one was looking at her, and it didn’t matter how she looked or how well she did it, but how she felt when she did it. Over the last few years Janet had several injuries (not from yoga), a separated shoulder and a broken foot, she couldn’t do much, but when she could, she got back on her yoga mat. She took more gentle classes and meditation. Janet has always had trouble turning off the mind chatter, until now. The meditation helped with her yoga practice. She now feels they are intertwined, and she feels more in control of her body.

Because of Janet’s dedication to her practice she feels stronger and more appreciative of her body. She loves the spiritual connection that she has found through her practice as well. She loves that every class is different and that depending on the teacher she can choose what she wants to do each time she comes.

Janet feels that yoga helped her to get to a place in her life where she is ready to let more in. It helped her flush out old assumptions about her self and to work on herself. Yoga has helped Janet become more responsive and less reactive. Now Janet wants to take what she has learned off her mat, and make a difference in the world, she wants to give of herself, and now she can!

One of Janet’s daughters is taking yoga at Om Sweet Om and she feels it has done so much for her too. She hopes her other daughter will follow soon too, as she wants them to see how much it can help you in life. How it can change your perspective on life.

Janet loves the community aspect of Om Sweet Om. She feels that you are accepted for who you are. When she was hurt the teachers helped her to adapt her poses, which she feels helped her to heal quicker, it was physical therapy for her. It is so powerful, and she feels so lucky to have this. When we had the Yoga Challenge in March Janet loved showing up for the stickers! She felt they were a great reinforcement to get her to show up. She is now showing up for herself, not just the reward. Another side effect of yoga is that at Janet’s last visit to the doctor, she grew ½ inch! She was thrilled to see that while many people are starting to shrink, she is getting taller!

To finish up, this is a quote from a letter that Janet sent into the Oprah Winfrey show, which sums up her feelings about Om Sweet Om…
“I see now that even the imperfect me is better off when I make a daily visit to my home away from home, my local yoga studio, aptly named “Om Sweet Om”. I am so grateful that I live in a town with such a place.”