If you’re looking to align your chakras or channel your inner yogi, look no further than our next Campus Celebrity, Jessie Schaffer. (PSA: She’s super uncomfortable with the title “Campus Celebrity” but sucks to suck for her because she’s actually superwoman, so she more than deserves the title.) Here’s what I found out about her experience as a gym rat turned yoga frequenter turned yoga INSTRUCTOR in our (insistently super casual and not interview-like at all) chat.
Her Campus: When did you first start getting into yoga?
Jessie Schaffer: In high school I did it every once in a while, but I was definitely more of a gym rat. When I came to UMich I was walking down the street with my roommate of last year, and she picked up a flyer for 8 free yoga classes at this cute studio underneath the basement of some random building (unknowingly that random building was aUM, which was just starting out at the time.) So, we decided to try the classes, and when I took a class from Jessie (the owner of aUM) it was basically love at first sight. I started going every week and by second semester I was going every day- twice a day.
HC: (Insert emoji face with heart eyes here.) So basically, you and aUM were two star-crossed lovers who totally met by fate (in flyer form) and fell passionately in love. How did you transition from hard-core yogi status to deciding you’d want to pursue teaching?
JS: Jessie and I were just talking about it, and I was saying I live here I might as well work here. She said she would totally hire me, but I knew I needed to get certified first, so that’s what led me to New Hampshire, where I lived on Bethel Farm, for 24 days to get my instructor certification.
HC: Literally having straight up visions of a commune. Was that what it was like? Take me through a typical day of your instructor training.
JS: It was pretty much a commune. Everyday we woke up at 5:30 a.m., we had meditation at 6, 6:30-8 was an hour and a half of a yoga practice, and at 8:30 we were in class until 10 learning about the practice of yoga. Finally once 10 rolled around we ate breakfast, but by 11:30 we were back in class for another couple of hours doing more learning with a short lunch break. At 2:30 we did this thing called Seva, where we basically weeded in the fields of the farm and just helped out around where we were living for an hour or so. After Seva, we had more class where we learned about the different postures, how to modify poses and what energy lines connected to which positions. At 7 we had Sat Sun, which is where we would all come together and sing different Sanskrit songs. I kind of felt like I was in a bible group, but it was definitely one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had.
HC: So, basically you’re one of the coolest people we’ve ever met. When can we take classes from you?
JS: I teach at aUM (the cute little studio underneath the building next to Panera.) You can take class from me on Wednesdays at 2, Fridays at 5, and if there’s no football game I teach on Saturdays at 12. You can also come to a free class at Athleta on Saturday October 24th! The schedule is a little funky this month, but you can always look online at http://www.aumyogaannarbor.com for the complete list of times and days for when I’m teaching and when the other instructors are teaching.
HC: Yay! We’ll definitely be there. Okay, last part of our super casual non-interview. What’s the best advice you’ve gotten through this entire yoga journey?
JS: I think presence is always a huge topic of conversation in yoga. The best advice I’ve ever received is to just fully be present. When you’re teaching a class, every single person in that room deserves your full, undivided attention, and I think that’s why yoga so often stresses the importance of disconnecting and just really allowing yourself to live in that moment. If you’re on your phone or you’re thinking about something else while you’re teaching or even practicing yoga, you’re not really all there. If I’m not mentally in the space then I’m not fully present, and I’m not able to give it my all in my practice or when I’m teaching.
HC: Your presence truly is a present. Thanks for talking to us!
JS: Anytime.