Jan 19, 2021
Practicing yoga can be a stretch for beginners. But while it can put you in a challenging position, did you know that practicing partner yoga as a couple can powerfully impact your relationship? Jenne Sluder is a mental health professional and certified yoga therapist specializing in mind-body approaches to improving mental and physical wellbeing. According to Jenne, yoga is a practice of healing oneself and others. When practiced as a couple, partner yoga can give individuals in relationships an opportunity to deeply connect in a non-verbal way. Couple’s don’t have to worry about flexibility either. Jenne stresses that partner yoga doesn’t have to only be about complicated poses; it can be as simple yet powerful as breathing together and looking into each others’ eyes.
In this episode, Jenne and I discuss how couples can bring yoga and mind-body practices into their lives and enhance their relationships. We describe the interactive quality of partner yoga and illustrate what makes it different from other practices of yoga. We highlight the role of self-kindness in mind-body practices and partner yoga. We also explore how couple’s yoga can create a space for emotional safety and cultivate the language of intimacy and compassion in a relationship.
“Yoga is a vehicle for intimacy and relationship with your body, with each other, and with the natural world.” - Jenne Sluder
This week on Relationships! Let’s Talk About It:
- Jenne’s background and how long she has been practicing and teaching yoga therapy
- What makes partner yoga unique and interactive for couples
- Metaphorically and literally leaning on each other and how practicing couple’s yoga can foster relationship trust
- Why Jenne encourages verbal exchange in partner yoga
- Learning the value of consent and getting to know your partner’s body through couple’s yoga
- How the partner yoga practice can be a safe environment for people to talk about their needs and wants
- Exploring communication and safety through the practice of breathing with your partner
- Reconnecting with your partner after conflict through yoga
- Utilizing mind-body practices to create an energy of care and support in the relationship
- How partner yoga and listening to your partner’s body can decrease tension in the relationship
- Coaching couples through the challenges of partner yoga
- How partner yoga can heal a relationship after infidelity and betrayal
- What yoga can teach us about consent
- The role of laughter and joy in partner yoga classes
- The practice of “being with” and the relationship between partner yoga and the power of eye contact
- How yoga practices can bring more compassion for physically-challenged partners
- Jenne’s experience with COVID-19 and how partner yoga helped her and her partner navigate the illness
Connect with Jenne Sluder:
Let’s Talk About It!
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Theme music “These Streets” provided by Adi the Monk