Jen Mullholand, CYT

Jen discovered yoga when she moved to Chicago in 1998 after receiving her BA in Economics from the University of Michigan. During her four years of cube dwelling, Jen found yoga provided an escape from the insanity of office life.

Jen's love for yoga deepened when she moved to Champaign, Illinois, in 2002 to pursue a Masters in Journalism. It was in Champaign that she met Deb Lister at the Living Yoga Center. Deb's free-spirited flow inspired Jen and helped her to discover her true calling - teaching yoga.

Jen moved back to Chicago in August 2003, where she began teaching Vinyasa Flow. She completed trainings with Shiva Rea and Duncan Wong in 2004. In 2005, she completed her 200-hour Yoga Alliance certification through Moksha Yoga Center under the training of Daren Frisen.

After completing the Moksha teacher training, Jen has been blessed to further her yoga education with master teachers Tias Little, Aadil Palkhivala and Gary Kraftsow. But her world profoundly changed the minute she walked into the Yoga Circle and met Gabriel Halpern in the fall of 2006.  That moment, Jen knew she had found in Gabriel the teacher who would help her grow as not only a teacher, but also as a human being. From that moment on, Jen devoted herself to studying Iyengar Yoga and yoga therapy under the guidance of Gabriel.

While apprenticing with Gabriel, Jen has expanded her knowledge of working with injury, chronic pain and disease in a yogic way. She has applied this knowledge in her group classes as well as in working with private clients. She believes that yoga has the power not only to heal the body, but also the mind and spirit, leading to a total transformative healing experience. 

Jen's classes are an eclectic, challenging and fun mix of Vinyasa, Hatha and Iyengar, with a emphasis on safety. First and foremost, Jen encourages her students to listen to their bodies and find the practice that is right for them, in the present moment, rather than indulging  the ego or striving for the best pose.

Jen challenges her students to find the right amount of sukha (ease) and sthira (effort), to find their boundaries, not only on the mat, but also off. She strives to provide students with a practice in which they can explore and cultivate a deeper connection to themselves through asana, pranayama and meditation.

Jen believes that the most authentic practice comes not from simply the practice of asana but from the connection to the heart. The yoga she practices is not just what you see on the mat, but what you take out into the world and share with those surrounding you.