My Story
Hi, I’m Denyse.
At 16, I discovered Yoga based on a recommendation from my Mom. She was deeply concerned by the level of stress and anxiety, I experienced in anticipation of standardized testing. The gentle Hatha based practices and guided meditations calmed my mind and spirit. The movements made my awkward adolescence feel graceful. These early lessons were imprinted and eased my transition from teen years into adulthood.
As I embarked on a rewarding, but sometimes stressful, almost four-decade global business career, Yoga retreats at Kripalu in PA and MA brought me back to balance. In my 50s, after a diagnosis of Type II Diabetes and while in recovery from a difficult foot surgery, I decided I was too young to feel so old. The corporate job I loved was going through yet another reorganization. To deal with pending health and life changes, I enrolled in a two year long, weekend Advanced Yoga study program. This seemingly casual interest in Yoga led to many more years of in-depth study, healing and focus. My health and balance improved. I also rediscovered a childhood passion for writing and started a blog.
In 2017, my husband had major heart surgery and spent almost two months in the hospital. My yoga training was put to good use as my husband began the long road back to improved health. We consciously made healthier lifestyle choices. In 2018, I completed additional certification at the University of Virginia as a Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Coach. This program complemented my previous yoga training. During this period, my yoga teaching changed from traditional yoga studio classes to restorative and gentle yoga classes more suited to a senior population and/or those coping with lifestyle maladies.
Through living life and studying yoga more deeply, I learned first hand that with gentle practice, you can reclaim the joy of movement and renewed calm through restorative, stress-relieving yoga sessions. You are never too old to start!
“To be calm, to be serene! There is the calmness of the lake when there is not a breath of wind. . . . So it is with us. Sometimes we are clarified and calmed healthily, as we never were before in our lives, … so that we become like a still lake of purest crystal and without an effort our depths are revealed to ourselves.”
~Henry David Thoreau
Teachers Who Have Influenced My Work
Lavender Om Wellness is dedicated to my earliest teachers, Mary and Harry Le Fever, my Mom and Dad, who introduced me to Yoga and returned me to Yoga and my husband who I sometimes call my little Buddha for the wisdom he uniquely imparts daily.
I have been blessed with many gifted teachers from various traditions who have guided me. While I’m grateful to them all, they are too numerous to name here. Those teachers who continue to influence my current work include:
Carol Krucoff and Kimblery Carlson in their Therapeutic Yoga For Seniors programs taught me yoga practices are accessible to all at any age or health condition.
Nischala Joy Devi, whose translation of the yoga sutras made yoga philosophy relatable and showed me yoga’s power to ease those with chronic conditions.
Sherry Zak Morris, introduced me to a lively form of chair yoga dance and chair yoga that brought joy to many of my perennial students!
Kamini Desai and John Vosler’s teaching in I AM™ Yoga Nidra showed me how guided meditation and breath awareness can ease those who need it most.
Anne Pitman through her course A Year to Breathe, helped me to understand grief and loss and see it as part of life.
Ami Sarasvati who introduced me to the power of the Phenomenal Breath through her Native American Ceremonial Flute Lessons.
My Credentials
I have completed over 2000 hours in yoga teacher training programs, including basic hatha 200-hour and 500-hour yoga teacher training and an 800-hour yoga therapy certification. The following are specialty certifications:
Relax and Renew Restorative Yoga Teacher
Therapeutic Yoga For Seniors completed the certification program and continuing education professional seminars at Duke University Integrative Medicine
Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Coach Certification – the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Prevention and Education
iRest® Certified Yoga Nidra Meditation Teacher
I AM™ Advanced Yoga Nidra Teacher
Here’s a recent video interview about how I’m currently using Yoga Therapy in the World
