Michele Lawrence  0:01  
You're listening to this is yoga therapy. I'm your host, Michele Lawrence. And I've had the opportunity to interview many of those who are making a difference at the intersections of yoga and health. And I'm here to share with you their stories and conversations. Thanks for listening. In today's episode, I interviewed Stephanie San German. Stephanie is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist and training and senior specific fitness trainer. Stephanie helps seniors age gracefully with greater mobility through one on one and group functional fitness training sessions in which she incorporates yoga techniques. Having lived through a car accident that left her bedridden for some time, Stephanie personally discovered the impact that mobility has on one's quality of life. In addition to this, Stephanie also leads bilingual yoga classes, as well as conducts energy healing and intuitive career coaching sessions. Stephanie is also a small business consultant, who helped over 100 businesses navigate and pivot during the pandemic over the last year. It's such a pleasure to have you on the podcast today, Stephanie. 

Stephanie San German
Thank you. It's great to be here. 

Michele Lawrence
So let's start our conversation having you share about yourself and your near death experience that changed your life, if you will tell us what happened in that experience, and what changed in you as a result?

Stephanie San German  1:33  
Yes, so this was in my late 20s. I was a researcher at that time working in the remote forests of Mexico. And I had a series of gastrointestinal issues. But then I had a car accident, that was really the pivotal factor in my life at that time. before the accident, I was very active. I was doing high Alpine mountaineering and martial arts. And after the accident, I was left bedridden, and then a neck brace. Wow. So that brought me back to the US. And obviously completely altered my life, I was very much humbled, I got very connected to the importance of mobility and being independence. And really, acceptance just became a huge, very important, obviously, I resisted my condition, I would say for the first month or so, as time went on, I began reading inspirational books, spiritual texts, and I started to practice yoga, I would say that definitely I had dabbled in yoga before, but it became a regular part of my life at that time. And then I began swimming, I started really creating a sad enough for myself before I even really knew what that was. It was a year long process of recovery. And I actually found immense peace during that time. But it did lead me to a career change. So at that point, I left academia and I wanted to be more involved in something that would serve the public directly. So I switched gears and started working more in fields that offered a direct impact to the community. And I would also say it was a time of spiritual awakening, intense spiritual awakening for me, I really needed to look at the meaning of life in a whole new way, the way that I valued myself the way I understood my contribution in the world, my purpose in the world. So I had to connect to something deeper, I would say, so my practice became a huge part of that the philosophy and the readings. Were my lifeline, really. So that was a big change. 

Michele Lawrence  3:54  
And would you say that you have any lingering mobility issues or pain issues from that time? Or would you say you're fully back to full mobility and full function? 

Stephanie San German   4:06  
Yeah will say I still have some residual neck pain, back pain. I know I have TMJ now. So I tend to clench my jaw. I don't know if that started before that took place, or if that was the beginning of the clenching. But that led to a series of aches and pains for a while, let's say it's actually through inner peace and what I've learned in my program, so I'm currently a student at the inner peace yoga therapy program. And there were some tools that were really helpful in there that have actually helped me immensely with my TMJ. So there's still some lingering aches and pains, but it's not necessarily impacting my lifestyle anymore.

Michele Lawrence  4:48  
Well, that's fantastic. And it's been sort of a catalyst for you to do this work to help others right. So let's dive into that a bit more. Maybe. Let's start With the bilingual yoga and wellness offerings that you provide, what does this look like? And how did this work come about? I know that you're bilingual and that you've got a variety of different backgrounds and experiences and talents. So let's talk about that part of your work right now. Yeah,

Stephanie San German  5:17  
I grew up in South Florida in Miami. So I'm very comfortable in both English and Spanish. And I feel most self expressed when I can kind of flow between both languages. I actually feel restricted when I have to speak one or the other fully because I grew up speaking Spanglish. So my first yoga training that I did my 200 hour course, was in Miami, there's a story behind how I ended up back there for that. But anyways, I did it in Miami. And that particular program also had a yoga therapy school as well. And so I was exposed to all of the trainings that the yoga therapists and training were doing. But they also had a lot of partnerships within the community that I got to then participate in either as an assistant teacher or as a co teacher, depending on the kind of class that it was. And so I got to assist in the easterseals class for people with Alzheimer's and dementia. And that class was given in English, but we actually were interpreters. So we would help interpret into Spanish, the cues and we would also help people with the movements. Most of the classes I assisted in or co taught in Miami were in English and Spanish. Rarely Was there one just strictly in English. I also then participated in a Parkinson's class, in a hospital setting or on the clinics on site at the school, I was able to co teach at an outpatient mental health facility for men. After that 200 hour training, I moved back to Colorado, I continued with my training here through inner peace. But one of the first places I started to teach was at an English as a Second Language School in the city that I was living in called intercambio. And so most of their students were Spanish speakers learning English. And so they had had a yoga program previously, but it never really took the director of the school really loved the idea of it. But for whatever reason, it never got traction. But she was willing to try it again, because she personally loved it. And so we gave it a go. And we were able to be consistent in our attendance and with the program for over a year. And you know, at first it was English, I would teach in English and in Spanish. And the idea was to have the students be able to practice their English and learn the body parts and have a relationship with this language, but through movement, so in a way that wasn't as formal. Yeah. And so what ended up happening was, it was so great. So at first, it was mostly that demographic of students of Spanish speakers learning English, but then they started to bring their friends from class. And so we started to have you had a woman from Afghanistan, we had a woman from Vietnam, and it's, and no one seemed to mind that it was a bilingual English Spanish class. But it then I would say it turned more into, it was still an English class. But the dynamic just shifted a little bit once we had a diverse range of immigrants then participating. So with COVID, they stopped the in person classes. And so we took a break from that. And so now that's being revisited.

Michele Lawrence  8:40  
Yeah, so many things, stopped for COVID and are coming back online and perhaps in different ways. But I love how, like you're learning a new language through your body. And I got to believe that they've got to believe that there's a deepening of the understanding in that way. Is there research on that? Or do you know much about what I'm referring to?

Stephanie San German  9:03  
I do, I mean, I can just say, at least from the feedback of the students, especially when you're talking about the Shavasana, if you're guiding people through meditations, when you are able to hear that in your first language, it allows you to connect to what's being said, without having to do the work of the translation. So it can allow you to then go deeper into what you're able to access in your body and in your memories, oftentimes, because when you're hearing it in a second language, you're doing the work first of understanding what's being said, and then taking that in and internalizing it or reflecting upon it. So what we found was that when they would have the reinforcement of their own language that allowed them to have a more, they said, like a deeper experience. A lot of the students also were not comfortable going to a regular yoga studio, they would see the population going into the studio and didn't necessarily see themselves in that either because of just color of skin or body type, and then also the language barrier, it became actually a kind of a community. So that was really beautiful to see as well. Yeah, definitely.

Michele Lawrence  10:17  
I love it. I hope it comes back to life at some point, right? Whether it's you or somebody else spearheading it, yeah, yeah. I'm also aware that for a big part of 2019, and 2020, you work pretty extensively with seniors in care facilities, providing yoga therapy, or you might call it functional therapy, or fitness all kind of wrapped up together in one, and working with individuals with Alzheimer's, as well as those with mobility issues. And as I understand it, you continued this work even as COVID was peaking. And that just kind of blows me away, because there was probably so many challenges with that in those facilities in particular. So I'd love to hear from you if you could share with our listeners, what that look like, specifically some of the joys and challenges you encountered and how you adapted during COVID. And how you help patients recover even after they contracted COVID?

Stephanie San German  11:15  
Sure, yeah. And I'll just share, I mean, one of the joys is even just how I started, this all started, because I helped my grand Anse a color my idea, she was 92. This was about four years ago, I helped her transition from her home into an assisted living facility. I was visiting her weekly, and the director learned of what I was studying and that I had this yogic background and asked me to teach there. And so I had connection to seniors with these community classes that I had mentioned earlier. And it was just especially a joy when I got to then serve my idea, like her community. I left Florida, and it was hard for me to leave. They're just my life was really in Colorado at the time, like I got her set up. And I came here. And when I got to Colorado, I felt really fortunate It was almost a continuation of my relationship with my Tia was a way to maybe still feel connected to her and just she's been a very important person in my life. So I started working with seniors here, I was hired by accompany, it was actually an OT, an occupational therapist, and a personal trainer that ran the company. And I asked them, when they hired me if I could do yoga and yoga use like therapeutic yoga techniques with the clients. They had no idea what that was. We had a conversation about it, and they loved it. And they're like, this is great, I started to work with the clients. And so that's why I say functional exercise with yoga therapy, like yo therapeutic yoga, woven in, because there were some requirements of what I had to do. That company closed once later. And then they gave the company over to me and some other trainers. And that's really where it came from, wow, all of the clients stayed on. And then they're just continued to be referrals. That's where the company came from during COVID is heartbreaking. I'll just say I mean, a large percentage of my clients died. I mean, I do work with an older population. So I mean, the majority are 65 Plus, and I would say many in their late 80s 90s. So it's an end of life kind of service that I'm providing. I mean, I am working with people that are in that stage of life. But the rate of death was so high during COVID. Because these are people that already had comorbidities, they already had multiple challenges. You know, you mentioned my initial client base was pretty much solely Alzheimer's and dementia. So these are people in memory care. And then during COVID, the thing that many of them live for are their visits, either with their family, friends, or even just the people that provide activities with them. Some don't have family, some maybe have social workers, but they have caregivers, caregivers were still allowed in part of COVID. But not at all. It's dependent on the facility to but just the decrease in visits and that personal contact, it impacted them greatly. So at first, I didn't offer sessions initially because there was a period of time where everything was just closed to all non essential staff. But then I started getting contacted by the families asking me to go in, they couldn't see their family members, but they really saw the role that my company played and I played as kind of their lifeline to their family. So I began sending pictures. I was almost like a messenger between the staff and the member, their loved one. The staffs amazing but there was also so much turnover During that time, but due to quarantine and children were at home. So families just had a lot of different responsibilities that impacted staffing. So even, you know, key staff that would normally maybe be there to support also weren't necessarily able to serve in the same way or be present in the same way. So there was that piece, I would say what I did became extremely important at that time I chose to go back at first I really had to look at Ahimsa. And like, Is it more of a risk for me to potentially infect somebody carry something that might be harmful? Or is it more of a harm for them to be in isolation. And so in order to address that, there was a lot of protocols, obviously, that were put in place, I had to also limit where I worked. So before I worked in five facilities, and during COVID, I only worked in one to just limit exposure, I would get COVID, tested weekly, you know, full protective equipment. So goggles and 95, grade mask, robe, booties, gloves, that became another obstacle because when you were working with people that have Alzheimer's and dementia, they remember the experience of you up to some level. But now I came in looking like I was going to do brain surgery. So yeah, in a disguise, right, in a disguise.

Stephanie San German  16:21  
I looked like an astronaut, beginning of a lot of the sessions was just calming the nervous system and reacquainting myself with them. And then I would say in terms of the clients themselves, obviously a decrease in mobility, they were in and out of quarantine for months. So they weren't even leaving their rooms when they were in quarantine. So not only did they not have visitors, they weren't even seeing other residents. And then you had people that got COVID. So at that time with every client I had had gotten COVID, there was an outbreak at the facility I was in, I think all of them were on oxygen at some point in time. So breathwork became one of the most important things. I mean, the breath is always important. But it became the key element of what I was doing with most of my clients, as many of them were recovering from COVID or COVID, pneumonia, and then just learning how to navigate the technical aspect of portable oxygen and stationary oxygen and having this tube following you around. So yeah, that just really shifted in terms of how I was working with people, I would say people's mood, there was definitely less joy and presence and less, just a willingness to engage. So it was a lot of time.

Michele Lawrence  17:33  
Wow, you hear from so many people about like how they pivoted during COVID with their business or whatever they were doing. And your story is really remarkable how you had so many decisions to make, and how you still went in there, right and made a difference for these people. And it was hard, right? And you had to learn a lot of new stuff. So thank you for that. And I know that the families that you work with, we're really grateful to thank you. Yeah, so now we're kind of in this maybe post pandemic phase, some curious, like, What are you up to now? And where do you see your work heading next?

Stephanie San German  18:14  
Yeah, so in terms of now, still actually working with seniors, many of the residents are vaccinated. And that's really opened up a lot of opportunities to come back into providing services. And I think a lot of the clients are also really wanting that connection. And it's springtime and their son, people want to be active and mobile, they want to engage. So continuing to work with seniors, but I would say now, it's maybe a bit different demographics. So I'm still in the memory cares. You know, I work in the memory cares, but also assisted living, skilled nursing, private homes, and then more independent seniors. So I would say that's maybe a little bit more of what we're seeing currently. And then as I continue in my studies as well, I mean, I'm progressing through my yoga therapy program. So right now, it's kind of, I call it more of like a fusion session, it really depends on the client, how deep I go with yoga therapy, whether it's a true yoga therapy session or not, it depends on how open they are and interested they are. But what I see is that I plan to be moving more into yoga therapy as I become a yoga therapist. And then I have a colleague that I work with that would do more traditional functional exercise sessions. And I'm really looking to just continue creating new programming. I mean, there's really a need in the facilities as well for like, all kinds of engagement. So I was speaking to a nurse the other day that was telling me about a facility that could really use some resources for people after PT like their insurance, and and then what they're not going to go to these classes on their own. And so really looking at how Be a support for this need. That's there. So that's what I see.

Michele Lawrence  20:04  
Yeah, that's wonderful. I imagine that it will be revealed to you as you continue your studies, right. And as you brought in your experience with the work that you're doing now, I just think you're amazing and have just come up with so many great opportunities for yourself to serve. And it's beautiful to know that this work that you're doing now is born out of the service that you did with your aunt and I did not know that part of your story, and I love it. So finally, I like to ask this question of each of our guests. As you might know, in our training programs at inner peace yoga therapy, we teach the students who are studying to become yoga therapists that one of the key pillars to doing the work of yoga therapist is to first have your own steady daily sadhana or spiritual practice. And this sets the foundation and comes before holding space and doing any work with others. So I'm curious, can you tell us ..Do you have a daily practice and what does it look like?

Stephanie San German  21:02  
I do have a daily practice. There's no way I would have made it through last year working during the pandemic without a daily practice. So I can relate to that. And I will say it has evolved particularly because of what I'm learning so I'm currently in a course now with Chinamasa styles, one of the instructors and mentors with interpeace. It's providing a lot of the flavor of my current practice. But I do have a Dena chatty practice it starts with so gundu she saw the oil pulling using sesame oil. So I have that in my mouth. I do it for 20 minutes, before spitting it out. I do then the tongue scraping, I use neem powder, I put it on my gums and then I let it sit for about five minutes. And I will say that has greatly reduced the inflammation in my gums. So my hygienist has said that because of my clenching, I mentioned I clench my teeth. my gums should have inflammation levels of like a six or seven and I literally have like a zero or one due to the clenching. Wow. So that's been huge for me. And then for the eyes, I know Chinamasa teaches us to start with cold water on the eyes. I use something called synesthesia. It's from another practice of mine, which is comes from the Amazonian tradition, but it's their eyedrops made from the bark of a shrub, and they burn your eyes intensely. But they take all of the grit out of my eyes, and I'm able to focus and see clearly, in the Amazon, it's usually used before going hunting at night. But for me, it's Yeah, I feel like it's really helped. My eyes feel clear and clean, especially in Colorado when the dry seasons when there's a lot of dust. So I use that for my eyes, then I do a nasiha rinse in my nose, I have chronic allergies. When I was young, I was given like nasal spray for chronic allergies. And this time of year, usually it's very hard for me, I will say with the nasiha. I have not had allergies, it's been very minimal, which has been huge. I didn't use it for about three days because I ran out and it all came back. So I know. For me it makes a difference. So I start with that. So clearing my senses, and I haven't gone through all of her teachings. So that's just as far as I am with that. I know I need to do something with my ears next, and then I will do chance. So there's a series of chants I do in the morning. There's a universal chant and prayer. Then there's a prayer of protection that I do the dunman 30 prayer for healers and practitioners, and then I will do the wave breath, the joint freeing series and then right now I am working on the palm tree flow. So it's a flow Chinamasa teaches to balance the prana the wind energy, the way that she teaches you practice something for 30 days, and then you get her approval to teach it once you show that you've really understood the teaching. So that's the one I'm working on right now. I haven't gotten approval to teach that yet. So it's my own practice and then meditation.

Michele Lawrence  24:15  
Yeah, and you're a serious student, right? And you want to be a yoga therapist, and we do these practices with ourselves first. I think that's awesome. And of course, some of the things you mentioned like palm tree vinyasa, Chinamasa teaches them and McKenna styles. her late husband is the one who put those out first, right, and she's carrying on that tradition in her own beautiful way. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Stephanie. It's been such a pleasure to speak with you today. I'm really honored to have you in our program and to see all that you're doing out there and I look forward to what's to come for you.

Stephanie San German  24:54  
Thank you. It was really great to be here. I've really enjoyed this time with you. And the I can be of support in any other way. Let me know.

Unknown Speaker  25:02  
Awesome, thank you and for our listeners if you'd like to learn more about Stephanie you can visit functional living co.com. If you'd like to learn more about who we are and what we do, visit us at inner peace, yoga therapy.com

Transcribed by https://otter.ai