Teacher Profile: Meet Jacqui Bonwell

photo shoot with tracy

Jacqui Bonwell is the studio owner at the Canton Yoga Shala, a place she warmly refers to as her “little nest”.  She sat down with Find Bliss Boston earlier this month on the heels of the studio’s new move to an expanded site.  While this studio remains her “home base” for her 200 and 500 RYT trainings and some workshops, she likes to think of herself as “a true gypsy”, taken by the wind and hitting the road as needed in order to connect directly with her swelling audiences from Lexington to Cohasset and beyond.

She spent a good portion of her early professional years in the trenches of Social Services here in Massachusetts.  Those teachable years offered her a front row seat to both the shadow side of life and also to the transformative possibilities of perseverance.  “The children I met through this career are my true teachers for life. I have the utmost admiration for each of them and continue to pray for their ease and freedom.”  Those ten years on the front lines tested her on many fronts and in yoga she found the  space to reflect, regroup and re-channel her commitment to making a difference.  She credits her mentor, Reiki Master & Teacher, Pat Iyer for helping her to build strong energetic & physical roots right out of the training gate.

On May 1st Jacqui will be making a repeat performance headlining Yoga Reaches Out New England for the sixth year in a row.  It’s an event she makes a priority in her busy teaching schedule.  “My Co-Captain, Jen Merola (studio owner, Universal Power Yoga Norwood) is amazing!  She and I work in concert to fill the field and show all of those families sitting in waiting rooms feeling helpless that we care.” Find out more about Yoga Reaches Out through their website.  And, see Jacqui’s full teaching schedule and sign up for her newsletter through her website.

wind up… how do you wind up, prepare for the week ahead?

I am a huge fan of getting outside!! I try to take a really long walk/run and keep my practice and my meditation close for all the patience and energy I need on a daily basis.  I incorporate high intensity exercise a few days a week and run around with my two kids, Lola (8) and Wyatt (3) daily!  I am also a HUGE fan of music.  Anything by Stevie Nicks gets me going as well as classic rock!  

and, when you need to exhale… what’s your other direction?

I love to head up to Kripalu Retreat Center in Lenox, MA for a few days to go off the grid.  The mountains and the beach always soothe me no matter what.  I like to drive over the sand in Duxbury and park it there all day some days!

 

go to high powered snack?

My go-to smoothie: kale, frozen pineapple & banana, greek yogurt, peanut butter and almond milk.  I drink it every morning, and it’s my rocket fuel!!

what three things are you never without?

  1. my phone (to be honest), because I do a majority of my work from it on the road
  2. my faith
  3. eyeliner (i’d wear it to the laundromat and have since I was 13!)

your bible…  what one book do you turn to time and time again for inspiration?

The Yoga Sutras, by Patanjali

thr photo side plank

sound of music…  you have room for 5 tracks on your playlist, and they are?

1. Various Storms and Saints, by Florence and the Machine

2.  On the Turning Away, by Pink Floyd

3.  Asphalt Cowboy, by Jason Aldean

4.  My 3 Year Old, by Eric Church

5. Hymn, by Ashana

bliss pose?

Savasana!

finish the sentence, i’d like to teach the world to…

never forget what matters.

Profile compiled by, Susan Currie.

Images by, Tracy Rodriguez Photography.