Interview of the Month
NANCY SENA
Yoga Practitioner, Teacher and Aerobics Instructor

From the time I was a young girl, I was interested in all types of dance. My parents could not and/or would not pay for ballet lessons. When my best friend came back from her ballet class, she raced over and shared the class with me. I practiced and experimented on my own. It was what I loved to do and still do now, maybe even more!

Yoga, and all types of exercise IS my life. I feel I am getting stronger and stronger, more flexible in my mind, body and spirit. The yoga breath alone helps me when I am stressed or when challenged in an exercise activity.

I have been teaching since I graduated high school. In 1989, I started Montclair State College where I completed my Exercise Science degree in 1993 on my own. In August 1992, a friend of mine invited me to a week long Moon Series workshop at Kripalu. From that one week I came back and started teaching my yoga classes. I surprised myself when I would teach a pose with such precision. The postures just came to me. I would race home to reassure myself that I was not making up postures.

I am often told how my students hear my voice with my cues, positive affirmations or guided visualizations in their every day lives.

My chosen field of yoga, aerobics, personal training and massage are ALL gifts from the Divine! I feel I have guided every step. I pride myself in taking each class, each client and design a program, class or massage to fit the needs and wants individually.

I want to be promoting my book either on the Internet and or in paperback, along with video's, DVD's and meditation tapes. However, one of my ultimate goals is to lead large workshops.

The most important advice I want the world to know is how much the breath and alignment are the keys to life. The front door key - the breath-- is essential not only in every form of exercise but so effective to relax your mind, body and spirit. It is most important to take the inhale through the nose with the mouth closed, ultimately to count of 12 but low numbers to start and exhale out the nose in yoga, called Ouija breath, and exhale out the mouth for exercise. Also, pulling the belly in on the exhale is a must to help strengthen and tone the abdominals.

The back door key is your alignment. You remember when your mother told you to sit up straight? She was right! The spine must be centered within the pelvis. You must feel the two sitting bones to help be grounded and centered. This helps establish our line of your spine. The head of the arm bones pull back, squeeze the bottom of shoulders together, the sides of your body lengthen and your chin pulls in. This perfect posture will allow you to sit comfortably for a long time.

I teach an open yoga class at the Verona Community Center, 880 Bloomfield Ave., Verona, NJ on Wednesday evenings at PM. $12.00 walk-in fee or $80. for an eight week package of coupons with no expiration date. I currently teach a number of yoga and aerobic classes at the Sheraton Fitness Center, 199 Smith Road, Parsippany, NJ 973-560-5410. I also teach a number of yoga and aerobic classes at Transfigure - A Women's Center, 21 Grove Ave, Verona, NJ 973-239-3601. I have private clients as well. For information 973-334-2787.