Using yoga to help others 'find their breath'

Yoga may seem inaccessible, but a Greenfield Twp. woman has made it her mission to show people that, with the right tools and guidance, it can be beneficial no matter your ability or age.

After she retired as a speech pathologist and school administrator six years ago, Jeanne Opeil-Kernoschak of Greenfield Twp. found herself on a new journey into yoga.

One day, her best friend told her she needed to get off the couch and asked her to join in a class she was giving to get her yoga teacher training certification. Two months later, Opeil-Kernoschak began working on becoming a certified yoga teacher. She is now a 500-hour registered and certified yoga teacher with a specialty certification in oncology yoga and the owner of Celestial Moon Yoga Wellness LLC.

Opeil-Kernoschak has been teaching yoga since July 2019 and has worked as a contractor with United Neighborhood Centers since June 2022. She teaches six classes a week at United Neighborhoods Centers at Fallbrook Healthy Aging Campus in Carbondale, Mid Valley Satellite Campus in Jessup and Oppenheim Healthy Aging Campus in Scranton. She offers four different types of yoga including flow and breath, mat-based yoga, chair yoga and oncology yoga. She also teaches classes for Silver Sneakers at the Mayfield Sports Complex.

"My primary focus is giving back to seniors," said Opeil-Kernoschak, adding that she most likes getting "to share what I feel about yoga to a whole new group of people. The feeling and joy I feel when I am on my mat when I am doing yoga."

Opeil-Kernoschak is in the process of gaining the new upgraded oncology yoga certification. She has the 55-hour credit certification and will gain the new 75-hour credit certification in July.

The American Cancer Society recommends cancer survivors to build up to 150-300 minutes of moderate or 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week and those currently in treatment "to stay as active as you can." Opeil-Kernoschak says yoga does not take away or replace other treatments, but instead can help follow the American Cancer Society recommendation and treat the side effects of anxiety and inflammation caused by cancer.

According to Opeil-Kernoschak, yoga is sensitive to the needs of someone battling cancer.

"If there is a day you cannot move, it is there for you to find solace then," she said.

She tells her students to focus on the present and work on getting better and improving.

To be able to accomplish the different yoga poses, Opeil-Kernoschak encourages her students to try a variety of different props — including blocks, straps, holsters and towels. According to Opeil-Kernoschak, these help support the body to achieve different yoga poses without restriction.

When first trying yoga, Opeil-Kernoschak finds her students reluctant to try mat yoga. However, she noted, she has students over 90 years old and with hip and knee replacements using mats for yoga.

Opeil-Kernoschak says there are ways to adjust and use props to achieve each yoga pose. She gives her students different modifications to test and see which works best. The different props can be interchanged as a student improves their body. However, if a student needs a break during class, a student is welcome to go to chill out pose where a student lays flat on their back on their yoga mat.

According to Opeil-Kernoschak, if a student needs a break they can go to this position and stay in that position and relax and work on their breathe.

With having a career as a speech pathologist, she thinks more therapeutically to help treat the whole person. Opeil-Kernoschak has found a connection with her past career and yoga. According to her, we need our breath coordinated with inhale and exhale before we are able to speak. With yoga, Opeil-Kernoschak has found there is a mind, body and breath connection. She reminds her students to "find your breath" while practicing yoga.

The classes are a great way to get out and socialize with everyone, according to Marlene Beggin, who attends Opeil-Kernoschak's chair yoga classes at the Mayfield Sports Complex.

"Whatever Jeanne does, she explains and tells you how it benefits you," Beggin said. "Jeanne is very considerate and thinks of everyone and will always adjust something a person can do so they can do it to the best of their ability."

Anyone interested in attending yoga can find the class schedule at uncnepa.org or at lackawannaaging.org or call one of the United Neighborhood Centers Healthy Aging Campuses.

'My primary focus is giving back to seniors. ... to share what I feel about yoga to a whole new group of people. The feeling and joy I feel when I am on my mat when I am doing yoga.'

Jeanne Opeil-Kernoschak

Owner, Celestial Moon Yoga Wellness LLC

Greenfield Twp.