“At every level of society, the key to a happier world is the growth of compassion.”
— His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet
Karuna Yoga offers fully-sponsored, individualized Yoga classes to trauma survivors in Israel.
Thank you for being here.
My name is Rena Shoshana Forester, Yoga Teacher, & Health Coach with two Bachelor’s of Education from Indiana University, Bloomington. I studied classical Yoga in a village in Northern India as well as children’s Yoga in Tel Aviv, Israel and Athens, Greece. My personal life lessons fuel my passion for teaching Yoga and Health rooted in compassion.
As someone who lives a non-typical lifestyle, I have learned Yogic tools that bring me back to myself amidst ever changing realities. I have appreciated being able to lean on my Yogic tools for grounding and as a means for developing self-compassion. It is my honor to teach these tools to people who also benefit from them.
Karuna Yoga is rooted in compassion with awareness of trauma. With credit to my degree in special education, I successfully meet each student where s/he is, whether in a group or 1:1.
I am always available to listen to you.
For additional information call/Whatsapp me at 058-421-1905.
Yoga for Women
Based in Compassion with Awareness of Trauma
Traditionally, Yoga is the Science of the Mind and a tool for connecting with oneself, other people, and nature. The practice of Yogic postures is only one component of the broader Yogic philosophy. Nowadays, people have heard of many types of Yogic posture practices including Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Kundalini, Yin, etc. Having been trained in traditional Yoga, I studied a Multi-Style Approach to Yoga, which essentially is Yoga in it’s classical form.
An average class is structured as follows:
Brief discussion about student’s current physical and emotional state
Physical warm ups
Connection to breath
Establishing an anchor for focusing the mind
Yoga Asanas (postures) that target a person’s current physical and emotional ailments
Restorative Yoga Asanas (postures) to wind down
Savasana - final resting pose in which the nervous system regulates and the body integrates the lessons from the practice
Gratitude
Each class is crafted to meet the needs of the student or students present.
Yoga for children
Based in Compassion with Awareness of Trauma
I’ve been told that I have a gift of meeting children in their world and making them feel safe. It is one of my greatest pleasures to put that gift to good use in Kids Yoga classes.
Fundamentally, my approach to teaching Kids Yoga is based on the same traditional principles as my approach to teaching Women’s Yoga, outlined above.
However, Kids Yoga takes into account child development. As children’s bodies are still growing, it’s less critical that they align their body perfectly and more critical that they focus on building awareness of their bodies. Children can only genuinely learn when they’re having fun, so fun is a central component of Kids Yoga classes! We practice Yoga postures through song, dance, games, and the use of manipulatives.
An average kids Yoga class is structured as follows:
Three Yoga Dances
Yoga Story that involves physical postures (Asana) and deep breathing (Pranayama)
Yoga Game
Concentration Activity
Savasana - final resting pose and visualization exercise
Gratitude
Each kids Yoga class is crafted to meet the needs of the student or students present.
Successes
“Rena, that was REALLY good. I really needed that.”
-M, mother of 2 sons serving in IDF reserves, practicing Yoga for 10 years
“It was so SO good. Like, wow. It’s so simple and really grounding, and also expanding. I came out of it and had SO much more space in my body.”
-L, therapist
“Wow. I don’t even have words to describe how good that was or how I feel right now. It’s like my body has tools to take care of itself.”
-B, mother of two-under-2, husband serving in IDF reserves
“I want to come back!”
-N, 5 year old, father serving in the IDF reserves
“That was the best Yoga class I’ve ever taken in my life.”
-M, 30-year-old woman, also a Yoga teacher
“Hi Rena, I was so happy to come today! You are simply amazing and go with the flow and laugh at his nonsense. It’s really special to watch! I’m still shocked that he nearly fell asleep at the end.”
-N, mother of 4-year-old who is having emotional challenges as a result of his father currently serving in IDF reserves
