Interview with Jenny Schoenmann
A few weeks ago, I was very lucky to take a second and talk to Jenny Schoenmann, a yoga teacher and soul-based coach headquartered in the Hague, Netherlands. We talked about her journey within yoga, her mission to connect more and serve nature better and what brought her to yoga!
Q: Thank you so much for agreeing to talk to me today. Could you start by telling me a bit about yourself?
A: A Sure! Thanks for having me. I’m Jenny, Jenny Schoenmann. I’m a mom, that’s always the first thing that comes up. I’m the mom of two beautiful kids. I’m a wife. I teach yoga. I’m a soul-based coach and a beauty couch.
Q: Even though this is more yoga-focused podcast, how long have you been involved in soul coaching, beauty couching as well as yoga?
A: So, I started as a beauty coach and makeup artist, but I knew that it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. There was always something missing. I’ve been practicing yoga since I was a child. I’ve been a yoga teacher for… seven years and I’ve been doing soul-based coaching for a year now.
Q: So, you said you knew you didn’t want to do beauty coaching forever, but what made you want to take your yoga practice to the next level of teaching?
A: So, when I did makeup, which I still do, I really like working with women one-on-one. But what I didn’t like was working for fashion shows and beauty shows. It was too artificial and wasn’t deep enough for me. Doing the artwork was nice but there was always something missing. I thought first that I would try yoga and completely separate the two. But now, they absolutely work together. I think I am not an exception in the way I started to be a yoga teacher.
I did my yoga teacher training because I wanted more depth in my practice, and I also hear this so often from students
“I do my yoga teacher training to deepen my practice for myself.” Just wait a few months. Just as I almost completed my yoga certification, my yoga teacher told me a teacher was moving away and asked if I wanted to take her class. And my answer was of course not! I don’t want to teach. So, she said, just think about it.
So, of course, I said that sure I would think about it but internally, I thought I definitely wouldn’t. And then a week later, she scheduled me for the class anyways. So, the next week I went, and I absolutely fell in love with teaching.
Q: And so then, how did you find out about soul-based couching?
A: It’s interesting because it was the same process. I did my beauty consultations and my yoga teaching and so often in yoga, we already unfold, and we connect way more with ourselves than we otherwise would. In fact, I experience this so often with my students and with myself. And I thought, there’s a little bit more there that we can go even deeper in a shorter amount of time.
And we all know that yoga is a lifelong practice. There are things that come up in life and sometimes we really need someone or something to help us through it.
Meditation is beautiful, and yoga practice is incredible, but I always thought there must be something where I can help and support people right away. And then I found soul-based coaching, and this spoke to me. It’s a very gentle and feminine way to go into coaching.
Q: So, going back to yoga. Is there a particular style that you prefer or teach?
A: I don’t like to separate different styles. I have experienced in my yoga journey that some styles are more posture focused and some are more spiritual focused and for me, yoga includes all of that. I don’t like to even say I’m an Ashtanga or Vinyasa teacher even if I teach those classes.
Q: That’s very true. It’s a very dynamic form of movement.
A: Yes, exactly. It’s all connected to the breath and movement. And it all comes down to the breath and I can practice a dynamic or soft and smooth form of an ashtanga practice. I even don’t like the word teacher. Because I’m not a teacher, I’m still learning from myself and from my students as well as with my students. So, I like to be more partner or a friend so that we can go on a journey together rather than me leading people.
Q: That’s really nice. I think that might be even easier for a beginner who is just starting. Speaking of that, what advice would you give a beginner as a partner or friend?
A: Take it slow and simple. Do small steps on the yoga journey and keep so much ease in your practice from the beginning. Enjoy the start of your yoga journey. I remember some of my best moments when I was completely clueless on what was happening next. In fact, we always say it’s best to stay to stay in a beginner’s mind and I think there is so much beauty to being in that mindset, like a child who is constantly in wonderment at the world.
Q: What would you say your biggest struggle is in your yoga journey, coaching or life journey?
A: My biggest struggle was letting go of the idea that someone knows it all or that someone has figured it all out and now we have to follow this set of traditions or rules. I don’t like when someone tells me that we have to all do something in a certain way. So, for many years, I thought there would be someone who had figured it all out and if I practiced in a certain way and did it every day for a specific amount of time in a specific way of breathing, then I would reach whatever I’m looking for. So, figuring out that at least for me, that is not how it works was a huge challenge.
I really have to follow my intuition and what is best for me.
That has been a struggle. Because most of us are looking for that, we’re looking for someone to lead us and to take us somewhere, but it has to come from ourselves. And the biggest struggle was to let go that there is guru or someone who knows everything.
Q: I can imagine. Outside of yoga, there are so many goals. CEOs and positions where you know where you want to go. Within yoga, that isn’t the case.
A: Yes! And also, knowing that honoring your teacher is important. Honoring what knowledge, they can bring you but understanding you ultimately know what is best for your body and what feels good for you. Even if a teacher has a lot of experience, you can take bits and parts of that to help your own inner voice. You really have to listen to that voice. It’s our responsibility as a student to not let someone else decide what we have to do.
Q: I completely agree!
A: But that was a struggle. It’s easy to follow a leader rather than follow our own inner voice.
Q: Especially in a class when you see everyone doing a deep expression of a pose and you know you shouldn’t do that but at the same time you want to follow them even if you know it’s not serving you. But what would you say your most embarrassing moment is, either teaching or being a student?
A: Embarrassing moments are when I am not true to myself, when I put too much pressure on myself, when in front of a class, I am completely not myself and I am teaching something that doesn’t feel true to myself or that I would not even practice. But I feel a need to do this because I feel I have to meet someone’s exceptions.
To me, this is embarrassing to myself and to my students. It is always something that has happened, especially when I started teaching. Mostly it came from being in my head too much.
I’m happy that it’s not happening a lot now. But sometimes it still happens. Sometimes we can feel insecure and acting in that way comes from that. Is this good teaching that I’m delivering? Am I benefiting my students? So, then I think, today I have to make something really crazy or really impress them and this is embarrassing. This is not true to me. And then I don’t serve anyone.
But I also had many moments where I forgot what to do next or we did so much on one side and not on the other and then I felt really embarrassed in the beginning. Now I just laugh, and we laugh together and it’s actually really nice for both sides to see that there is no perfect way of teaching or being.
Q: I think that’s such a lovely human way of teaching. Suddenly you’re practicing and suddenly you’re laughing. It makes it fun. So outside of all of the embarrassing moments, what really motivates you to keep teaching?
A: The change I see in students and the change I see in myself. With my practice and teaching, I have learned so much from learning from and teaching others. The change I see within students from coming once a week to coming more often and then as I said, when they see there’s something more and they start changing their lives that serves them in a better way. That for me is so motivating.
Q: So, you answered it a bit just then, but what does yoga mean to you?
A: Yoga to me is connecting with ourselves, with our needs. But then really, it’s also a responsibility. We don’t need yoga to connect with ourselves but it’s a great tool to do so. But then from there, the deep meaning is being connected with everyone around you and most importantly, going back into this connection with nature and understanding we have to serve nature as much as we can.
Without nature there are no human beings. When you become a soul coach or a yoga teacher, you should ask yourself why are you doing this? It’s not about you, or why Jenny is doing this. I want to serve a deeper purpose and for me, this deeper purpose is serving our environment and nature. And for me, partnering up with our students and guiding our students, so that they can better connect with themselves and better serve human being so that we can maintain our environment and nature — that is yoga.
I’m on a mission.
Q: I like that! So, I know this feeds into the workshops that you hold, but what’s your favorite way to start the day?
A: I am a big lover of morning routines. I have to say, morning routines to me are very flexible and change all the time. For the last couple weeks, I have started my morning with an oil massage. One of my mantras is ease and self-care. So, the oil massage is a bit part of my self-care. And there are so many beautiful side effects for our health and beauty, so I always start with a nice warm oil massage and then I go on my mat and then I do my meditation and breathing and gentle practice and then I shower and then I wake up my kids.
Q: That’s lovely. And lastly, is there anything you want to say to yoganect audience? Any final words or reflections?
A: Yes. I think coming back to connecting with ourselves. Using yoga as a tool to do so but without getting distracted by crazy yoga postures or meeting someone else’s exceptions, whether it’s a teacher or a class surrounding. Going to yoga and using it as a way to listen to our soul wisdom, our inner voice and then all is coming.
And if there is a headstand or handstand happening, that’s great. That’s part of the journey but in the end, doing it with ease and softness to really connect to that voice and not put so many expectations on us, they are just distracting.
Q: Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
If you’re interested in finding out more about Jenny Schoenmann, you can find her on Soul Flow Glow, visit her workshops on Morning Routines or Inversions at Delight Yoga, or visit her classes at Delight Yoga and Balanz. If you’re interested in trying out soul-based coaching, send her message to book an introductory call.
