Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Reeves.
Hi Susan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I began teaching yoga in 2005, with my roots in vinyasa yoga. Throughout the years I was noticing how cancer was affecting the lives of so many of my family and friends. I knew that yoga had been crucial in supporting my mental and physical health, so I began to study cancer and how yoga can help ease what someone is going through. I co-founded Yoga Bridge in 2011 to be a nonprofit that offered free and low-cost yoga classes to those before, during and after a cancer diagnosis. I have been teaching yoga for cancer ever since, along with leading teacher trainings, organizing public events and fundraisers, and expanding my knowledge about cancer and its side effects.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been easy starting a small business. I know a lot about yoga, but when Yoga Bridge first started, I knew very little about business. Some of the struggles we’ve had are spreading information about our yoga for cancer program and also about keeping it afloat financially.
I’ve met so many wonderful people along the way that have held a special place in their hearts for Yoga Bridge – our countless students and friends, the Yoga Bridge teachers, and the donors who continually support us. I’m very thankful for the people I have met along the way that have helped us get the word out to the cancer community: nurses, doctors and other experts in the medical profession.
Yoga Bridge would not be where we are at 14 years and growing without the support of our donors, who are oftentimes students themselves. The majority of our funding comes from participating in North Texas Giving Day. It’s a community-wide event that puts the spotlight on hometown nonprofit start-ups like Yoga Bridge.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Yoga has been a passion in my life. As a student, then teacher, then business co-founder and executive officer, I’ve learned so much throughout the years. I teach several of the yoga for cancer classes along with our other Yoga Bridge teachers. I manage a teacher training to guide other teachers in learning about how yoga can be applied to a cancer diagnosis. I’m also part of a nonprofit board, full of hard-working people with compassion and support for Yoga Bridge.
I’m proud of all that I have learned along the way. I’m always a student of yoga. Even after all these years. I learn so much when I’m on my yoga mat. In becoming a yoga teacher, my focus has been in vinyasa (flow yoga), adaptive yoga and restorative. I particularly love teaching restorative yoga, where lots of blankets, blocks and pillows are used to support the body in relaxing postures. So many with a cancer diagnosis suffer from anxiety and depression. Restorative yoga is the perfect antidote for that. It helps students to let go of everything that comes with a cancer diagnosis: a restless mind, fatigue, muscle soreness, loneliness and other life issues.
I’m proud of the community that I have helped build through Yoga Bridge. Our students are part of a loving group of yogis that support them as friends. Everyone is welcome to join our classes, no matter their level of experience. Our classes help students feel better, sleep better, and gain strength alongside people who understand what they are going through.
Yoga Bridge has held classes in several medical settings in Flower Mound and Denton. When covid happened, we had to adapt. We took our Yoga Bridge classes online. It has been such a blessing to teach our local students and to meet students from all over the United States and even abroad. One of our students and substitute teachers comes to us from Switzerland!
We’ve worked hard to create a successful program online. Yoga Bridge teachers are experienced in their field and well-trained in the practice of adapting yoga classes to reach people with cancer. Many of our students have immune system challenges. With Yoga Bridge online, they don’t have to leave their homes and get exposed to other illnesses. The at-home classes are so casual that some our students (ok, maybe myself included) come to class in their pajamas!
Our online classes are a community as well. This surprised us at first. When we shifted our classes online, we were afraid that the atmosphere would not feel as welcoming. It’s been the opposite. These students have become dear friends. Our yoga class is a gathering of a close-knit group sharing their experience and coming together to ease their pain with the support of yoga. We often see current students serve as mentors to the new ones. In essence, Yoga Bridge serves as a vital support group.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned has come from our students. It is the ability to adapt. Our students are constantly learning about how to manage all kinds of challenges: the side effects of treatment, a body that has changed, relationships with others and how to move about in the midst of a difficult diagnosis. A lot of challenges have come my way as a teacher and business leader. Developing the skill of adapting to all the challenges along the journey has been crucial to me every step of the way. The yoga we teach is all about being adaptive to the students’ needs as they navigate having cancer and recovering from it.
Pricing:
- Yoga classes are free to anyone with a cancer diagnosis.
- We welcome caregivers, friends, and anyone with a desire to build and maintain health through yoga. We ask that they contribute at least $10 per class.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yogabridge.weebly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogabridgeyogaforcancer/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogabridge
- LinkedIn: search Yoga Bridge Yoga for Cancer
- Twitter: https://x.com/YogaBridge1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yogabridge
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/c/YogaBridge629
Image Credits
Linda Fischer, Shanna Nasche
