Nisswa Yoga

Find our online and in-person schedule at:
www.nisswayoga.com/schedule Authentic Yoga for modern times. Finding that grace can be life-changing.
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MEET JENNIFER / THE NISSWA YOGA STORY

Jennifer is passionate about transforming the way people perceive themselves and connect with their bodies, using yoga and meditation as tools to live a more peaceful, balanced, and authentic life. Jennifer has been teaching yoga in the Brainerd Lakes area since 2012. Prior to that, she lived in Bethesda, Maryland where she had the opportunity to study yoga with Advanced Iyengar teacher, John Schumacher. Jennifer finished her first yoga teacher training program with Neva Ingalls in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Since then, she has studied extensively with Alexandria Crow and completed a Restorative Yoga teacher training with internationally acclaimed teacher, Judith Hanson Lasater. She has completed more than 1100 hours of yoga training and taught over 2200 classes. As a teacher, Jennifer aims to make yoga and meditation approachable to anyone at any level. She guides you through practices that are mindful and sustainable; empowering you to make decisions that are best for your own body. Her teaching style is grounded in yogic philosophy and focuses heavily on learning to pay attention. By helping you to acknowledge, accept, and appreciate your individuality, Jennifer helps you to connect to yourself and the world around you with more compassion. Nisswa Yoga was founded in 2013 by Jennifer and a business partner as a brick-and-mortar yoga studio. Jennifer took sole ownership in 2016, serving as lead teacher and teacher trainer. In 2022, Nisswa Yoga transitioned to an online studio for Jennifer’s classes. She also leads a collaborative of talented yoga teachers that teach private classes at resorts, event centers, and homes across the Brainerd Lakes Area of North Central Minnesota. In the summer months, Nisswa Yoga also offers outdoor classes and events.

09/16/2026

Empty mats, full room. ✨

This week I had the honor of guiding sessions for a women’s retreat at Nature Link Three days built around one theme: Permission to Be. A group of high functioning women arrived ready to set down everything they usually carry, even if just for a moment.

We opened Monday evening with restorative Yoga Nidra, firelight flickering and rain tapping the windows. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings began early, with slow, meditative movement, breath work, and sensory awareness to meet the day gently instead of rushing into it. Every session, every guided meditation, was written specifically for this group and this theme.

As I said goodbye to the organizer, she gave me the kind of feedback I hope for every time: “You set the tone for the whole retreat.”

You’ll notice the mats in this photo are empty. That’s intentional, always. If I’m behind a camera, I’m not holding space for the room. And I will never photograph you in one of my classes without your consent. Turning your attention inward is hard enough without wondering if you’re being watched. This practice is about finding equanimity, not performing it.

🌲🕯️

09/10/2026

No mats. No matching lycra sets. Just people, outside, showing up exactly as they are.

This is a private group class I taught for The Retreat with Nick Slavik , a group of master craftspeople I’ve worked with for years, every August and January. I create something new each time, tailored to who’s in the room. Most of them wouldn’t call themselves “yoga people,” and that’s one of the reasons I love working with this group. There’s no pretense, no performance, just people willing to try something new, outside, together.

This is our selfie right after practice, and if you look closely, you'll see a man who practiced in an arm brace, still fully part of it. Another in jeans, no leggings in sight. Different ages, different bodies, different levels of flexibility and experience, all on the same ground, breathing the same air, doing the same practice in their own way.

Because yoga was never about the pose or the equipment. The pose is simply a tool for practicing an evenness of mind, the ability to meet a moment (an injury, a stiff shoulder, an unfamiliar practice, a long week) without being thrown by it. That’s not something a mat or the right outfit gives you. It’s a choice you make, again and again, to show up with awareness right where you are, exactly as you are.

If you’re picturing this for your own team, family, or group, I’d love to build something custom for you too. I have availability opening up starting mid-October. Link in bio to reach out. 🌲🧘

09/06/2026

Labor Day Weekend on Upper Whitefish Lake 🌊

We started with a full class for the adults. An eagle’s nest perched in a pine beside us, birds calling all around, the light soft and stunning on the water. Nature was as much a part of the class as we were.

Then the kiddos joined in for a little lesson of their own: simple breathing techniques for the big-frustration moments and for when they need to shake off the sleepies and feel alert again.

Watching friends and family move through practice together, generations at once, in a setting this beautiful, is exactly why I love this work.

Based in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota, and available to travel.

Custom classes for private groups (families, friends, retreats, celebrations, events) are my specialty. If you’re picturing something like this for your own group, let’s chat.

09/05/2026

Misty. Windy. Not exactly what you envision when you think yoga on the beach. We practiced anyway.

The book Indoor Epidemic, by Dr. John La Puma makes the case for intentional time spent outdoors in natural light and environments to restore sleep, lower inflammation, and improve focus. Just a small, consistent dose changes how we feel.

We got our dose this morning, mist and all. Instead of gripping to what summer “should” look like, we practiced loosening the grip. The weather wasn’t an obstacle to the practice. It was the practice.

We met the weather where it was. And in doing that, we met ourselves there too.

09/03/2026

Yes, we’re staying outside. 🌊

Yoga on the Beach continues Friday and Saturday mornings through September. The temps are cooling, but the reasons we practice outdoors haven’t changed. Fresh air, morning light, and open sky do more for your body than four walls ever could.

📍 This weekend: 8–9am 📍 Starting September 11: 9–10am

Layer up and meet us on the sand.

08/25/2026

Sun, sand, and inner stillness.

Summer mornings on the beach have been full of breath awareness, presence, and good company. Grateful for every soul who rolled out a mat with the lake as our backdrop.

Join us this Friday, 8 - 9am for Yoga on the Beach at Nature Link

All levels welcome, just bring your mat or towel and a water bottle.

📸 Minnesota Wedding Photographer | Grace Dagoberg

08/24/2026

𝗔 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁

𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 We’ll move slowly and mindfully, focusing on turning our attention inward and feeling what’s happening in our bodies. The sand beneath our feet and the lake’s natural rhythm will guide us into a more profound sense of presence, perfect for practitioners of all levels.

𝗬𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝗡𝗶𝗱𝗿𝗮 & 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 We’ll close our time together with a guided meditation practice that allows for profound restoration. The sounds of lapping waves and birdsong create the perfect meditation sanctuary. It’s pure magic.

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 This is where you get to listen to your body and choose what feels right. Warm yourself in the sauna, experience the invigorating rush of a cold plunge, take a spontaneous dip in the pristine lake waters, or flow between all three. There’s no pressure; just options to explore what your body is craving.

𝗗𝗔𝗬: Saturday, August 28th
𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘: 8:00 -10:30 am
𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: 24621 S Clark Lake Rd, Nisswa, MN 56468
𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁 Spaces are limited, so if this is calling to you, I encourage you to register soon. https://app.arketa.co/nisswayoga/checkout/c9w8RTbe46HJZUNp2J4M

Are you a Nisswa Yoga member? Use code SLOWDOWN for your discount!

I can’t wait to share this slow, intentional morning with you. There’s something about combining movement, breath, meditation, and the healing power of water that feels like exactly what we all need right now.

📍Nature Link

📸Leah Mae
📸Minnesota Wedding Photographer | Grace Dagoberg
📸Sophia White
📸 ALI LEIGH | minnesota wedding photographer

08/23/2026

Feet on the dock. Eyes on the water. The dock holds still. The lake doesn’t. Somewhere between the two, this group of neighbors found their balance this morning. Grateful for the water, the light, and the company.

08/20/2026

The light has changed. You’ve probably felt it already, that shift in late August when the sun sits lower and the mornings carry the first real coolness of the season. The lake knows it too. Fog sits on the water longer these days before burning off, and the loons seem to be calling more, as if they know what’s coming.

In asana, or the movement part of yoga, drishti is your focused gazing point. It’s the place your eyes rest to help steady the body and quiet the mind. But drishti is really about something bigger than balance poses. It’s about where you choose to place your attention when everything around you is shifting. Summer is ending. The kids are heading back to school. The light itself is different than it was in June. Drishti asks: amid all that change, what’s your fixed point? What do you return to when things start to wobble?

When you practice this, something shifts. Choosing one fixed point and letting the eyes settle there instead of scanning. There’s something clarifying about it. The mind quiets down when it isn’t chasing everything at once. It’s a small thing, but it changes how steady the ground underneath you seems, regardless is you’re practicing a pose.

The season will keep pulling your attention in every direction. Back to school schedules, the planning of a long holiday weekend, the quiet dread of shorter days. None of that is going away, and drishti was never about making it go away. It’s about having one place to come back to when it all starts to pull. That single point you return to, again and again, is your drishti. Not the noise, but your response to it. Let it hold you steady, this week and into the fall.

📸: ALI LEIGH | minnesota wedding photographer Acre Room | Hospitality + Brand Photographer
📍: Nature Link

Address

24621 S. Clark Lake Rd.
Nisswa, MN
56468

Website

https://www.nisswayoga.com/

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