Jenny Otto

About Jenny Otto

Master Yoga Therapy Educator & founder of Body Balance Yoga - School of Yoga Therapy, Jenny Otto is nationally known for her in-depth understanding of anatomy and therapeutics...

...investigating the domains of functional rehabilitation, biomechanics and the nervous system. As an innovative, dedicated Yoga Teacher, a celebrated Yoga Therapist and Teacher Trainer, Jenny has been teaching and developing wellness, exercise and movement therapy programs in the greater Annapolis, Maryland area and nationally since 1980. Jenny is also a KMI Certified Structural Integrator specializing in visceral manipulation, visceral and peripheral nerve therapy and osteopathic listening.

The capacity to transmit movement information depends on a teacher's embodiment. Central to embodiment is one's own kinesthetic empathy which Jenny owns through personal practice and teaching yoga for over twenty three years. Not only has Jenny studied with yoga master teachers from many traditions, including Stan Andrzejewski, Mary Dunn, Carolyn Bluemle, John Schumacher, Victor Van Kooten among several others — but has also studied with Osteopaths, Chiropractors, Rolfers, Dancers and Movement Educators to develop her unique and innovative approach to physical well-being and pain management. She also spent 12 years working in a hospital.

Jenny’s teaching is compassionate, inspirational and fun. Her clear and precise teaching style is authentic and is committed to awakening a deeper knowledge and understanding of the body, mind and spirit. She brings warmth, humor and creativity to her teaching, as well as detailed knowledge in working with injuries and special conditions. Jenny has written numerous papers, articles and manuals expressing over 35 years of studies in yoga therapy and structural integration.

Jenny teaches Body Balance Yoga classes in Annapolis, MD, at Willow Street Yoga Center (Takoma Park, MD), at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD) and at other locations in the greater Annapolis, Maryland area. In addition to teaching weekly yoga classes, Jenny travels extensively teaching workshops, trainings and certifying Body Balance Yoga Teachers across the U.S.

Since 1994, Jenny has been affiliated with Willow Street Yoga Center in Takoma Park, Maryland, where she co-founded and co-directed the teacher training programs (2002-2007). She continues to teach the area’s first Yoga Therapy Class Special Conditions and Injuries at Willow Street Yoga Center in Silver Spring Maryland.

Having co-founded Golden Heart Yoga in 2004, Jenny Otto was owner and director until 2009 when she sold the studio. Yoga Teacher Trainings at the 200-hour and 500-hour level with Jenny were held there from 2005 to 2009.

Jenny is known for continually evolving and expanding her studies to keep her classes innovative. The second half of her profession is as a Structural Integration Practitioner, having founded Body Balance Yoga for Functional & Structural Yoga Therapy in 2001. In 2007, Jenny began studying with Thomas Myers of Anatomy Trains and has participated in dissections of human cadavers with Myers to further her understanding of the body. She completed his accelerated program in Kinesis Myofascial Integration (KMI), graduating and becoming KMI Certified in 2008. Structural Integration, which is based on the pioneering work of Dr. Ida P. Rolf, manually releases tensions in the body that prevent a more balanced alignment. Jenny's specialties include Visceral Manipulation, Visceral and Peripheral Nerve Therapy and Osteopathic Listening. Private Structural Integration sessions with Jenny are available in Annapolis and other locations. In 2010, Jenny also began her studies with Hubert Godard — Dancer, Rolfer, Professor and Movement Educator.

Her unending quest to bring a deeper understanding of the body to her students and to all of the teachers she trains, takes Jenny Otto around the world. And she shares the depth of her knowledge and her love of yoga as she travels worldwide leading Yoga Retreats and teaching Yoga Workshops, Yoga Teacher Trainings, Yoga Residencies and Yoga Therapy Trainings. All workshops, teacher trainings and classes with Jenny Otto fulfill Yoga Alliance Teacher Continuing Education Requirements.