Founder
Jenna Ritter, MS, Bank Street College of Education, has spent significant time training in Yogic lifestyle practices in India and China, having the unique experience of studying privately with Master teachers. Jenna has a gift that enables her to teach others how to successfully integrate ancient Yoga, Qi Gong, and breathing techniques into modern daily life through supporting students in simple necessary lifestyle shifts.
Jenna founded Dhara in 2008 to teach foundational Eastern self-healing practices to those living in low-income situations. Dhara has been embraced by those who live with various emotional and mental health issues. Students continually find a new level of wellness, gaining inner strength and healing that supports them through the myraid of challenges they face in their lives.
Dhara is the outward expression of a vision Jenna has been cultivating for 15 years. The organization weaves together her professional and personal work. Through sharing insights from her own journey, Jenna aspires to nurture healthy social-emotional development within modern urban environments. Through supporting others in their own self-healing, the teachings focus on practical stress relief techniques, self empowerment, revitalizing human values and healthy attitudes, and building community connections. Through empowering individuals to see that the choices they make influence how they feel and behave, Jenna has seen her students move towards living happier, healthier and more productive lives.
Jenna’s training has involved the direct experience of the benefits of ancient self-healing techniques and lifestyles through the opportunity to live amongst and study under Masters in Asia for extend time periods. Here in the USA Jenna has completed her Yoga teacher training with the Art of Living Foundation and is a certified Level 1 LifeForce Yoga Practitioner. She is certified to teach Dao Yin, Wu Dang Hun Yuan (Primordial) Qi Gong and Shen Dian through Chi for Longevity. Currently Jenna studies with senior teachers under the esteemed Krishnamacharya lineage, deepening her understandings and expressions of Yoga as an effective and legitimate healing modality. She has 15 years of service work in public school systems and 9 years of adult mental health experience, with a special focus on recovery and trauma relief.
Jenna is delighted that her teaching base is at The Breathing Project, a center for Yoga healing spearheaded by the anatomy expert, Leslie Kaminoff.
For more information, contact Jenna Ritter at: jenna@dharanyc.org
