By Mylena C. Ferman
Jaclyn Peterson, owner of Ascend with Jaclyn, aims to help people reduce stress and burnout through yoga. Peterson leads trauma-sensitive yoga classes throughout the Greater Tampa Bay area and works with local businesses.
Her goal is to teach employees how yoga practices can provide an outlet to trauma and better work-life practices.
“Yoga is for everybody, you know?” Peterson said. “No matter your physical state, … there is some type of yoga you can do.”
Many people have anecdotally claimed yoga to be a great stress reducer.
However, a study done in India earlier this year found that stock market investors who participated in a 30-day yoga intervention reported a reduction in perceived stress. Another yoga study, conducted in 2024, found that the yoga participants showed improved executive function, working memory and processing speed.
Peterson would likely agree with such findings. She claimed those who participated in her yoga classes reported similar benefits, including better sleep, feelings of calm, raised focus levels and less chronic pain. Trauma sensitive yoga can also have an additional benefit of allowing people to feel in control of their own body again.
“When people have experienced trauma, … they walk away with a diminished sense of self and a lot of times they may not even be aware that they don’t trust themselves to make decisions,” she said.
Peterson practiced yoga after surviving an abusive marriage and moving out of state.
“The practice helped me reconnect with myself and slowly begin to rebuild my identity and rebuild my self-worth,” Peterson said.
Currently, Peterson hosts a weekly chair yoga class at the Florida Blue Center in Sarasota. She aims to do more business-to-business work with employee wellness programs and give back to the community with Community Wellness Programs.
“It helps bring a balance and a sense of peace that they need in their lives, as well,” Peterson said. “That’s really my goal, to help people find that peace and to activate that parasympathetic nervous system.”
For more information about Ascend with Jaclyn, please visit https://ascendwithjaclyn.com/, follow its Instagram (@ascendwithjaclyn) or follow its Ascend with Jaclyn Facebook page. Those interested in having Peterson host a class may contact her through the contact page on her website or via email at ascendwithjaclyn@gmail.com.
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