Katherin teaches Dahn Yoga at fourteen locations

For the past two years, about eighteen retired nuns, mostly in their eighties, have cheerfully gathered in a circle near the Sisters of the Holy Family Motherhouse in Fremont, CA, to take a Dahn Yoga class from Katherin Bledsoe.

It is only one of the fourteen community locations where Katherin teaches Dahn Yoga - either for free or for a very small fee - at local parks, senior centers, a school for the blind, and even at her home. With such prolific teaching, you would never guess that Katherine used to have speaking problems.

As a child, she was raised by a caregiver who couldn’t speak very well because of her multiple sclerosis. Katherin, however, was one of the few people who could understand and interpret what her caregiver had to say.

Ever since beginning Dahn Yoga practice a few years ago, she couldn’t help but remember her caregiver’s great compassion. It was, in fact, what motivated her to teach outreach classes to share love with others and also overcome her own obstacles. With the help of her Center Manager, she marshaled the courage necessary to teach her first outreach classes for seniors. “I was so nervous I couldn’t comfortably stand in front of many people,” she laughed.

Later, a hospital manager observed Katherin teaching Dahn Yoga classes to patients and was so impressed by her passion that he offered her a full time job. Since an acceptance would have limited her ability and time to continue teaching existing students, she declined and chose to instead continue serving the community. Her classes have since expanded to about total 200 students and her story was featured in the Oakland Tribune with a beautiful picture.

Her husband and son are now ardent supporters. Katherin’s latest effort is a charity walkathon she is preparing on behalf of the Dahn Yoga Foundation in her local community.

— Phil Kim