Neshama Body and Soul is a workout-worship experience that combines Jewish prayer with body-weight strength-training and mobility exercises in an effort to help participants connect the physical with the spiritual.  

Rabbi Jaymee Alpert and Fernando Martinez, a gym owner and fitness trainer, created Neshama Body and Soul in 2014, after many discussions about how the physical and spiritual sides of people necessarily impact one another, and how too often, we separate being in our heads or hearts from being in our bodies. Neshama seeks to engage people as whole beings as we connect, move, and pray.

All ages, genders, and levels of fitness welcome.  Please bring a yoga mat if you have one. We will be doing some work on the floor and some while standing. Classes will be in-person, in the CBS Social Hall. 

Please don’t let finances be a barrier to taking this class.  Scholarships are available. Please contact Carol.

Give it a listen: Neshama was recently featured on David DeSteno’s podcast How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality. The episode "Soul-ercise" was also highlighted in the New York Times. Dive into the episode!

Rabbi Jaymee Alpert is passionate about exploring the connection between spirituality and physical activity. She is the co-creator of Neshama Body and Soul, a practice that combines exercise with Jewish prayer, and has created Shabbat morning hiking services. Prior to moving to Seattle in the summer of 2023, she spent 20 years as a congregational rabbi serving synagogues in the Bay Area, Westchester, NY, and Princeton, NJ. She was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2003 and holds master’s degrees in Jewish Education and Jewish Women’s Studies. She currently sits on the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law Standards and on the board of Lilith Magazine, and she is pursuing certification as a life coach.