From Student to Teacher and Yoga Therapist

It was curiosity that first brought me to experience yoga. It is healing and wellness that inspire me to offer yoga practices today. In college, symptoms of ankylosing sypondylitis, a type of arthritis, were causing me intense low back pain. As a non-athletic, artsy student, I chose yoga to fulfill a general fitness requirement. Practicing Hatha yoga relieved a good portion of the pain at the time, easing my suffering. After several years, my back pain alleviated and I continued to practice yoga through various life phases.

Fifteen years ago, in an effort to heal upper back and neck pain, I returned to yoga intensely, taking many hot, power, and vinyasa yoga classes.  The bits and pieces of wisdom teachings offered in group classes inspired me to discover more about the spiritual foundations of yoga.  Eventually, the scattered breadcrumbs of knowledge led me to a 200 hour certification, then to teach yoga in my hometown. That was almost 10 years ago. Now I bring a much fuller lens to my offerings as a certified yoga therapist and yoga teacher with over 1,000 hours of teaching experience. My personal practice is much gentler now, incorporating the subtler aspects to a larger degree.

Learning and teaching are inextricably connected for me.  Fueled by curiosity, I continuously practice and study yoga. The profound impact of the teachings touch my heart, inspiring me to expand the universe of people receiving yoga’s immense benefits.  Formal wisdom studies and the wisdom of my students guide my offerings. It is my honor to share the practices of yoga with all those drawn to its great wisdom.

Om, shanti, shanti, shanti.

Joy Sciabica