Yoga is the thread that connects the physical, psychological, and spiritual intersections of Jo's many passions.
Joanna discovered yoga in 2005 as a means of supporting her athletic lifestyle, not realizing how profoundly nourishing the practice would grow to be for her mind, heart, and soul. She spent the first four years of her practice scrubbing studio toilets, cleaning dirty yoga mats, and mopping sweaty floors in in order to gain full access to group classes and absorb as much as she could from her teachers. Her BFA thesis show in 2007, Bringing to Light, was dedicated to exploring how this newfound mind-body practice was transforming her life for the better.
She completed her first 200-hour yoga teacher training with Tom Gillette and Shannah Green of Eyes of the World Yoga in 2015, and has been continuing yoga and movement education ever since, most recently Shri Yoga’s 60-hour Path of Service training and 200 hours in Prana Flow with Coral Brown.
Outside of the yoga studio, her passion for mindful movement extends to hiking, backpacking, surfing, slack lining, weight lifting, dancing, paddling, snowboarding, rock climbing, and beyond.
She is NOLS Wilderness First Aid, CrossFit Level 1, and CPR certified, and has studied movement and human potential with athletes such as world record holder Ryan Moody and movement specialist Carl Paoli :)
The first of the Animal Totem yoga mat series: The Phoenix