Looking back on my life as a competitive athlete, I can confidently state that my body's early break-down could have been prevented using yoga. As a recent patient of double knee replacement surgeries and rehabilitation, I know how incredibly irregular, painful and sleep-depriving the onset of and living with arthritis pain can be. As a life-long athlete, I know first-hand that it’s hard to see a motivating factor in happily remaining active and in motion when constantly disappointed by your body’s changing and declining range of capabilities.
But I also know from experience the THRILL of seeing small, effort-driven steps forward over time add up. I know what a difference-maker it is when you place 100% of the results on your own individual effort through setting date-driven goals. And I’ve experienced the extra boost from having guidance from someone – a coach, motivator, or teacher - who has just what you need. I know from having lived through discomfort and pain how to totally dominate the processes of both growing older as an athlete and of joint-replacement preparation and recovery and I am passionate about sharing my experiences with those who are ready to feel better and help their bodies regain life and motion.
My approach to teaching yoga can help you in ways that are individually and efficiently designed to improve function in all aspects of daily life, from how we sit, pick up objects, maintain our homes, play with grandchildren, swing a golf club, or remain strong, steady and confident when in the heat of athletic competition.
As a former competitive athlete turned outdoor adventurist, I am also interested in helping athletes of all ages achieve appropriate mental and physical readiness and recovery from sports training and participation. With my specialized training in yoga for athletes I am able to safely teach methods for balancing out sport-specific repetitive motions that place wear and tear on our joints and supporting tissues - methods designed to benefit high school and collegiate athletes to my fellow Generation X'ers, who spent their youth and early adult-hood grinding it out under the sports spotlight.
As a double knee-replacement patient, I want to use my experiences to coach people with physical limitations due to arthritis and other injuries through this orthopedic surgery, from preparation to recovery and rehabilitation and beyond.
If you know you have a joint replacement in the future, incorporating some specially designed yoga into your daily life as you prepare to build strength will provide you a body in the best condition to recover from this invasive medical procedure. You will also experience psychological gains.
When you notice the progressive results of these small effort-filled steps you begin to see the results from your commitment to strengthening the quality of life and support around your joints. This is the turning-point in the battle of dealing with not only arthritis but with any injury your body needs recovering from. This, "noticing", is your investment working before your own eyes - when you really and truly commit to developing resilience within your mind and body thus improving your quality of life!
I have specialized training in Yoga for Athletes under my mentor, Sage Rountree, PhD. E-RYT-500 – an internationally recognized authority in yoga for athletes, an endurance sports coach specializing in athletic recovery, author of eight books and co-owner of several wellness businesses. Under her mentorship, I recently completed my 200-hour level training as a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher with the Carolina Yoga Company in Carrboro, North Carolina – a nation-leading teacher training program.
Drawing upon my personal experiences and through my study and practice of yoga, I offer a unique, individualized approach, as an introductory way for you to learn and develop a personal yoga practice tailored to your specific needs. I offer this through both private one-to-one sessions, regular weekly classes, short series and small-group instruction, including athletic teams and clubs.
HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOUR INVESTMENT IS WORKING?
Private sessions are convenient and arranged directly with me to suit your schedule. Instruction is personalized - designed for your individual needs with the goal of helping you to create a new, sustainable, and enjoyable movement experience. I incorporate the use of props and will always be prepared with modifications and variations of asana (poses) to fit your body’s abilities.
By committing to a program under my coaching, you will progressively achieve designated and clearly outlined benchmarks, providing evidence your investment in yourself is working – this will be done through progression in how you feel, assignments, video review and performance. You will have work to do. Without investing in your health and wellness, there is no urgency to follow through to make yourself feel better. When you create an urgency, you hold yourself accountable to your investment.
YOUR intention should be on owning 100% of the results of your progress as you begin to realize the healing capabilities of incorporating a little bit of yoga into your daily life. MY intention is to create the space for you to explore this process, with instruction that is first – safe and informed - and meaningful to you in a personalized way, combined with constant feedback that provides a blueprint of your journey.
The more I get to work with you, the more we both learn about the factors that most efficiently fuel your growth. I will teach you how to link your breath with your movement – a skill that provides us with the capacity for survival and a meaningful, purposeful existence – an art best learned through the traditional teachings and practice of yoga.
After a few rounds of private instruction, you may benefit from assimilating into a regular weekly class to maintain progress within your practice and in life. My regular weekly classes offer plenty of space for personalized attention and they are designed specifically to accommodate the individuals coming to class. My instruction will guide you to where you need to be each week. The effects of a single yoga class are evident pretty immediately. The long-term effects of your yoga practice take time. But if practiced regularly, you will begin to “notice” them. The body, and your mind and mood, will begin to experience a joyous shift.
FOREGT ABOUT PHYSICAL FLEXIBILITY FOR A MOMENT!
Even if all you can do is breathe, you can do yoga, to become strong, in mind, in body, and in life. Under my instruction, you will learn techniques to regulate your breath, and develop flexibility around your mind, then allowing your body to follow, with postures aligned to match your body’s needs and fitness goals. Time spent under my guidance will move you toward action in addressing any strong emotional material that may arise through the practice of yoga. I offer techniques for centering in challenging situations and dealing with anxiety and/or serious stress that is affecting your life.
Because life offers so many ways to make us uncomfortable, during our time I will provide safe situations for you to begin the practice of being comfortable with discomfort. Through yoga, goal-setting, self-reflection, motivation and inspiration, you will begin to apply realistic and positive lifestyle improvements. Practicing with me offers you a unique way to immerse yourself into the benefits of yoga to nourish your life with inspiration lived in a strong and balanced body and mind. You will feel stronger, balanced in all aspects of life and connected to yourself, and your well-being and relationships with others will prosper. And your golf stroke and running stride will improve as well!
DISCOVER YOGA. BE THE JOY.
I hear it every time I tell someone about my knees… “But you’re so young!” My arthritic condition presented in undiagnosed leg pain in my late 30’s due to a lifetime of high impact athletic endeavors, immediately halting the way I found the most joy in life – by being an athlete. Basketball, dance, waterskiing, snowboarding, adventuring, running, kneeling, pounding, climbing, heavy-lifting, marathon driving trips…I can go on. As it would turn out my mom and dad have been battling arthritic ankles, knees, hips and spines since their late 60’s, so, in addition to my own two joint-replacement procedures, I have played care-giver for joint-replacement rehabilitation on 5 other occasions.
The psychological distress of feeling unable to remain my active, adventurous self, played out in all aspects of my life, as you can guess, in not so wonderful ways. Moodiness, restlessness, relationship stress, emotional-eating and weight gain – leading to more stress placed upon my already stressed out joints and mind. I craved the confidence sports participation gave me, but I just couldn’t see how trying to be active and prepare for my first knee replacement while in pain would yield any benefits for me. Psychologically, it greatly disrupted my yoga practice and the effects were evident. Until I decided to redeem myself and undergo the anticipated replacement of the other knee. That was when I truly committed myself to deepening my study and keeping my practice of yoga in motion. It made every difference in the process and in my life.
Through the intentional development of my personal yoga practice, I have achieved new-found confidence, ease about the gamut of life’s expectancies, resilience in the face of injury and better than before balance during my recreational-level pursuits, which I have since, excitedly, returned to participation in. I remain a passionate pursuer of adventure through snowboarding, snowshoeing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, kayak paddling, paddle-boarding, swimming, mountain bike riding, golf and basketball. Up next, surfing! My knees, as I tell those who inquire, do not at all hold me back from participating in life to the fullest!
When I’m not on my mat, or adventuring outdoors, dedicating time to my sidekick - my sweet Pug, Olive, brings me great joy! I’m also a daughter, sister, auntie, god-mother and friend.
The foundation of my professional background includes a liberal-arts based undergraduate degree in Education with concentrations in Health & Physical Education, Physiology and Psychology as well as a graduate degree in Sport Management. My professional career spans 20 years of a well-balanced variety of leadership capacity roles to include: elementary, high school, post-secondary and private classroom instruction, collegiate athletics administration and NCAA Rules Compliance, coach, recruiter, student-athlete mentor and leadership group facilitator, public relations, small-business operation, community-engagement, civic organization and activism & entrepreneurship. I’m a natural people-person with an authentic and light personality, genuinely passionate about helping others feel connection in body, in mind and in life, through yoga.
If this all sounds nice but you are still unsure if I would be a good fit for your intended pursuit of personal growth and wellness, well, I’m wondering about the same mutual fit. If you are ready to feel alive, get moving and add nourishment to your life, if you are eager to try an individualized approach to yoga, if you prefer small class-sizes or your yoga in shorter segments or if you want to make the process of a joint replacement so much easier, please reach out to me and let’s talk! The time is always now!
Wishing you,
Joy
“I’ve had the treat of having Joy as a student in both my 200-hour yoga teacher training and specialized five-day intensive on teaching yoga to athletes. In both, she proved herself to be a dedicated, centered, authentic teacher of yoga that suits every student. Joy’s experience with double knee replacements, in particular, makes her the perfect teacher to people with physical limitations. And her love for yoga in general shines through every time she teaches. This—yes—joy makes a class with Joy unique. You’ll see it immediately when you show up on the mat in her class!”
~ Sage Rountree, PhD, E-RYT, author of THE ATHLETES GUIDE TO YOGA, EVERYDAY YOGA, and LIFELONG YOGA
