About
I teach because I believe in yoga’s healing powers. So much of my own healing started with amazing, inspiring, and powerful yoga classes that I took 15+ years ago from my mentors Lisa Black, Vidal Bitton, Scott Francis, Toni Best, Jane Malico, and Linda Burch. Every class was magical! Now, I aspire to bring that experience to every class I teach. I believe in keeping the magic alive because it’s important. Healed people heal people! It all affects the whole.
Jo has been a leader in the yoga world since 2006. From teaching to studio management, she has multi-faceted experience in the industry, and her love of the practice continues to grow every day.
CERTIFICATIONS & TRAININGS
- 500-Hour E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance
- Level I and Level II with Baron Baptiste and the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute, 2006
- Level III with Baron Baptiste, Certified Baptiste Power Yoga Teacher, 2018
- Lisa Black’s Teacher Assisting Program (TAP) at Shakti Vinyasa Bellevue, 2007
- Yin Yoga certification with Bernie Clark, 2015
- iRest™️ Yoga Nidra certification with Audrey Benton at Be Yoga Burien, 2018
- Yoga Nidra certification with Kristen McCarthy, 2019
MANAGEMENT
- Co-founder and Director of Yoga, Urban Yoga Spa, a downtown Seattle yoga studio and spa in 2009.
- Instrumental in starting and growing the business with the owners (who were not yoga teachers at the time).
- Responsible for hiring all teachers and creating a brand of yoga that made Urban Yoga Spa a successful force in the thriving Seattle yoga community.
YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
- Contributed to various teacher training programs at Urban Yoga Spa, Shakti Vinyasa Yoga, Open Up Yoga Teacher Training, and Hot Yoga Inc.
- Facilitated teachings in leadership, teaching from the heart, sequencing, alignment, hands-on assisting, and yin.
I teach yoga because I have healed so much of my own life with yoga and I want to teach others that they can do the same. A lifelong battle with depression, anxiety, and weight issues led me to try yoga 16 years ago, and my life was completely changed forever. As a teacher, I aim for authenticity, inspiration, and a fun, encouraging, challenging class. I enjoy connecting with my students – their suffering, their triumphs – on all levels, body, mind and spirit.
Some of my most favorite teaching opportunities were co-leading the City of Dreams Yoga Retreat in Port Townsend, Washington from 2010-2016, being Yoga for Hope’s featured teacher from 2012-2015, and teaching fundraising yoga classes for Yoga Behind Bars and Africa Yoga Project.
Whether you are looking for a yoga class, private lessons, a workshop, retreat, or a yoga teacher for your next event, I look forward to connecting with you.
