Namaskaram community!
Well, it has been a long time since I've sent out a newsletter--since May of 2022 to be real. And while my website has been quite and my regular email offerings have gone stagnant, I have been really busy with grad school! I am now in my second trimester of yoga therapy school at Maryland University of Integrative Health... so much has happened. So much research. So much critical analysis. So much comparative discussion. So much writing. So much APA style format. I've been yearning for the more conversational and journalistic approach I enjoy about writing, and I miss hearing from you all about how you reflected on my newsletters and what insight you gain from reading them, so I am back!
In honor of my own time constraints with grad school and running my one-woman yoga business, my newsletters will be shorter than they used to be, but the richness of the content will still be there to support your curiosity--instead of a whole slice of cake it'll just be a satisfying bite :-) In addition, I'm going to start including reflection questions so you have some specific things to contemplate (and maybe even research!) after reading each brief newsletter.
All that being said, I'm really happy to reintroduce my monthly newsletter! There have been a lot of new folks subscribing to my email list, but you have yet to receive anything from me. Thank you for subscribing, and let me also take a moment to (re)introduce myself.
My name is Jo-Jo Jackson, (yes that's my real name) I live in Cherokee/ Shawnee/ Yuchi territory (Nashville, TN), and my pronouns are she/her. While I'm a Tri-State native (NYC/CT) I've been living here in Music City since 2008. I'm a yoga & meditation teacher (E-RYT500) and student yoga therapist studying for a Master's in Yoga Therapy at Maryland University of Integrative Health. Attending yoga therapy school fills me with a deep inner knowing I'm at the intersection of Artha and Dharma! In addition, I'm an Ayurvedic Wellness counselor certified in HeartMath personal resiliency techniques and I specialize in guiding sound meditation practices in the tradition of Nada Yoga.
I started practicing yoga in 2010 while I was in college at MTSU. My practice started with the Hot-26 Bikram series, and while you can still find me at a hot yoga studio during the cold winter months, my practice has transformed and evolved in ways I don't think I would have fathomed back then. I received both my foundational and advanced yoga certifications from Asheville Yoga Center in 2014 & 2020 respectively, and I received my Ayurvedic wellness certification from Dancing Shiva Yoga & Ayurveda in 2018. In addition I currently study Nada Yoga, mantra, bhajan & raga with Sheela Bringi & Brent Kuecker at the Sacred Sound Lab.
I have more than 1000 hours in continuing education training outside of my primary certifications. My continuing education sources from philosophical, therapeutic & somatic studies in practices and techniques such as mantra chanting, Sanskrit, Vedanta, Tantra, the yoga of social justice, the neuroscience of yoga, adaptive yoga & yoga therapeutics, trauma sensitivity, yoga & equity, restorative yoga, Rocket yoga (Boomshakalaka--IYKYK), marma points, meditation, pranayama, Yoga Nidra and sound therapeutics.
My personal & teaching practices are deeply informed by the therapeutic wisdom of Ayurveda and the embodied liberation of Tantra. As such, my aim as a yoga teacher & student yoga therapist is to guide my students & clients on the path of Self-inquiry to empower spontaneous, authentic Self-healing.
I enjoy teaching beginning students and seasoned practitioners alike. My teaching is based in aligning with the rhythms of nature to elevate a harmonious quality in a hatha yoga practice. When I'm teaching in studio settings, the class types I primarily teach are meditation, restorative yoga, "slow flow" styles and unheated vinyasa. In addition to all this, I guide Nada Yoga sound meditation sessions and beginner's workshops for learning the foundations of the Yoga of sound.
Thank you so much for being a part of my community!!
Did you click the link above to read about the purusharthas? Take a moment to reflect on these four Aims of life, and how can you use this model to create more harmony, peace & ease in your life.
ॐ नमः शिवाय
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
