About you
YOU are at the heart of my approach to teaching and healing. Whether you’re looking for the physical benefits of yoga and bodywork, or are interested in delving more into the spiritual aspects of these practices (or anywhere in between), I will curate my style of teaching or healing to suit you. As your needs shift and evolve, so will the work we do together. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey.
About Energy
Energy is they key to everything I do. Every ancient tradition has their own interpretation of this: Ki in Japan (the origin of Reiki), Qi in China, Prana in Indian, Life Force in Europe, Mana in Polynesia. In Australia, there are as many words for it as there are Indigenous languages (over 200). The one I’m familiar with is Miwi, brought to me via the teachings of Minmia - Wirradjirri Elder and Wirrloo (Lore Woman & Healer). 45 names from both spiritual and scientific traditions around the globe can be found here.
Whatever you choose to call it, this energy runs throughout our physical body, and extends beyond it by roughly a meter. This energetic field around us, unique to every person, is sometimes called our Aura, Subtle Body, Energetic Body, or Electromagnetic Field. Everything that your mind and your physical body experiences (thoughts, interactions, activities, the things you consume), your energetic field experiences too. Essentially, what you do in life, and how you do it, effects the health of your energy.
In yoga, we use breath and movement to unite our mind, body, and Prana. Physical movement helps to move stuck energy around and get it flowing in a more optimal manner. Focused attention and mindful breathing help to calm the fluctuations of your mind, and therefore your energy. You will find that when you practise yoga, it balances out where you’re at that day. If you’re feeling sluggish, it will energise you. If you’re feeling anxious, it will ground you.
In Reiki, I use a healing technique to clear out energetic blocks - with a particular focus on the main 7 energy centres of your body (Chakras). These blocks can be caused by physical illness or injury, emotional trauma such as grief or heartbreak, mental stress, negative thought patterns, etc.
There is a feedback loop between your physical body and your energetic body: if you heal an injury, that area of your energy will slowly heal as well, having a knock on effect on other areas of your wellbeing. If you clear an energetic block, its likely that an injury in that area of the body will heal faster. That’s why I work with both the physical practise of yoga, and the energetic practise of Reiki - it’s a way of coming at a problem from both sides; wonderfully complementary.
About me
My passion for movement was evident from a young age; I was dedicated to Contemporary Dance from the age of 4, until I was 18. I remember clearly the feeling of joy that came from getting out of my head and into my body. Before I understood what this meant, dance was my yoga. Around the age 11 or 12 I suffered from extreme night terrors, and my Mom took me to see an Energy Field Therapist by the name of Sue Zange. After our session, Sue told me I was going to be a healer. I didn’t think much of this at the time, but now I think of it often. My night terrors never returned.
A few years later, noticing my issues with body image, anxiety, and anger, my Mom (again, thank you Janett) insisted that I go to a Hatha Yoga class every Friday night. I loved it. In my early 20s my practise lapsed and when my anxiety flared, sadly, I would turn to the bottle rather than my yoga mat. After moving to Australia in 2011 I started to practise yoga again sporadically (mainly to try and manage my chronic back pain), until one day I walked through the doors of Modo Yoga Sydney (Now Yoga). During my first class I thought I was going to pass out or throw up multiple times (it was 36 degrees in the room and I was probably hungover). But I came back. I kept coming back. The teachers in that room held the space for me to peel back layer after layer of myself, until all of the parts I’d been afraid to look at were laid bare to me on my mat. Eventually, one day I met my true essence, my soul, right there in that hot room lying in Savasana. My soul who is not consumed by anxiety and chronic back pain. My soul who is as expansive as the universe and made of pure unconditional love. When I tell you it’s okay to cry in Pigeon pose, it’s because I’ve been there many many times.
This is when my journey to self healing and recovery truly began. With the love and support of my teacher, Thy Monzo, I undertook my Yoga Teacher Training with Modo Yoga in Montreal. Studying the philosophy of yoga, the neuroscience of meditation, and the energetics of the body during my training re-awakened my thirst for knowledge. Remembering my experience with energy healing as a child - and still working through my own struggles with pain and anxiety - I enrolled in a Reiki Level 1 course in Sydney. The pieces of the puzzle started to fit together; not only had I found the right healing tools for myself, I had found my purpose and path in life. Since then I have studied to Reiki Master level, and travelled to Cambodia teaching yoga and Reiki to young Khmer women. Now I’m back in my spiritual home of Australia, and can’t wait to welcome you to my beautiful therapy space at in Gleniffer, in the Coffs Coast Hinterland.
“It is so easy to feel how much Joanna cares for you and your journey both during and outside of your sessions.”
— Reiki Testimonial, Lilly Broderick
Credentials
Modo Yoga International - 500hr Hatha Yoga Teacher Training
Bernie Clark & Diana Batts (Yoga International) - 50hr Yin Yoga Teacher Training
Athina Bailey (Usui Reiki Ryoho Lineage) - Reiki Level I, Reiki Level II, Reiki Master Practitioner & Reiki Master Teacher
Mette’s Institute of Bodywork - 120hr KaHuna Bodywork Practitioner Training
Brooke Elliston & Merryn Penington - 36hr ZenThai Shiatsu Foundations Training
Business Info
ABN 33 985 762 149
Registered and insured under the International Institute of Complementary Therapies. Membership number AU9935347837