Jo Walker Yoga

If you’ve been to Jo’s class regularly, you have probably noticed that she’s always got something new she’s learned and wants to share. She lives her belief that every yoga practice is a 3-D work of art, like a live concert that will never happen exactly in the same way with the same people in the same place again. Jo embraces new experiences and teachings, and her students benefit.

Jo recently attended a weekend retreat in Boone to study with Medha Garud, who combines her work as a physical therapist, yoga therapist, and Ayurvedic practitioner at The Art of Living Retreat Center. She chose this retreat so she could study with a teacher from India in a holistic environment steeped in Indian culture. And spending time in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains appealed to her too! She travels to Boone several times a year to hike and join the Native Plant Society for outings and lectures.

Jo returned from her retreat with fresh insight into her yoga practice, having learned about Ayurveda. Simply put, Ayurveda is the science behind the practice of yoga. Understanding one requires understanding the other. While any body can benefit from the physical motions of a yoga practice, moving through the asanas involves a deeper sense, what Ayurveda calls a natural intelligence. Incorporating this natural intelligence can bring about a more fulfilling outcome.

Ayurvedic philosophy holds that we each have a constitutional makeup that contains various amounts of the five elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Your dosha determines how you might best approach your diet and lifestyle. Find out which dosha best matches your constitution with this quiz. Once you know your dosha, you can modify the foods that you eat and the asanas that you incorporate into your yoga practice.

Having learned that she’s a pitta-kapha (more on the pitta side), Jo learned how to modify her lifestyle to accomodate her natural energy. She adjusts a little each week, taking baby steps, saying, “It’s a lot of change, and I want to set myself up for success.”

Success indeed! Over the course of the weekend, she reached the 500 hour milestone in her yoga teacher training. The RYT 500 designation from the Yoga Alliance is a significant step up for Jo, so be sure to congratulate her on this happy event (although you may not see her until the end of summer–Jo will be spending the next 11 weeks at the YMCA’s Camp Weaver).