Testimonials - Maitri Somatics

Private Client Testimonials

Compassionate Care

I came to my work with Joann due to a high-speed ski collision. I knew I would not be able to return to my regular workout routines with ease, as I was recovering from 5 fractures in my lower leg that were put back together in a 4-hour surgery with a lot of internal fixation hardware. Joann has met me where I am with understanding and compassion. Her knowledge of various yoga and healing modalities are enhanced by her years of experience. She listens carefully and is extremely thoughtful in her planning for my sessions. She is a competent and sensitive instructor. If you are recovering from an injury, are experiencing any health challenges, or just want to feel better, your time will be well spent with Joann.

~ Patti Tursi

Real Support & Change

In other, very exciting news: I went for a hike over the weekend and I had NO PAIN. None. Not my knees, not my hips, not my lower back. WOW! It was a short hike - only 0.6 miles to the peak - so my brain wants to put an asterisk on this, to say that it wasn’t a “real” or “hard” hike. But it is basically straight up, and it is a hike that, last September, was painful for my knees/hips/lower back. I think I was afraid to try before now because I was afraid, not only of the pain, but also that pain would have indicated that I wasn’t doing enough, yet again. I never quite contemplated what it might be like to find out there was no pain. So. Thank you. I really don’t know that I’ve worked with someone before who has really been able to truly see me and support me in this way. You have been able to take my vague ramblings about aches and pains and mental blocks and have somehow translated it into real support and change. I’m eternally grateful, and excited to see what else I might be able to do!

Highly Recommended!!!!

A friend of mine, who also received private sessions from Joann, highly recommended her!!!! Joann gave me excellent information in moving forward to alleviate depression and anxiety from the work arena and helped guide me back to my normal world. She showed me what my challenges were, and how to move forward in improving them by teaching what was needed for this to happen. Joann is a person who you will feel completely safe in sharing all your issues with. She knows what your needs are to improve your life again.

Integral to my Healing Journey

Joann is the true essence of a caring healer. She combines her professional skills in body positioning and alignment with her passionate spiritual soul. She takes the time to understand the needs of the individual and then establishes a personal series of healing practices. Joann provided me with a detailed summary of my session with specific detail. I refer back to my sessions to remind myself of what I need to be doing to optimize my practice. Having a chronic autoimmune disease, Joann's healing practices are an integral part of my journey

Playful, Juicy, Accessible, & Safe

“Working with Joann has been a transformative journey helping me learn the nuances of my own body mechanics. Her extensive background in fitness, yoga, and trauma sensitivity all combine to make working with Joann a no-brainer. She understood what I needed in each session, personalized a helpful program from her deep well of knowledge, and made sessions feel safe. Joann offers deep compassion, great listening skills, and playful explorations. I have learned how to honor my own specific ranges of motion and some workarounds that allow movements to feel better and more fluid. Investing in your one true home, your body, is priceless and Joann is fully committed to providing you with tools to empower you and your body within a safe, friendly, and caring environment. I have gained a deeper awareness, respect, and confidence of what my body is capable of doing. I feel stronger & have more body confidence from our workouts. I loved the daily check-ins that are motivational, like tiny seeds being planted for ongoing assistance in self discovery and evolution. Our weekly workouts have been fun, interesting, juicy explorations that bring me much joy. I am excited to continue learning from her and building more accessibility and strength in my body with her.”

~ Jane P.

Transformative, Powerful, Empowered

My name is Julieta and am a holistic health practitioner with 30 years of hands-on experience. I recently was made aware of some deeply buried childhood trauma. The pain was so overwhelming, I could feel my body tremble and my mind implode. I have known Joann for several years and have been following her trauma healing work from a distance, so I immediately thought of her as support for what I was going through. At first, I felt the work was a little too “mental”, but quickly realized the value of having my educated mind understand certain concepts in order to be more in charge of my emotions. The private sessions I had with Joann were transformative. Not only because I felt seen, understood and held in a very safe space, but because her work empowered me to participate in my process of discovery, at my own pace, in my own home. I consider the tools I’ve learned through TRE and Maitri Somatics some of the most powerful, yet simple and easily accessible tools I’ve ever been exposed to in almost 40 years of doing personal healing work. I’ve been telling family, friends, and patients about this incredible healing modality and feel strongly that everyone should learn these self-healing concepts for their own mental and emotional well-being. Thank you, Joann!”

~ Dr. Julieta Rushford Santiago

Yoga Testimonials

Culturally Aware

I did the class last night ! Awesome 👏 thanks ! I want to also thank you for your commitment to BLM ✊🏾 and how graciously, forcefully and delicately you use your intros to yoga to spread the word...It's super wonderful and super welcomed and super needed!

Wow, wow, wow!

Beautiful, exquisite, poetic language...solid, intellectual, and safe physical guidance...and compassionate, loving and courageous emotional instruction. Wow, wow, wow. Your small platform is too small for your greatness. You can dream big. You have so much to offer. This is true. Thank you for your beautiful classes this week!

Bliss

I just have to tell you that your class today really put me in a state. . . a state of bliss! When we were finished and I stood up, I felt like a different person - totally calm and at peace, almost mindless, relaxed, content! Whew! Can we do that again??!! A big thanks!

Calming Vibe

Joann is very easy to interact with. I find her vibe calming and you can feel it as soon as you interact with her. She is very knowledgeable about what she practices and teaches. She treats everyone in her classes equally and informs herself about their special limitations and needs. She is always willing to answer questions. She incorporates her own experiences into her classes which puts us all at ease. She has helped me so much with my anxiety. I wish I could carry her with me just to hear her calming voice throughout the day.

Warm, Friendly, Patient, and Confident

I love your very engaging teaching style: warm, friendly, patient, and confident. The granular detail in your directions and descriptions are not only clear and to the point, but they’re also embedded with explanations describing why we’re moving the way we’re moving.

Funny

I know you will like Joann as she is practical, knowledgeable, and experienced. Funny, too.

Inspiring and Transformative

Such a change in me as I witnessed your teaching…before I would have been envious and wanting to be better than you. Your beauty, dedication and commitment now inspires me to be a better me for me and for the world. Your presence has been transformative in my life. I know BIG words to you and thank you.

Knowledgeable, Accepting, & Encouraging

Joann offers a broad and deep base of knowledge (both in yoga philosophy and science/biology) and she models the ability to share and clearly convey information to students who do not have previous knowledge in these subjects. Her ability to encourage acceptance while also encouraging effort and endurance is skillful. She communicates how to integrate yoga principles into the rest of life, and vice versa.

What Professional Therapists Had to Say:

Prepared, Clear, Flexible & Nurturing

I took this workshop for personal reasons, but I gained professional benefits from it as well. It is far and away one of the best workshops I have been to in many years. I am a yoga teacher (RYT 500) and a licensed clinical social worker (in practice since 1995). I attend many workshops and trainings. I found this to be incredibly informative for both practices. Additionally, I feel that this is one of the best teachers that I have taken a workshop or training with: expert, well prepared and organized, completely clear, flexible, nurturing, attentive to the needs of individual students - absolutely the perfect balance of qualities one could hope for in an instructor. I would 100% recommend this workshop and anything this teacher offers.

Skillfull

Joann is a skillful educator and workshop facilitator. She was able to distill complex information about our nervous system in ways that we were all able to understand and integrate into our lives. I learned some very simple and life changing practices to support my healing, my health and wellbeing. I now have another powerful tool to help my nervous system discharge the small and chronic/traumatic stressors of life.”

TRE® Love

Beautiful Heart

I met Joann through the Ashaya yoga community. I experienced a gentle loving presence that was also strong with great clarity. Because of who she was and where her journey has taken her, I was intrigued by her teachings. TRE® has become an essential practice in my life as I experience loss and change. The guided practices and teachings have helped me release a tremendous amount of holding in my body and in my heart. What has surprised me is how valuable the practice of releasing the body is to releasing the mind. The weekly classes have been supportive, educational, and safe. As Bessel van der Kolk says, "the body keeps score." Joann's TRE® class has helped me to level the playing field where my body can find more ease and my heart and mind can catch up. Joann is an excellent teacher with a genuinely beautiful heart."

Empowering

In a world where we are taught to rely on passive self-care, this workshop is a perfect contradiction that empowers you to learn about your body and take control of your physical and emotional health.

YES!

Could this be my first step toward actually learning to let go? For the first time in my life, I can say 'YES.' Thank you!

Informative & Grounding, My Go-to Yoga Teacher for Safety & Inspiration

Joann presents cutting edge research about the mind/body and combines it with calm yoga practices and key points for learning TRE®. My experiences in Joann’s classes and TRE® workshops have been informative and grounding for all aspects of my life - on and off the mat! She is my go-to yoga teacher, fostering a class in which psychological safety is a priority, readings are inspiring, and individual experiences are enhanced.

Delicious Relaxation

Saturday and Sunday were a positively delicious taste of what living in a non-guarded physical musculature must feel like. My relaxation was so deeply felt I was actually confused and lay down a few times to sleep thinking I was tired. I was not. In fact, I’ve been calmly productive and I felt elasticity which is completely new!

Simple and Profound

TRE® is an exciting new tool for me to apply in my constant quest for more health and balance in my life. It is so simple, profound, and accessible. I so appreciate this opportunity to learn to apply it to the unwinding of trauma in my system.

Safe and Accessible

Joann's masterful knowledge of TRE® theory, use of the practice in her own life, and expertise in guiding the practice of her students make for a powerful combination for her as a teacher. The classes feel safe and individually tailored, plus Joann is accessible outside of class for one to one guidance.

High Regard for your Students

I think of TRE® as a rather intimate practice; I wouldn’t willingly or comfortably tremble in front of anyone. But I felt very safe and nurtured during the TRE® sessions. You cultivated an atmosphere of safety and respect, ensuring each student in the class was seen. Not only did I feel I could release completely, I felt very “held” as well. Thank you, Joann, for so thoughtfully teaching with such high regard for your students. I know that it takes an enormous amount of work and presence to prepare for one hour of class time. Your “effortless” teaching bears great dignity and value.

Superb!

Superb class! This was my 2nd time taking TRE® and I learned even more. My tremor this time was increased in scope, duration and intensity. Afterward, I felt extremely calm and grounded. I highly recommend this superb class with Joann.

Exceeded Expectations

This class exceeded my expectations with the level of information provided on the background of the technique. It was refreshing to learn a practice that I could use at home and am not required to attend multiple classes to master. I also really appreciated the take-home materials for review.

Warm, Welcoming, Safe

Joann is so well informed in TRE®. She creates a warm, welcoming space for those new to it, like me. It was a safe place to learn about regulating our nervous systems. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Trauma Informed & Accessible

Joann leads a well rounded workshop outlining the theory, "how to" & personal benefits gained from practicing the tension & trauma releasing exercises (TRE) in addition to leading the group through the practice itself in a trauma-informed & accessible way. Joann was highly professional & clear in her presentation of the polyvagal theory and had some very tangible real-life examples of ways she's been able to access a more regulated nervous system through these practices.

Exceeded Expectations

This class exceeded my expectations. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I enrolled but was curious enough to try it. WOW!--Joann is such an excellent teacher. She is kind, gives very clear instructions, and provides a safe space to let yourself go. I highly recommend this class to others in need of release.

This workshop helped me better understand the body/heart/brain connection and added another tool to my toolkit for self-regulation.

This was a highly accessible, clear, and well-organized workshop led with warmth and competence.

The Active Recovery Workshop: Self Massage & TRE®

Hope
This class and Joann’s teaching have given me hope to be able to move freely without pain or discomfort!”

Incredible!!
“This was an incredible experience largely because of how incredibly trauma informed and thoughtful Joann was. There was such intentionality to the way Joann did everything. Understanding why I chose the spot I did created some instant trust – “okay, she gets it,” was so validating for me and opened me up to this experience.”

Informative
This was so fun and informative! Definitely something I want to keep doing and learning. I am curious how this might be combined with other somatic work; trauma work, and therapy/mental health."

Fascinating!!

TRE® is fascinating! The rolling [self massage techniques] is very helpful for my injury and tension spots. Thank you!

Yoga & Easing Anxiety Appreciation

I Can Sleep!

What I learned I’ve been able to use in my daily life to regain a sense of calmness. It’s been particularly helpful in being able to reduce anxiety so I can sleep.

Fantastic Teacher

Great series for anyone struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, etc. The educational component is often overlooked in traditional classes and adds tremendous value to both class experience and lifelong practice. Joann is a fantastic teacher and provides a safe and comfortable space-10/10!”

Couldn’t ask for a Better Teacher

An educational, fulfilling, and safe experience. Joann’s knowledge of how the mind and body work really helped me find ways to work with my own stress and anxiety. Thank you Joann, I couldn’t ask for a better teacher!

Wonderful

A wonderful class. A perfect balance of teaching and practice to allow me to find understanding in both how my body holds my anxiety and how I can help to ease it.

Helped More than Therapists

I wish this class lasted longer. It helped me more than therapists have. Joann has a very calming way about her and makes anxiety decrease just by listening to her. Her shared experiences makes you feel she understands.

Challenging and Appreciated

I really enjoyed that this was yoga as much for the mind as it was for the body. I felt challenged in ways I did not expect, but truly appreciated in retrospect. Thank you!

Thank you for adding more peace and understanding in my life!