Maria practiced yoga off and on for decades before finding a home within the YOCO community, completing teacher training in 2020. A former professional dancer and theatre artist with degrees in Theatre, Education, and an MS in Dance/Movement Therapy, her classes are informed by 25+ years of experience in movement, creative process, and body-based psychotherapy. You can expect creatively sequenced, dance-inspired flows, a bit of irreverence, and an emphasis on positive self-regard from your practice with her. When she’s not on her mat, Maria enjoys spending time with her friends, family and cats, reading, dancing, traveling, seeing live performances, and using movement as a healing modality with clients ranging from children to adults in her work as a Contemplative and Creative Arts Therapist. Maria relies on her yoga practice to steady her mind, connect to somatic wisdom, and find stillness amidst life’s chaos, and she endeavors to provide the same for her students.