Joy Valko RYT 200, is a licensed Anusara Elements yoga teacher who believes that the practices of yoga and pilates can complement each other. The strength and stability cultivated in pilates practice can enhance the expression of a yoga pose (asana), and the meditative awareness nurtured in yoga can help students be more fully present as they apply the Pilates Method. Joy began studying to become a Pilates instructor in 2024 by beginning reformer training with Kirsten Karlblom. Yoga captured her heart in 2002; this meditation in motion helped her get out of her head and into the present in her body. She endeavors to help her students find their own expression of each asana for their bodies; Anusara Yoga teaches that at this moment, each person’s body has its own Optimal Blueprint that guides alignment. In 2019 Joy completed 200-hour teacher training with Julie Smerdon of Shri Yoga, Brisbane, and in 2020 she completed 50-hour Yin Yoga training with Bernie Clark. She completed 60-hour Mental Health Aware Yoga training with Lauren Tober, PhD in 2023.