Angela Muriel

I came to find JOY when one of my close friends gifted me a Groupon for a sacred foot soak and 15 minute infrared sauna session. From that very first moment of stepping through the door, I knew I belonged here. I was taking yoga asana classes elsewhere at the time with only one instructor, she worked right up until giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, but the place she taught at had no plans of continuing classes during her maternity leave. I was already a year into practicing at least 2 times per week and thought, well, what the heck and I am gonna do now? I can't go 3 months without Yoga! Good thing that after my gifted Groupon foot soak and sauna session, I got a tour of JOY and found out about the yoga classes. 

It wasn't long before I ended up taking every class I could, as often as I could. I attended sound healings, women's circles, book immersions, meditation offerings, Kirtan, where I found my love of Krishna Das and the Hanuman Chalisa, and beautiful JOY retreats. 

Each time I showed up for myself, my mind started to quiet and my heart started to open, it's almost as if my eyes and ears started to adjust, like tuning an old radio by moving the antenna around just right.

Let's fast forward to my YTT training. I never intended on becoming a teacher, I wanted to learn more about Yogic philosophy, Hinduism and Buddhism and that I did! The more I learned, the more I wanted to know because honestly, every time I learned/learn something new, I realized I knew/know nothing at all. The chakra course opened up a whole new realm of possibilities which led me to become a Reiki III practitioner working towards the master level.

This is why I will forever be a student and life long learner! I can go on forever about all of the benefits of having a daily practice, whether that be the physical practice of yoga, meditation, mantra or mindfulness but I chose instead to share by teaching. Now, if anyone would have asked me 5 years ago if I could see myself teaching yoga, let alone becoming an owner of a yoga studio, I would have laughed and brushed it off as nonsense. I was not good at public speaking or being the center of attention. It has all been a practice and still is, every day, every moment and it's all different each and every time.