Julia has been teaching Health and Wellness for over 38 years. Her initial experience was in the Health Club industry as a personal trainer and exercise instructor. Her experience in yoga classes in the early 1990’s at the Himalayan Institute of Buffalo led her to make a radical shift in lifestyle and move to the Institute’s educational facility in Honesdale, PA. where she lived for almost 8 years studying and teaching yoga and Holistic Health.

Julia has a B.A. in Exercise Science from the University of Buffalo, is a Certified Yoga Instructor at the Advanced 500 Level, E-RYT 500, and also has certification as a Yoga Therapist, a Vishoka Meditation Instructor, and an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist.

She has training in specialized yoga for disabilities and has been part of the Universal Design Yoga program at UB since 2009. Her training has led her to work with various able-bodied individuals, wheelchair users, those with vision impairment, those with joint replacements, and people living with Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Cancer diagnosis, and Hypertension. She is also trained as a Trauma Informed Yoga Instructor and yearly attends multiple science/clinical based trainings to stay current with new findings and research in neuroscience, meditation, contemplative practices, and movement.

Julia is currently enrolled in the programs at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM, training in understanding the integration of holistic practices within the medical model. The programs she has taken are Being with Dying and G.R.A.C.E, Training in Compassion-Based Interactions; she is also enrolled in their 2-year Chaplaincy program.

She is the Administrative Coordinator and Senior Teacher for the 200 and 300 hour Teacher Training Programs at the Himalayan Institute of Buffalo and has served as an instructor for other teacher training programs in PA, WI, NYC, The Dominican Republic, and Western NY.

She works privately with clients to find the most effective method of yoga practice (movement, breath training, and relaxation/meditation techniques) and lifestyle (ayurvedically informed) methods to fit their unique needs and abilities.