Hi. I’m Maria.
I’m Maria, a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) and Experienced Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 200 and RYT 500) based in St. John’s, NL
I received my Yoga Therapy Diploma (800hr, Ajna Yoga, Victoria, BC) and my Yoga Therapist designation from the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) in 2023. I also have additional training in Hatha & Vinyasa, Yin, Restorative, Yoga Nidra, and Chair Yoga.
My work gently weaves together mental health support, chronic pain care and embodied practices that help you reconnect with yourself. I don’t believe healing has to be intense or overwhelming. Often, it’s quiet. It’s steady. It happens through small, supportive shifts that build over time.
As a Yoga Therapist in St. John’s, NL, I offer one-to-one sessions within a mental health and wellness clinic and chronic pain clinic, working alongside other care providers when helpful and appropriate. Many of the people I support are living with anxiety, burnout, sleep challenges, chronic pain or simply a feeling of being disconnected from themselves.
Our work together is collaborative and paced in a way that feels manageable. There’s no pushing - just listening, adjusting, and supporting your nervous system to find a little more ease.
Yoga therapy is different from a yoga class. It’s personalized and tailored to your nervous system, your story and your current capacity. Together, we might explore:
Gentle therapeutic movement
Breath practices for anxiety, chronic pain and sleep
Nervous system regulation tools
Simple home practices you can actually sustain
My approach is trauma-informed, collaborative and grounded in nervous system science. I’m especially passionate about supporting individuals navigating perimenopause and menopause, living with chronic pain and those seeking complementary care alongside counselling or mental health support in St. John’s, NL.
My practice is inclusive of queer, non-binary, and trans individuals, and I am committed to creating a space that feels affirming and respectful of all bodies and identities.
At its heart, my work is about helping you feel more at home in your body - offering a gentle, nervous-system-informed approach that meets you where you are.
If you’re looking for a Yoga Therapist in St. John’s, NL who values gentleness, relationship and practical tools you can use in everyday life, I would be honoured to support you.
A little more about me
I live in St. John’s, NL, surrounded by the breathtaking ocean and adventurous paths of the East Coast Trail. I share my sweet fixer-upper home with my supportive partner, Janelle. I love to travel and explore (with a new found love of mushroom foraging), garden (lettuce and tomatoes and kale, oh my!) and bike (on a fire engine red e-bike that is perfect for the hills of St. John’s).
Yoga Training and Certifications
800hr Yoga Therapy Diploma, Ajna Yoga, Victoria, BC, May 2023
Training included: Yoga Therapy Immersion (80hrs); Yoga, Psychology and The Mind Immersion (60hrs), and the following modules (all 20hrs): Backcare Yoga, Yoga Therapy for Knees and Hips; Yoga Therapy for Shoulders and Wrists; Sequencing for Yoga Therapy; Yoga, Trauma, and Mental Health; Yoga Therapy for Healthy Aging and Chair Yoga; Yoga, Tensegrity and Fascia; Yoga Therapy in Pain Care; Meditation for Yoga Therapy; Pranayama (breathing) for Yoga Therapy; The Therapeutic Relationship; The Business of Yoga Therapy; Yin Yoga Therapy; Therapeutic Inversions and Backbends; and Journey Through the Chakras
200hr Yoga Teacher Training in Vinyasa & Hatha with Debbie Krejci, Sayulita, Mexico, February 2016
50hr Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Bernie Clark, Vancouver, BC, February 2016
100hr Yin Yoga Teacher Training Level Two with Stephanie Calhoun, St. John’s, NL, February 2018
40hr Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Andrea Peloso, St. John’s, NL, 2019/2020
34hr Unified Body Yoga Training (Fascia Anatomy) with Michelle Dalbec and Christopher Holmes, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Mass., USA, February 2019
16hr Yoga Nidra Yoga Teacher Training with Bobby Bessey, St. John’s, NL, April 2019
24hr Upper Body Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Stephanie Calhoun, July 2020
Chair Yoga Teacher Training (2 days) with Connie Abbass, January 2020
42hr Yoga Thrive Teacher Training (for individuals living with and beyond cancer) with Tyla Arnason, C-IAYT and Dr. Nicole Culos-Reed, PhD, University of Calgary, December 2021
60hr Pain Care Aware Foundational and Teaching Individuals with Neil Pearson, Physiotherapist and C-IAYT, June 2025