About Joan
About Rebel
Welcome. I'm Joan, a little mindful, a little rebellious, a lotta weird. I'm a native New Yorker from Brooklyn living in Weehawken, NJ with my husband, Eric and our two kitties. We are home to each other. Our partnership makes our freedom possible for each other.
I love human movement and the limitless expressions through which we can shift and divide among our motions. I've been increasingly enthralled by our capabilities to move as minds with bodies rather than bodies with minds. I feel as if we were shaped from the skin to the brain... as realistically incorrect that notion might be, it feels like the body-mind is symbiotic, yet stemming from the periphery. We live to move, not move to live.
Welcome. I'm Joan, a little mindful, a little rebellious, a lotta fun. I'm a native New Yorker from Brooklyn living in Weehawken, NJ with my husband Eric and our two kitties. We are home to each other. Our partnership makes our freedom possible for one other.
I love human movement and the limitless expressions through which we can shift and divide through our motions. I've been increasingly enthralled by our capabilities to move as minds with bodies rather than bodies with minds. I feel as if we were shaped from the skin to the brain... as realistically inaccurate that notion may be, it feels like the body-mind is symbiotic, yet stemming from the periphery. We live to move, not move to live.
I struggle internally with the stationary nature of society, but as hyper-aware I am of this imminent future, I feel incapable of standing still and simply observing the sedentary lives many of us live. I seek to serve as a sliver of hope, encouragement and guidance for those who need it the most and everyone in between. Based on this simple truth, I've undertaken the duty of slowing down this process as best I can. The last 17 years of learning and teaching have shaped my personal ideology that we must remain in motion, while never forgetting the power standing still intentionally, but never permanently. This to me is one of the major themes behind Mindful Rebel.
As human beings, we of course have much in common, however, individuality, rebelliousness with positive intentions, and authenticity can never fall away. Our bodies want us to experience life, to move often, and to remain free. I've come to realize that many of us are unhappy, we feel debilitated by norms and expectations, by being compartmentalized and shaped against our will, often times unknowingly, by sitting and experiencing life outside of ourselves, by falling into what we think we should do while forgetting what living is really like. And so, in a way, in order to move past the rigidity of everyday life, we must rebel... mindfully. If you think carefully and deeply about those two words, it's really quite balanced and symbiotic, much like the body-mind.
For those of you who are curious, my background lies in many disciplines, sports and interests. In order, I participated and competed in swimming, tennis, dance, gymnastics and crossfit. I practiced and taught non traditional yoga for 9 years, was head coach and manager of a speciality strength and conditioning facility where I taught 12-15 classes weekly and mentored many young novice trainers, I helped open and sustain 2 new gyms in NJ, I was head of research and development in academic fitness for a chain of gyms in Western Europe, and now own my studio in Union City where I see clients on a 1-1 basis. During my career from day to 1, I always trained individual clients despite any simultaneous endeavor. It was my one true love while pursuing other branches of my career which I have now left behind and solely focus on individualized training.
I always knew this was the world for me and so when I began university, I chose exercise science/kinesiology as my main course of studies without question. My studies included all the hard and soft sciences such as physics, chemistry, anatomy & physiology, biology, exercise physiology, exercise psychology, biomechanics, program design, nutritional sciences, exercise testing and prescription, and a great deal of field work.
Exercise Science was and is always the only thing that excites me, brought me joy and allowed me to genuinely be a positive force in an individual’s life. I threw myself into this world and have grazed every aspect of this experience with the tips of my fingers, I have seen, felt and heard an enormous volume of human experiences that led them to me, I have nearly seen it all and yet I still yearn to continue meeting and helping every human who comes my way. My sole duty is to bring movement into your life, to educate, to give you autonomy over your body and create comfort in the skin and body you’ve been given.I will teach you how to move well, how to lift weights with a technique which best pertains to your body and needs; I will seek and harness your strength and help you gain autonomy over your body.
I will teach you that you are not fragile and that you are far more capable than you think. I will help you learn that aches and pains are not limiting factors, and that you can train through nearly anything. You will learn that HUMANS NEED TO MOVE WELL AND HUMANS NEED TO MOVE OFTEN. This is what I seek to do, teach you the value in movement and teach you autonomy and self-reliance in movement. I don't seek to cradle you forever, I want you to learn and then go off on your own and do your thing, explore, refine, have fun, just keep moving. Be rebellious, be mindful, be balanced between the two.