JO ANN COLKER ARISON

Jo Ann Colker Arison, RYT has been a Yoga teacher and Bodyworker since 1986. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Brandeis University, and her Masters Degree in Cinema from Loyola Marymount. A dance injury led her to Yoga and the healing arts, and her theatrical and cinematic background continues to inform and inspire her yoga practice and her teaching.

Her yoga roots include the privilege of studying with Billy Porter in LA, and Earl Beeler in New York. She has followed and studied with Erich Shiffman for the past ten years, and also currently studies with Max Strom at Sacred Movement and Tiffany Fraser at City Yoga.

Her specialties include teaching young actors, which she did in the theatre department at USC for six years. She also loves teaching dancers, athletes and creating variations for students of all ages with injuries or challenges. Jo Ann uses her expertise in bodywork, particularly Zero Balancing, to create specific, unique hands-on adjustments for her yoga students. A long time teacher at Santa Monica Yoga, Jo Ann is pleased to be a Registered Yoga Teacher in the Yoga Alliance.

Jo Ann worked as a massage therapist here at Ocean Front Medical with Jack Herschorn D.C. the initial owner. When he moved his family up north, he asked if she and Teralis wanted to take over. So they did! She and Teralis created a new look and warm feel to the center, with its fountains, bamboo, and original photographs from Esalen where they love to study. Jo Ann encourages all her yoga students to experience bodywork to complement their yoga practice. Their center is unique in that all the practitioners have their own yoga practice. and understand the relationship between yoga and other modalities.

Her real delight and transformation was the birth of her daughter Alexandra Kaliray in 2001, and her focus since that event has been helping new Moms recover and enjoy their bodies again with their babies by their side. Her new postnatal yoga Mama and Me DVD is called YogaMaBabyGa – a unique format that allows Moms to follow a yoga routine designed by Jo Ann, while their baby enjoys beautiful pictures and music.

Kaliray takes up most of her time, but she is still available on a limited basis for private yoga sessions and bodywork.