PIES Fitness Now Offers Yoga Therapy for Physical, Intellectual, Emotional & Spiritual Imbalances!
Holistic Yoga Therapy compassionately guides clients to explore their life from a holistic perspective and apply the knowledge gained to improve their health and quality of life. Emphasis is placed on balancing the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual pieces. The ancient practices and teachings of yoga are applied to support each client’s goals, needs, and learning styles.
Anyone with physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual or mental impairments can benefit from holistic yoga therapy. Clients experience increased self-regulation and self-soothing skills by learning breath work and relaxation techniques. The physical practice of yoga postures, or asanas, increases motor skills and body awareness which promote greater communication and social skills.
The teachings of yoga contain many tools to open new thought processes that can greatly improve life balance and success at work or in their home life. In comprehensive yoga therapy, clients work in partnership with the therapist to find the most effective strategies to identify and attain their individual goals in their work or home life.
Many have learned to tap into their inner strength and over- come self-defeating challenges, maximize talents, compensate for deficiencies, and manage the challenges of everyday life through the skills gained in CYT.
The combination of breath work, guided meditation, self-examination, and physical postures can enhance physical and mental well-being by re-balancing the body’s glandular, nervous, and energetic response to stressors. At PIES, we believe the benefits of yoga should be accessible to EVERYONE and strive to offer a variety of intimate group classes for special populations. Additionally, each week we offer several dynamically adaptive classes that include a combination of therapeutic modalities to address the issues that appear on the mat.
Meet the Adaptive/Therapeutic Yoga Specialists
Marsha D. Banks-Harold, owner and founder of PIES Fitness Yoga Studio and PIES Yoga School thrives when sharing her intuitive gifts. She earned her Comprehensive Yoga Therapy (CYT) certification from Bob Butera of Yoga Life Institute. She compassionately guides clients to explore their life from a holistic perspective and apply the knowledge gained to improve their health and quality of life. Professionals, parents, caregivers, educators, children and adults with special needs, seniors, and many others living with unique challenges have found better balance of their physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual sides with Marsha’s application of ancient practices and teachings of yoga. Marsha is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and holds C-IAYT, YACEP, E-RYT-500, RCYT and RPYT certifications and a BSEE.
Following a car accident, Kristi Schwickerath suffered debilitating chronic pain. After more than a decade-long battle, she found yoga and credits the breath-centered movement, increased mindfulness, and acceptance of her body and circumstances from yoga practice on the mat for her improved living off the mat. She feels called to share her intuitive gifts, knowledge, and experience with others facing injury recovery or chronic health conditions through her dynamically adaptive yoga classes for special populations. Kristi is a certified yoga teacher with extensive knowledge of adaptive, yin and restorative yoga, as well as pain management and myofascial self-release. She studied Therapeutic Wisdom of Yoga under Doug Keller and currently is a yoga therapy apprentice.
Since early childhood, Kimberly Perry has displayed an innate healing gift which she generously shares. In her quest to better serve others she has become a licensed massage therapist through the Cayce Reilly Massage School and certified yoga teacher through Yogaville’s Integral Yoga program. She is frequently sought out for her deep knowledge of anatomy, but regularly continues to expand her healing skills through specialized study including restorative yoga with Judith Hanson Lasater, spirituality with Iyanla Vanzant, and recently embarked upon Ayurveda training. She humbly creates a safe space for clients to find calm and stay centered in the mind, body and spirit while employing a combination of healing modalities.
As a life long learner and retired educator, Kris Feroleto has embraced her passion for bringing yoga and mindfulness into the schools and the community. She is a certified yoga teacher with specialized training in yoga for special needs and autism. She has been instrumental in bringing yoga and mindfulness to administrators, social workers, and students at Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS), including elementary students with autism. She holds multiple advanced degrees in Special Education, Human Growth and Development and a certification in School Leadership and trained under Sally L. Smith, the founder and director of The Lab School of Washington. She worked in ACPS, moving up from the role of special education teacher through counselor, and culminating as assistant principal at T.C. Williams High School. Kris has also trained in trauma and loss and is currently pursuing yoga nidra certification.