About Lisa Martinez, MA, NCC, ERYT 500

For over twenty years, yoga has been a tool to bring agency, resilience, capability, stillness, clarity and wisdom to small moments in my life so that I can truly begin to experience joy in the whole of life.

Suffering began that process, though. I could have run to many methods of self-harm to deaden the pain at times, but instead of becoming more numb to the difficulties in life, I surrendered to the slow process of breathing through each moment. I’m thankful I was offered this opportunity to practice yoga and so practice these small moments of awareness because I could definitely be in some bad places if I hadn’t. The breath and movement in the practice of yoga has helped me to see the life that’s already there and how to experience the joyful depth of it.

As a mother of six sons, my greatest joy in life is my family. Tragically, however, in 2002, we lost our fourth son Benjamin in an unexpected accident. From then on began a long, painful struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and deep grief which took a vast toll on me. I was introduced to yoga as a way to help me to be able to rest and maybe to sleep and so began my daily personal practice. As a trained dancer, I was drawn to movement and soon yoga became an instrument bringing not only mobility and strength back to my body but eventually awareness and quiet to my mind.

From 2005 to 2008, we lived in Mumbai, India, where I was able to practice yoga periodically and become familiar with its cultural birthplace, but I mainly continued to process the debilitating grief and trauma of losing a child. Shortly after returning from India, I completed my initial 200 hr teacher training in Arizona.

In 2010, I began teaching private yoga classes in Northern Virginia and was able to establish a reputation for well-informed, athletically strong and inspiring classes. From 2012-2019, I had the joy of leading thousands of hours of studio, private and corporate yoga sessions and events in the metro DC area, as well as several yoga workshops for various local and national studios and organizations. I also continued to train with teachers like Kathryn Budig, Dice Iida Klein, and Rocket Yoga Teacher Training with David C. Kyle. Because I was developing my practice in my 40’s after the physical challenge of birthing and raising six children, I focused on unraveling the biomechanics of a rigorous practice, building resilience and perseverance in the process. Consequently, in my teaching, I integrated my love of empowering and functional movement in yoga with a sound approach to mindfulness techniques, exploring with students the union of the body and the mind.

My teaching reputation for several yoga studios in the DC metro area and fitness centers, such as Equinox and 24 Hour Fitness, I was chosen to be a brand ambassador for Lululemon in Clarendon, Virginia. In several yoga teacher trainings, I utilized my experience and passion for excellence in pedagogy to lead yoga philosophy and history, technique, and creative sequencing sessions in addition to mentoring trainees.

In 2019, I was hired by Yoga Alliance as a credentialing specialist and enjoyed interacting with yoga professionals worldwide as I evaluated and reviewed yoga teacher trainings.

I guided Registered Yoga Schools around the world in developing teacher training curriculae that encouraged excellence in teaching and ethical guidelines for practice. Through this, I gained in-depth knowledge about the diverse nature of the practice of yoga around the world as well as strong connections throughout the yoga community.

In 2020, I completed an advanced 300 hour trauma-informed yoga teacher training with Canmore Counseling in Alberta, Canada. In my studies with Dr. Melissa Jay, and her team of wise teachers, I deepened my understanding of Ayurveda, yoga history, philosophy, ethics and functional/energetic anatomy through the lens of a trauma-informed practice. Canmore’s excellent program not only provided excellent training in trauma theory but also practical knowledge in how to skillfully apply empathetic techniques and practices for clients who have been exposed to trauma.

In my growth as a student and a teacher, I always continue to learn and explore the relationship between somatics and mental health. In August 2023, I completed my master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at Messiah College and was certified as a National Certified Counselor (NCC). As a mental health practitioner, I intend to combine my in-depth knowledge of yoga and meditation with clinical counseling techniques to offer holistic therapy to clients, with a focus on grief, trauma and bereavement issues for parents.

Yoga has been for me a gradual deepening of awareness of the subtleties of thought, movement and emotion and how these interact together to reveal the true depths of creation. I hope to use my practice of moving through loss to inspire others to move through life's challenges so they may also be able to find joy, beauty and wholeness in the simple moments of day-to-day life.