Jo 'Okika Shigeko Qina'au, MA, E-YT750 (she/they)

Aloha mai, y’all, I’m Jo, born and raised in ‘Ewa Beach on O‘ahu, with ancestral roots in Kohala on the Big Island; Fukushima, Japan; Ainu territory; the Azores, Portugal; Wicklow, Ireland; and Jewish Bavaria, Germany. Yoga has gifted me so much over the years – tools for transmuting trauma, clarity for clearer vision, regulatory skills for when colonial systems feel like they’re crushing my soul (funny, not funny!), joyful nourishing communities, and experiences of deep pilina (connection) that fuel my work toward collective liberation. 

It’s been 16 years since I started teaching Yoga, mostly in marginalized spaces in the U.S., as well as in Japan, Thailand, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Brunei, and India. After studying in India for my advanced certification (my second 200-hr and my first 500-hr), I co-owned a collective health center in Brooklyn called Third Root, established to address health disparities using integrative approaches like Yoga, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and massage. At the height of my Yoga journey, I took an 8-year hiatus from teaching for money and only taught for trade, primarily so I could contemplate my role in the commodification of my spiritual practice, and to actively contribute to decolonizing Yoga by making room for Desi teachers.

After Laura reached out several years ago about the PKY vision, I am so grateful to be continuing work toward equity, through Yoga, in my homelands—the one and only 808.

I’m co-lead of this incredible teacher training opportunity, alongside the phenomenal Laura. If you enroll, you’ll be seeing me quite a bit during modules that cover:

• Teaching in the 808: Decolonizing/Indigenizing, Issues of Power and Privilege – Primarily informed by my dissertation on Decolonial Wellbeing for Kānaka Maoli

• Karma Yoga: The Power of Service – So stoked to be offering this module as the most joy-filled work I have pursued as a Yogi has been through Karma Yoga

• Prānāyāma: Intention and Regulation – What’s the most important thing we do in a day? 😉

• Dhyana: Becoming the Eye of the Storm, Realizing Connection – Meditation was pretty new to me when I started my teacher training in 2007 so if it’s new to you too, not to worry! We will clear up a lot of really common misconceptions about what meditation is and isn’t and we’ll learn several forms to experiment with personally and in your classes

• Suffering, Safety, & Belonging: Behavioral Health in the Yoga Space – When I think about this module through a clinical psychology lens, it could probably be its own certification program! We’ll cover just the basics of trauma, depression, anxiety, and addiction in Yoga spaces, thinking through ways to navigate safely while nourishing students on a moment-to-moment basis. While this does *not prepare you to offer specialized classes for mental health concerns, you will gain some insight into how to recognize and manage in a regular class

I’ll also be teaching short segments on chair Yoga, Yoga informed by a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi worldview, backbends/inversions, and some surprise sessions I’m sure 😊

We’ve taken special care in developing the pedagogical approach to this training so that your learning will be scaffolded and well-supported by multiple levels of community. I’m so excited for our journey together …

In addition to the frameworks and techniques of Yoga and Buddhism, my work is deeply informed by Indigenous values of relationality, interconnectedness, ecological cycles, and Kanaka ‘Ōiwi conceptions of pilina and pono. When I’m not teaching Yoga, I’m wrapping up my PhD program in clinical psychology (providing therapy as a fellow at Harvard Medical School, researching trauma/wellbeing/equity), dreaming of my future dog, and devising ways to collaborate with my social enterprise hui at the Pilina Center for Wellbeing.

My heart is so full in anticipation of meeting our next cohort and continuing to build community through PKY – see you folx in class!

Me ke aloha,

Jo