Joanne Spence

Joanne Spence is an award-winnning social worker, yoga teacher, and an international speaker/trainer for health and wellness.  Joanne came to yoga through her first "love" as a water aerobics instructor.  She loves how her body feels in the water.  She works primarily in schools and hospitals and is known for her ability and passion to empower, encourage and motivate teachers.  Self-care and self-awareness are the hallmarks of her trainings.  Joanne brings 20 years of social work experience to her work.  She is the director of Urban Oasis Pittsburgh, a state-of-the art yoga-therapy studio in Pittsburgh’s East End and the founder and Executive Director of Yoga in Schools, a non-profit organization that currently reaches over 20,000 children with innovative children’s yoga programming as part of Physical Education to schools both locally and nationally.  She also works with veterans at with PTSD.  Joanne is featured in the DVD, “Absolute Beginner Yoga”.  Joanne's work has been featured in Yoga Journal.  She also teaches and presents at Kripalu and the Omega Institute.

Joanne is the mother of three adult teenagers.  When she is not teaching yoga, she enjoys entertaining, reading, traveling, dancing and hiking.