Jo Ziller 

Through her own scoliosis experience and those of her students, most people aren’t given clear, if any, guidance on what to do with this

debilitating condition during the initial diagnosis.   Some feel having back pain is just their way of life.   Some feel anger and frustration when their body doesn’t move without pain and discomfort with normal activities.   When working with a scoliosis student, Jo’s hope is that together they find a way toward more comfort and ease of movement with specific yoga poses, adapting for their particular curvature.  With these adaptations and the knowledge gained, it is possible to translate this into moving through daily life with more comfort, less pain and a lot more joy. 

Because she sees most things with humor, Jo invites her students to relax, have fun and not worry about what they think they can or cannot do.  She finds most students surprise themselves.  

Upon receiving her own diagnosis, Jo tried several modalities of treatment.  After finding yoga, she realized it was the path she needed for pain relief, acceptance and body awareness.  Jo is a 200 hour RYT, receiving her certification in Annie Carpenter’s SmartFlow Yoga with Britni Serou, ERYT-500 and Janet Katz, ERYT-500 in 2017.  She has been teaching since 2017.   She began the Yoga For Scoliosis Training in 2019, having to pause for a pandemic, hurricanes and house building, finishing in 2023.  Training with Elise gave her the tools to build upon her previous training and adapt for her own scoliosis and share this knowledge with others. 

Jo teaches at Downtown Yoga in Hammond, Louisiana.

For more information on classes and private sessions, contact Jo at jziller@bellsouth.net.