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photo by Jim Dukes

JESSICA BARNES SMITH

E-RYT 500, YACEP, NASM-CPT, CES,
Veterans Yoga Project Teacher Alliance

 Jessica has always been inspired by the human form and movement.  As an art student in college she fell in love with figure drawing with a focus on studying the movement of dancers. In the fall of 2000 she began practicing yoga. She found the practice helpful in recovering from injuries related to a car accident. She regained strength and mobility through a steady practice but was surprised how yoga revealed a powerful yet subtle awareness of embodiment. She finally felt at home in her own body and hopes to share that experience with others. Jessica is fascinated with biomechanics and decided to deepen her knowledge of functional movement by becoming a certified personal trainer. Jessica shares yoga with people of all ages and abilities. She adjusts her classes to fit the students in front of her. She offers a wide range of classes from gentle to vigorous. She currently offers specialty classes including youth yoga, chair yoga, yoga for service members and veterans, adaptive yoga for people living with physical disability as well as yoga for people who are blind and visually impaired. Jessica continues to study adapting yoga for trauma, loss and disability with her Teacher Matthew Sanford at Mind Body Solutions. 

Some of her volunteer work include leading yoga classes for Camp Kemo 2013- 2014, The Spinal Cord Injury Association of SC in 2016, The Youth leadership Forum for Able SC in 2017, Palmetto Place Children's Shelter through the Junior League of Columbia in 2018 and 2019. Jessica is a regular assistant at Dara Brown's Yoga for Everyone, a weekly adaptive yoga class, since 2013.  

Jessica is a an artist with a BFA from Winthrop University, spouse, mother of two girls, and a lover of nature. Some of her trainings and certifications include:

  •  200hr Yoga Teaching certificate with the Asheville Yoga Center 2012

  •  300hr Advanced Studies certificate with the Asheville Yoga Center. Specializations include; Yoga for Senior Citizens, Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Therapeutic Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation, Prenatal Yoga, The Chakra System, Ayurveda, Yoga Anatomy and the Breathing Body, and Children's Yoga. 2015

  • Jessica is a Certified ChildLight Yoga® & Mindfulness for Children Instructor at both the Basic and Advanced Levels Additional Youth Yoga training include; Yoga and Mindfulness for Schools, Yoga and Mindfulness for Tweens and Teens, Yoga and Mindfulness for Children and Teens with Special Needs all with ChildLight Yoga 2018. Level One Yoga for Children with Grounded(Yoga, Laughter, Elevation) 2011.

  • Mind Body Solutions: Opening Yoga for Trauma, Loss and Disability 2016 and Opening Yoga: Advanced Studies 2017, 2019, and 2020.

  • National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT)

  • Mindful Resilience Training with the Veterans Yoga Project and Trauma Informed training: Mission Calm with Begin Within Yoga and Wellness 2018 and Street Yoga Trauma Informed Yoga 2018

  • Chair Yoga 2019

  • Gentle Somatic Yoga 2020

  • NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) 2021

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