Amazing Yoga Pittsburgh Virginia

Tracy Cannon Heck, PT, CPI is a licensed Physical Therapist who specialized in orthopedics in the clinical setting from 1994-2001. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science in 1990 and worked for a year designing fitness and weight management programs. She received her Physical Therapy degree from Ohio State University in 1994. In 2003, she became certified to teach Pilates through ProHealth and Fitness. In 2008, she attended a 200-hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training at Bhumi’s in Strongsville, Ohio.
Tracy’s yoga classes are unique because she combines her extensive knowledge of the muscular skeletal system with the traditions of yoga. She focuses on alignment, posture, and safety. She knows how to modify exercises appropriately for injuries and pain in the back, shoulders, knees, etc. She has discovered Yoga as a beautiful path to bring health, balance, calmness, strength, resilience, restoration and peace to one’s life.

Joie Schmitz, RYT-500 Joie's desire to become a certified yoga teacher grew, organically, out of her own, meaningful yoga practice. In 2011, she completed the 200-hour Jivan Yoga Teacher Training program at Baltimore Yoga Village, and in August 2016, she earned her 500-hour certification from the same institution. She has experience in Hatha, Sivananda, Anusara, vinyasa, therapeutic and children’s yoga, as well as Classical, Vedic and Tantric yoga philosophy, Pranayama and Ayurveda. A former college athlete, Joie brings energy and movement, plus rest and rejuvenation to the yoga practice. Her understanding of and appreciation for yoga’s benefits on the body, mind and spirit shine through her creative classes. She believes that there is something new to discover with every yoga practice – about your Self and the world around you. Joie teaches a wide variety of populations ranging from athletes to expectant mothers, children to corporate groups, experienced yogis to first-timers.

Trista Smith earned her 200-hr RYT in May of 2014 after completing her training with her beloved teacher, Marni Task of Cleveland. Trista's style of teaching is rooted in Jivamukti and Anusara yoga, and is heavily influenced by an Ashtanga workshop she took in 2013. She draws inspiration from her teachers Marni Task and Bryon Callahan, as well as K. Pattabhi Jois, Kathryn Budig, Sharon Gannon, David Life and many more.
When she is not practicing or teaching yoga, Trista is a 7th grade science teacher in Brunswick City Schools. She has seen the benefits of yoga and mindfulness practice in her students and is passionate about working with children and teens! In her spare time, Trista enjoys playing volleyball, snowboarding, and spending time in nature by gardening, hiking, and exploring all that Mother Earth has to offer.
Born and raised in Wooster, Trista is excited to teach at The Studio on Liberty and share her love of yoga back in her hometown!

A note from Trista: "It's hard for me to fully explain the feeling I get when I come to The Studio on Liberty, whether it is to teach a class or take a class. Being able to share my love of yoga with all of the students and teachers here fills my heart with peace. I want to continue to learn more about the practice of yoga and strive to pass on what I've learned from my teachers to those who choose to take a yoga class with me. To me, the founder of Ashtanga Yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, said it best, 'Yoga, as a way of life and a philosophy, can be practiced by anyone with inclination to undertake it, for yoga belongs to humanity as a whole. It is not the property of any one group or any one individual, but can be followed by any and all, in any corner of the globe, regardless of class, creed or religion.'"