Welcome to the Yoga for Anxiety video series from UT Austin’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Meet Your Yoga Instructors
Jamie Justus LCSW-S, RYT is a counselor with the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Jamie started practicing yoga during her first month of graduate school at UT’s School of Social Work and found the practices of yoga to be supportive during intensive grad school and internship work. In 2013, she completed Yoga Yoga’s Hatha for Health Care Providers 300 hour program so that she could infuse yoga into her clinical work. The training for Health Care Providers enhanced her skills in preventing injuries and in designing practices to meet the needs of people with different bodies and varying yoga experience levels.
Geeti Shirazi Mahajan, LCSW-S, C-IAYT, is a counselor with the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and a Certified Yoga therapist (C-IAYT). Geeti is also credentialed as a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT500), and a Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher (TIYT). As a biracial Iranian-Indian American, Geeti grew up with the influences of Islam and Hinduism, and was exposed to diverse contemplative practices early in life. She took her first formal yoga class in college at the age of 19, and was certified as a yoga therapist in the style of Integrative Yoga Therapy more than a decade later. Since 2012, Geeti has specialized in offering yoga to address mental health issues in clinical settings, with a focus on working with survivors of trauma.
Linda is the founder and director of Sana Yoga, a nonprofit that serves the Latinx Community by making it inclusive and accessible throughout the City of Austin. Linda is an Ayurvedic Counselor certified by Narayana Ayurveda and Yoga Academy, and is the Founder of Elements of Ayurveda, a small Austin based business that focuses on promoting health through diet and a lifestyle through traditional Ayurvedic principles and practices for a modern lifestyle. She is a certified RYT-200 yoga instructor licensed by Yoga Alliance, Yin Yoga, Accessible Yoga, and a 600hr based Ayurveda Counselor Certification.
Linda es la fundadora y directora de Sana Yoga, una organización sin fines de lucro que ofrece Yoga inclusiva y accesible en la Comunidad Latinx en Austin. Linda es Consejera Ayurvédica certificada por Narayana Ayurveda and Yoga Academy, y es la fundadora de Elements of Ayurveda, una pequeña empresa con sede en Austin que se enfoca en promover la salud con un enfoque en la dieta y el estilo de vida a través de principios y prácticas ayurvédicas tradicionales para un estilo de vida moderno. Es instructora de yoga certificada RYT-200 con licencia de Yoga Alliance, Yin Yoga, Yoga accesible y una certificación de consejera de Ayurveda basada en 600 horas.
About the Practices
The practices are designed to be beginner-friendly, so you don’t need any yoga experience to start the videos. That being said, it is always recommended to consult a physician before starting any new physical exercise practice, and these videos are not a substitute for physical or mental healthcare. If you do feel sharp pain at any point or are having distress around any of the breathing or meditation exercises, please stop and come out of what you are doing and return to a neutral seated position and a natural breath.
Part of yoga is learning to listen to the body’s needs, so please keep that in mind as you practice. Thanks for joining in this series!