In Iris' own words...
Iris Mickey meditating one-or-one with a student..
My journey with yoga began when I was a little girl, in my family’s living room, as my mother was one of the early converts of yoga. I would sometimes join her because it looked like fun. I remember headstand being an exciting challenge and I loved the feeling of folding myself into plough. However, it wasn’t until many years later that a significant life change and need for solace brought me back to yoga. It changed my life and made me want to share the gift of yoga and it's potential for healing with others!
I began my career as a certified occupational therapy assistant where I worked with a variety of people in hospital, nursing home and in-home settings. Occupational therapy is yogic in focus; it teaches people how to be self-sufficient and to live life fully, regardless of one’s personal challenges and circumstances. After several years of working with people to help them achieve their potential in this way, I decided to deepen my understanding of the healing process through graduate studies in rehabilitation psychology. Fortunately, my studies offered me an internship at a traumatic brain injury rehabilitation facility and where I ended up working as a vocational specialist, helping injured people return to work. As I became more experienced, my role in helping people heal evolved as a rehabilitation team leader and a case manager.
By 1997, personal experience with alternative healing modalities led me to seek training in bodywork. I specialized in deep tissue and neuromuscular massage – and thus my unique private practice, Synergy Bodyworks, was born! Hands-on bodywork training allowed me to help people heal through a synergistic approach that would become even more powerful in combination with yoga and meditation.
I have now been teaching yoga now for 14 years! I began my studies in the Kripalu Hatha Yoga method and advanced my training through Anusara Yoga, studying with a variety of Anusara teachers, including Todd Norian and founder, John Friend. This path was truly transformative for me. I completed my Anusara Certification and although I have since resigned my Anusara license, I will always have gratitude for the transformation I experienced. The knowledge and wisdom I gained will continue to inform my approach to teaching yoga and helping people heal.
An eternal student, I continue to study Yoga Philosophy and Meditation with Paul Muller Ortega and Yoga Nidra with Richard Miller. In May 2015 I completed a two-year Essential Yoga Therapy program where I deepened my understanding of healing though Yoga Therapeutics. It is fascinating how all of the twists and turns of my journey seem to come from from the same Heart’s Desire: to know myself and my own Divine Nature, and to guide others to the same!
My credentials include:
– A.A Occupational Therapy
– M.S. Rehabilitation Psychology
– WI Licensed Massage Therapist
– E-500 Yoga Instructor (Experienced 500 Hour Level from Yoga Alliance.com)
– Certified Yoga Nidra Instructor (Irest. com)
– Certified Yoga Therapist (Essential Yoga Therapy Program)
I welcome your questions and comments! You may email me or or call 608-446-4600.
Please join my email list for updates on classes, workshops and cancellations due to weather.
Visit my Calendar for Yoga Therapeutics, Hatha Yoga and Yoga Nidra classes and workshops.
I began my career as a certified occupational therapy assistant where I worked with a variety of people in hospital, nursing home and in-home settings. Occupational therapy is yogic in focus; it teaches people how to be self-sufficient and to live life fully, regardless of one’s personal challenges and circumstances. After several years of working with people to help them achieve their potential in this way, I decided to deepen my understanding of the healing process through graduate studies in rehabilitation psychology. Fortunately, my studies offered me an internship at a traumatic brain injury rehabilitation facility and where I ended up working as a vocational specialist, helping injured people return to work. As I became more experienced, my role in helping people heal evolved as a rehabilitation team leader and a case manager.
By 1997, personal experience with alternative healing modalities led me to seek training in bodywork. I specialized in deep tissue and neuromuscular massage – and thus my unique private practice, Synergy Bodyworks, was born! Hands-on bodywork training allowed me to help people heal through a synergistic approach that would become even more powerful in combination with yoga and meditation.
I have now been teaching yoga now for 14 years! I began my studies in the Kripalu Hatha Yoga method and advanced my training through Anusara Yoga, studying with a variety of Anusara teachers, including Todd Norian and founder, John Friend. This path was truly transformative for me. I completed my Anusara Certification and although I have since resigned my Anusara license, I will always have gratitude for the transformation I experienced. The knowledge and wisdom I gained will continue to inform my approach to teaching yoga and helping people heal.
An eternal student, I continue to study Yoga Philosophy and Meditation with Paul Muller Ortega and Yoga Nidra with Richard Miller. In May 2015 I completed a two-year Essential Yoga Therapy program where I deepened my understanding of healing though Yoga Therapeutics. It is fascinating how all of the twists and turns of my journey seem to come from from the same Heart’s Desire: to know myself and my own Divine Nature, and to guide others to the same!
My credentials include:
– A.A Occupational Therapy
– M.S. Rehabilitation Psychology
– WI Licensed Massage Therapist
– E-500 Yoga Instructor (Experienced 500 Hour Level from Yoga Alliance.com)
– Certified Yoga Nidra Instructor (Irest. com)
– Certified Yoga Therapist (Essential Yoga Therapy Program)
I welcome your questions and comments! You may email me or or call 608-446-4600.
Please join my email list for updates on classes, workshops and cancellations due to weather.
Visit my Calendar for Yoga Therapeutics, Hatha Yoga and Yoga Nidra classes and workshops.