Long-time musician, ethnomusicologist, and Associate Professor in the SIUC School of Music, Maria Johnson (C-IAYT, RYT-500, E-RYT-200, LFYP-1, Ph.D.) began practicing yoga in 2010. Seeking initially to help manage anxiety, she quickly discovered yoga’s power to transform, integrate mind-body-spirit, and foster compassion and community. She is passionate and playful about integrating yoga with sound/music to facilitate healing and transformation in herself and others. She completed her initial yoga teacher training at Yoga East (Cape Girardeau, MO) in 2018, the 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training at The Soul of Yoga (Encinitas, CA) in 2022, and the 800-hour yoga therapy training program at The Soul of Yoga in 2025. She is a certified yoga therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She also holds certifications in Vocal Yoga (Heather Lyle, 2019) and LifeForce Yoga (Rose Kress, Amy Weintraub, 2021). She has taught Yoga and Sound Healing in the university honors program at SIUC since 2020.