JESSALYN OXFORD
Jessalyn fell in love with yoga during her first Vinyasa class in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. She began her practice to complement her partner acrobatics training while in grad school, but it quickly became much more meaningful than just a physical activity.
Her background in gymnastics, dance, acrobatics, and college cheer made her transition into the yoga world natural (but still challenging and humbling!), and she’s been fascinated by the life lessons of yoga from the beginning of her journey.
Jessalyn received her 200-hour certification from Cityoga in 2010 and began teaching Vinyasa, Yin, Hot Yoga, and Hatha classes at that time in Indianapolis. She has since taught yoga in New York City, Los Angeles, and Barbados. She is currently completing her 500-hour and Yin certifications and has taken teacher trainings in Adaptive Yoga with Matthew Sanford and Vinyasa Flow with Seane Corne.
Jessalyn has additional extensive training and teaching experience in Aerial Yoga, Yin Yoga, AcroYoga, Chair Yoga,Restorative Yoga, and teaching seniors and kids. She moved to New Orleans last year with her partner Aaron and their Great Dane Ollie, and she teaches at Swan River, Nola Yoga Loft, the JCC, and partner acrobatics/AcroYoga classes at NOAC, Awakenings Nola, and Temple Gym.
More about jessalyn
Along with group classes, Jessalyn regularly teaches private yoga and acro clients of all ages, experience levels, and with various disabilities. Her own challenges with early-onset Rheumatoid Arthritis, hypermobility (hEDS), Lupus, Degenerative disc and joint disease and radiculopathy, traumatic arthritis, chronic pain, and multiple serious injuries and surgeries (among other health issues) give her deep compassion for her students and the desire to help lessen their limitations, imbalances, and pain, and to increase their physical abilities and quality of life through personalized asana practice, breathwork, and yoga philosophy. Her love for life, yoga, and her students comes across in her joyful, authentic, and encouraging teaching style. Her classes are playful, challenging, inspiring, and accessible. She consistently crafts creative sequences that focus on safe alignment, active flexibility and building strength, and she even incorporates acrobatic and aerial movements and concepts into her classes. She has a wealth of knowledge to share from her 18+ years of experience and continuous learning, and she is passionate about helping students grow their individual practices & their communities.
Jessalyn LOVES being in the air and upside down. Her main passions outside of yoga are partner acrobatics and aerial arts. She specializes in aerial rope (cordelisse) and duo trapeze. She has performed and coached as a professional acrobat locally and internationally for 16+ years, pursuing it full-time in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East from 2014-2020, when the pandemic paused travel and she “accidentally” adopted Ollie. She, Aaron, and Ollie live in uptown and are loving their first year in New Orleans.