Drea
Drea is an educator, through and through. She earned the title "nationally recognized award-winning urban educator and international educator" because she put her heart and soul into her craft. However, it often left Drea stressed and depressed. One day in 2011, her BFF invited her to join a group yoga class at their community recreation center. She was a lil hesitant, but she went. She was amazed by how relaxed her body, but especially her shoulders, became after ONE class. When she left traditional teaching in 2018, she knew she wanted to become a yoga instructor to help other Black people experience this kind of relaxation.
Between her adventures in nature (hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, etc), travels, physical yoga practice, and playing softball (when she's not nomading), she is no stranger to muscle soreness and physical pain. At some point in her early 30s she discovered CBD topicals. Enamored with its pain relieving benefits, she began making her own CBD salves. She dove deeper into studying the medicinal healing properties of the cannabis plant during the early lockdown stages of the pandemic, and noticed how it helped her stay calm when she was feeling very anxious.
During summer 2020, Drea read "Spirituality & Cannabis" by Julie Holland. On a summer evening in STL, she decided to try the combo herself. It was at that moment that Yoga Juana University was born.
Becoming a certified 200hr yoga teacher with Marianne Wells Yoga School and a Certified Cannabis Coach and Educator with the Cannabis Coaching Institute helps her carry out the 2nd half of her "WHY" by helping others cultivate Black liberation personally and collectively. These experiences have helped Drea reclaim her joy of teaching in ways that enhance her health and wellness while simultaneously allowing her to carry out the 1st part of her WHY - designing and living a life of liberation as a digital nomad (dodging winters and enjoying breathtaking beach and/or mountain views).
Plant Medicine: Cannabis