Faith: A True Sense of Community

Faith Gilbert has been a part of YogaReach since (2016). As a physical therapist, this ISSA-certified senior fitness trainer has coached also classes tailored to people with Parkinson’s disease at InMotion and the Amalia Foundation in Northeast Ohio. Her specialized training from Delay the Disease and Parkinsons Wellness Recovery (PWR) has enabled YogaReach to provide a comprehensive movement program to the clients we serve and the professionals we train.

A champion for people with Parkinson’s and their carepartners, she focuses on the clients, not the disease. To Faith, these are people from a variety of backgrounds, ages, physical and mental abilities.

Faith met YogaReach founder Char Grossman when InMotion (a nonprofit serving people with Parkinson’s disease) opened in 2015. Seeing Faith in action at InMotion’s “Better Every Day Class,” Char asked Faith to join our team in 2016.

While her original professional training focused on rehabilitation exercise, Faith came to appreciate the mindful aspects of yoga. She’s been an active yoga practitioner for two years and has taught adaptive therapeutic yoga since 2017.

“More than anything, I realized the benefits (of yoga) for overall well-being for myself and our clients.” Faith is one of our most extensively trained movement specialists. We were curious what she thinks differentiates the YogaReach technique from other professional training.

“YogaReach focuses on individual empowerment. I also love the sense of community we bring to each class. The organization encourages self-expression and socialization.”

She loves the unique approach of emphasizing modifying positions according to each person’s abilities. It allows the teaching team to use movements that spotlight functional living skills, like getting in and out of a chair or car. Each class includes three qualified instructors, allowing for a greater breadth experience. She adds, this “teach and assist instruction is what makes YogaReach unique.”

Unlike studio yoga classes, which are usually lead by a single teacher, YogaReach emphasizes the team approach.