Our Team
Dr. Steffany Moonaz is a yoga therapist and researcher in Southern California. She serves as Research Director at Southern California University of Health Sciences and Adjunct Professor at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She became curious about importance of mind-body activities at a young age and has always had a passion and a curiosity about the healing power of mindful movement. She completed undergraduate work in biology and dance at Oberlin College, earned an MFA from University of Maryland as well as a CMA from the Laban Institute and spent eight years at Johns Hopkins University, helping to develop and evaluate a yoga program for individuals with the chronic diseases of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, which became the basis for her PhD in public health.
Along with ongoing research collaborations with major research institutions worldwide, Dr. Moonaz is working to bring yoga to people with arthritis directly, as well as educating yoga teachers and yoga therapists about the unique needs of this population. She currently leads Yoga for Arthritis teacher training programs and serves as a mentor for several emerging researchers who are working to study the effects of yoga for various health conditions. Dr. Moonaz also serves on the faculty of several other yoga and yoga therapy training programs, including Integral Yoga, Phoenix Rising, and The Mindfulness Center.
Dr. Moonaz’s work has been covered by Time, HuffPost, the Baltimore Sun, and U.S. News and World Report. She has been invited to speak at Emory University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins Palliative Care, and the Smithsonian. Her Arthritis-Friendly Yoga DVD, produced by the Arthritis Foundation, became their best-selling product when it was released in 2013. Her first book, Yoga Therapy for Arthritis: A whole-person approach to movement and lifestyle, was published by Singing Dragon Publishers in December of 2018, and she has contributed to several other widely used yoga texts.
If you'd like to schedule a private session with Dr. Moonaz, please go HERE.
Email: info@arthritis.yoga
Dr. Steffany Moonaz,
Ph.D., CMA, MFA, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500
Founder of Yoga for Arthritis
Kylie started her yoga journey by chance. She was really into fitness and asked a friend to go to a cardio class at a local gym. The friend declined but countered with offering to go to a yoga class. Kylie reluctantly agreed. That class changed Kylie’s life.
Breathing and intentional movement was a new concept but she was hooked.
Kylie joins the team serving as website manager. She has a passion for creating an online presence companies are proud to share. She also loves to grow websites through search optimization techniques.
Email: kylie@arthritis.yoga
Kylie Ignace E-RYT 200
Website Manager
M.A. in Mental Health Counseling, RYT200
Business Manager for Yoga for ArthritisPosey began her yoga journey 14 years ago during her competitive sports career. After a while, yoga became much more than just the physical practice, it became a way of life on and off the mat. Due to years of competitive sports Posey has ongoing knee & shoulder challenges, however the physical practice of yoga has helped manage the injuries by stretching, strengthening, and stabilizing the muscles around the areas. Posey's passion for yoga inspired her to become a full time yoga teacher. Her philosophy is "yoga for all, yoga for every body." No matter your background, gender, race, size, flexibility, age, or condition, everyone has the ability to practice yoga. Yoga looks different from one person to the next, but that is a beautiful and powerful thing. Posey's philosophy fits well with Yoga for Arthritis. Posey has her Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling, so she applies her knowledge of the human psyche and emotions into her yoga teaching. She encourages people to smile & laugh in her classes, private lessons, and in general. Smiling and laughter are good for the mind, body, and spirit.
Email: posey@arthritis.yoga
