Barbara Newborn - Therapeutic Yoga and Rehabilitation Specialist

Barbara is a therapeutic yoga and rehabilitation specialist with a profound understanding of illness and disability. At the age of 21, she suffered a devastating stroke that paralyzed her right side and caused her to lose language completely. Though her recovery took many years, yoga became the guide for her transformation and she rebuilt the abilities that she lost.

Barbara has been to India many times to study therapeutic yoga with A.G. Mohan and his wife Indra, who were taught by Sri TY. Krishnamacharya, the teacher of Desikachar, Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois.

In conjunction with her own recovery, Barbara received two Masters Degrees in the fields of Rehabilitation and Speech Communication. She founded a camp in New Mexico for head trauma and worked over 20 years as a rehabilitation specialist and psychotherapist, pioneering programs for adults with disabilities. Barbara was the Chief of Staff for the National Stroke Medical Education Institute before she moved to Tampa, Florida, where she and her husband have a studio called the Gardens of Yoga.

For many years, Barbara has developed individualized Yoga-Rehabilitation programs based on her clients’ disabilities and circumstances. She also conducts Yoga workshops, teaching the individual how to live through physical and psychological trauma.

Her personal experience combined with her professional training has given Barbara a deep understanding of yoga for disabilities. Specializing in therapeutic yoga practices, she works with both individuals and teachers, combining yoga with rehabilitation. Always seeking creative ways to heal and nurture the individual, Barbara truly believes a person only has to be shown a unique and different way of making the “impossible …possible".