Updated: November 2025
Character
As a retired collegiate athlete, Janel has always found challenge to be both exhilarating and mentally stimulating. Her background in gymnastics—a sport that demands individual precision within a team environment—shaped her ability to thrive independently as well as collaboratively. The discipline of her athletic career instilled lasting qualities: goal-orientation, organization, self-determination, self-discipline, constructive competitiveness, and a passion for growth.
These traits became the lens through which she engages with the world. She welcomes new challenges, experiences, and opportunities, guided by a few core beliefs:
- Failure is a friend.
- Growth is rooted in action.
- No mind is complete; only through shared purpose can people achieve something truly great together.
In the years following her athletic endeavors, Janel has found deep fulfillment in supporting others on their own journeys of self-development. Her passion lies in helping individuals become the best versions of themselves. Wherever she can offer expertise, encouragement, or partnership, she is committed to meeting life’s challenges side-by-side with those she serves.
Yoga
Janel began practicing yoga in 2016 while traveling through Eastern Europe, where she quickly became captivated by the fluidity and dynamic movement of vinyasa power classes. In 2020, after relocating to California, she completed her first 200-Hour RYT certification virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. She went on to earn an additional 200-Hour Power Yoga Teacher Training certification in November 2021 at Red Dragon Yoga in San Rafael, CA. Since then, she has enjoyed teaching several community classes at the studio.
After moving to Daly City in October 2021, Janel expanded her teaching experience to two local studios—Breathe Salt Yoga and Yoga Flow SF – Ocean. While yoga instruction is a newer chapter in her career, she brings over 15 years of experience as an athletic instructor. More on that next.
Athletics
Born in Detroit, Michigan in the 1990s, Janel grew up in a family that encouraged athletic exploration. From ice skating to bowling, she was always engaged in movement—but gymnastics remained her constant. She trained at an elite level throughout her youth, ultimately becoming a Level 10 gymnast. In 2008, she earned first place on the uneven bars at the Region 5 Championships. Within the gymnastics community, she later became known as Coach J.
Janel and her sister, Arlene, both reached Level 10 status by high school. While Arlene went on to accept a full-ride collegiate gymnastics scholarship, Janel transitioned into competitive springboard diving during her final two years of high school. Her senior year, she was awarded a scholarship to join the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor’s Swimming and Diving Team as a 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diver.
During her time at the University of Michigan, Janel explored several academic paths—including psychology, kinesiology, sports medicine, physical therapy, and nursing. After a significant change in direction, she stepped away from the team and relocated to North Carolina, where she began her coaching career as a springboard diving instructor from 2012 to 2015.
Her next major transition came in 2016, when she moved to Eastern Europe. There, she was introduced to yoga through daily meditation, eventually developing a dedicated physical practice that marked the beginning of her journey into the yoga world.
More Recently!
When Janel isn’t instructing a yoga class or coaching in athletics she loves to hike, swim, bike and spend time with her budding homestead including four dogs, six goats, nine ducks, six chickens and lots of rabbits.
