After high school, Junko’s interests shifted to supporting others in moving their bodies, leading her to join a school for professional athletic trainers. However, Junko was not able to find a realistic career path that suited her in that field, and she eventually made a complete shift into the fashion industry. As she pursued her career in the fast-paced fashion world, Junko found her mind and heart falling out of balance, and she began trying to focus on her inner self

Starting first by integrating yoga into her daily life, Junko soon developed a thirst for more, finding herself sitting in on a public information session at YogaJaya about its International Teacher Training program, produced and directed by Patrick Oancia. On the topic of enhancing ones careers through a deeper understanding of yoga philosophy, Patrick’s question: “Do you like your job?” struck deep into Junko’s heart. Bringing her to the realization that she could not answer “yes”, she was inspired to enroll and complete the training. Ever since, Junko has been experiencing a continuing shift in priorities, feeling deeper satisfaction with life itself, as well as changes in how she perceives the concept of work.

For Junko, her path into yoga has been a result achieved through cumulative practice, while at the same time being something that offers her the opportunity and the wider perspective needed to truly learn to know herself by letting go of things that had held her down. Junko has come to seriously appreciate the connection between a balanced mental/physical state, one’s own life, and those of others around her. She has discovered and developed her own potential through her knowledge that yoga helps one to find a life balance through their own experiences. Junko is a YogaJaya Accredited Teacher (YJAT) and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance.

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