About
Certified Yoga Therapist
"Gabriella Barnstone is the reason I stand straighter, have less pain, a stronger, flexible body. I am not exaggerating. Gabriella's approach gives a whole new meaning to yoga. Gabriella's deep understanding of anatomy distinguishes her practice from other practitioners. She is smart, creative, and caring. What else could you ask for?"
Carlotta Jacobson
President
Cosmetic Executive Women
Bio
Gabriella Barnstone is a certified yoga therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and has been teaching yoga since 2008. She worked at Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from 2015 to 2020 where she specialized in treating patients with back pain using yoga as therapy. Gabriella has taught courses with Dr. Loren Fishman on Yoga for Back Pain, Yoga for Osteoporosis, and Yoga for Arthritis at Kripalu, Yogaville, and Omega Institute. She was on the faculty of Prema Yoga Institute from 2017 to 2020 where she developed her own course on functional anatomy and mentored Yoga Therapists in training. She was the resident Yoga Therapist at Healthquarters, which brings top medical providers together with clinically-backed wellness services to provide connected, seamless, and comprehensive health services. She is now practicing at SoulBeingWellness in Chelsea.
When I first started teaching yoga in 2008, I was constantly worrying about my students. In a group class, I was asked to offer one sequence to a room full of people of different ages, sizes, levels, and with various injuries. Pretty soon after I started teaching I began working with people individually. This felt much better. I could design sequences tailored to fit the person’s needs. A new challenge emerged- I discovered that most people have some old injury or new problem they are working with. Although I continued my yoga studies, I never felt like the yoga trainings I attended offered the information I needed. I worked through many therapeutic trainings on specific topics, but it still didn’t feel like enough. This is about when I met Dr. Fishman.
Working in his office for five years was incredibly valuable as a yoga therapist. I had a medical doctor as a resource. I got to observe the patient’s story as well as the doctor’s examination and eventual diagnosis. A lot of this involved troubleshooting, and I was a key part in the process. I realized that this was a great medical model—rather than receiving a prescription from a doctor I have never met, I was able to be in constant communication with the doctor while working with the patient. This type of collaboration is what led me to HealthQuarters.
I have suffered through a handful of the conditions I treat and have been able to heal myself. I have also worked very hard just to feel like I can freely move around in the world and feel good. I would love to share this valuable information with you.
