YOUR RETREAT LEADERS
JOSEE MADISON - E-RYT-200, RYT-500
Palmetto Yoga & Wellness Oasis Owner
South Carolina
Josee currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina, and is the owner of Palmetto Yoga & Reiki Center in Columbia. She was born in Canada. She speaks French and English. Before changing her life in 2011, she was a stressed-out workaholic in the corporate and fast-paced music industry in Nashville, TN.
In 2008, a health scare caused her to begin her healing journey. She practiced yoga for many years for the physical benefit of it, but it wasn’t until her health scare that her love for yoga grew even more. Not only did she feel better physically, but her spirituality deepened. She found herself making smarter choices with her nutrition and in her life in general. She was calmer, happier, and so much more comfortable in her skin. That’s when she learned that in yoga, body AND mind go together.
Yoga, mind, body, and energy, beautifully intertwined together, inspired her to dive into the world of energy through Reiki, tuning forks, and working with clients as an energy and soul mending coach (certified life coach). Reiki is a Japanese healing technique that aligns energy by means of touch. This activates the natural healing process, restoring physical and emotional well-being. Josee is currently certified as a Usui/Holy Fire® Reiki III Karuna Reiki® Master. Tuning Fork Therapy is a very gentle, yet powerful modality to treat the body and mind and restore inner balance and health. It works with the nervous system, the tissues, and the more subtle energies of the body. It is deeply relaxing and restoring and can offer long-term benefits.
Diving even deeper into energy work, her path took her to study Tai Chi & Qigong with Sifu Essud Fungcap Jr, from Heart Center Therapy in Atlanta, GA. She is currently a certified Tai Chi & Qigong Sifu. When she isn’t performing Reiki treatments, aligning a client’s biofield with tuning forks, or teaching yoga or Tai Chi and Qigong, Josee is a public speaker, an entrepreneur, a military wife, a fur mommy and an avid reader.
ALICIA BARRETT-E-RYT-500, RYS
Tuladhara Yoga Studio Owner
Washington State
Alicia Barrett is someone that has benefited from the transformational and healing power of yoga and wants to share her passion with her community. Her path to Yoga has not been a traditional one. Alicia spent the majority of her professional life in the corporate arena with her last position working for a large Fortune 50 retail company in an executive role where she held many positions including a position leading international expansion efforts in Canada. She was known for great business results, the ability to develop talent through great coaching, and building great teams through promoting inclusion and team work. Although her Yoga practice had always been a big part of her life, she felt that something was missing and decided to pursue her 500 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training certificate. After that experience, she soon decided that she wanted to share the amazing power of yoga with her community! She left the corporate world and decided to venture out on her own, opening Tuladhara Yoga in 2016 and expanding her business to include Yoga teacher training, Mobile yoga, and two additional locations!
STORY GILMORE - E-RYT-200
Yoga Instructor
Pronouns: She/Her
In the beginning, I came to yoga when I needed it in a very reactionary way. I used the physical practice and release of the yoga asana to move through emotional storms. My practice would ebb when my mental state was comfortable and I would return to discipline and consistency when I felt out of control in life. Eventually, the cycle became tiring and I had the thought, “Why do I have to keep starting over?” That’s when Yoga began for me. Yoga offers a way and a place to hit pause- to expand the space between what occurs and how we proceed- the opportunity to craft our lives with intention and awareness. Through exposure, repetition, and reflection, we can take lessons that we experience as true on our mats, off of our mats and into our lives. Through more active challenging classes as well as easeful restorative classes, I look for ways to remind my students that they are capable, strong, whole, and absolutely enough. Join me; we will breathe, move, be still, and grow.
DEBBIE GILLIKIN - RYT-500, E-RYT-200
Yoga Teacher - Palmetto Yoga & Wellness Oasis
Debbie has been teaching yoga since receiving her 200hr Yoga Teacher Training in 2012, from Sakhi Yoga. She has since received specialty training in Restorative, Senior and Yin yoga from Asheville Yoga Center. In 2019, she traveled and studied in India for a month under the guidance of the Himalayan Institute. When not on her mat, you can find her on her bike, stand-up paddle board or on a hiking trail.