Meet Nicole (The Grateful Warrior)
NICOLE M. MCKENNA, M.Phil; NASM-CPT; Yoga Medicine Registered Therapeutic Specialist; E-RYT-500, YACEP
Nicole embodies gratitude in her life and teaching. Her yoga students can expect to be challenged, praised, and reminded to see opportunity within challenging yoga poses and in life. Nicole lives with psoriatic arthritis & narcolepsy, which informs her daily gratitude practice and as well as both her and physical yoga practice and approaches to teaching. She inspires her community to customize any pose to access power and freedom.
In her first career, Nicole was fortunate to be trained as an Army Master Fitness Trainer and began her advanced education and yoga training after her retirement from Ft. Liberty (formerly named Ft. Bragg). She is now pursuing a PhD in Forensic Psychology with a concentration in crisis response and is currently conducting research to complete her dissertation on the lived experiences of veterans and first responders using yoga to manage the physical and psychological impacts of their work.
When she is not studying or teaching yoga, Nicole journals daily, spends time in her garden, travels, enjoys time with friends, and her fur babies, Jax & Daisy, both Miniature American Eskimos.
Education & Training Overview
Nicole earned her BS in Psychology from Columbia Southern University; her M.Phil from Walden University; and is currently a PhD Candidate with Walden University. She completed her 200 HR Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200 HR) training with CorePower Yoga; her RYT-300 HR training with Yoga Medicine, Certified Personal Training Certification (CPT) with The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and is currently enrolled in continuing education trainings with Yoga Medicine- RYT-1000 HR program and Anatomy Trains Structural Integration program.
Nicole’s specialized trainings include:
“Teaching Restorative Yoga” training with Pranakriya School Of Yoga and Healing Arts; “Spine Immersion Orthopedic Module” with Yoga Medicine (YM); “Yoga Nidra Master Class” with Sir Dharma Mittra; “Mindful Trauma-Informed Immersion Module” with YM; “Myofascial Release Module" with YM; "Prenatal Therapeutics” with YM; "Prenatal Myofascial Release”; “Orthopedic Shoulder Module” with YM; “Neurobiology of Yoga” with YM; “SI Joint Dysfunction” with YM; “Yoga for Addiction” with YM; “Pain Science for Yoga Teachers” with YM; “Yoga for Athletes” with YM; “Orthopedic Hip Module” with YM; “Sequencing with a Purpose” with YM; “Working with Grief” with YM; “Internal Medicine 1 - Nervous System & Restorative Module” with YM; “Teaching Yoga to Weightlifting Athletes” with YM; “Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: Diagnoses and Interventions” with Anatomy Trains.
