image©mia boccella 2023

Mia Boccella and Blue Awning Yoga are partnering to present My Life with Vision Loss: Imagining the Possibilities-Moving Forward with Courage and Connection

Join Mia Boccella, a Life Coach who is legally blind and Christine McInnes, an accessible yoga instructor, for a four-session program incorporating guided inquiry, collaborative conversation, yoga, meditation and more. Share your stories and re-imagine moving forward with confidence, connection, and independence.

Open to :

• Adults at any point on their vision loss journey

• Family and community members living or working with those who are blind or visually impaired

• Healthcare providers caring for new and established patients and clients

DATES

• Our program is four 2-hour sessions: 10/21, 10/28, 11/04, 11/11  2:00pm - 4:00pm

LOCATION

• Blue Awning Yoga and Wellness, 1816 Locust Street, Pittsburgh, Pa 15219

COST

• $250 for four, 2- hour sessions - For pre-registration and questions, call Mia Boccella 412-657-9948

Partial and full scholarships available - Contact Lisa Gamrat lgamrat@pghvis.org

For more information:

BIOS

Mia Boccella is a Life Coach, filmmaker, photographer, artist and equestrian and brings these disciplines together in her coaching to offer insight and support to her clients. Our thoughts can move us forward or they can keep us stuck. We have the wisdom we need within ourselves but often there is a fog that obscures our vision. A coach can help you see your own knowing and co-create strategies and practices for change.

Mia has been  slowly losing her vision for the past 30 years and she is now considered legally blind. Her visual limitations have created countless interesting and often uncomfortable situations that have ultimately fueled her determination and creativity. A constant mindfulness practice has become a necessity to avoid harm and to maintain peace of mind. She has been fortunate to have a friend from Tibet who is a lifelong meditator and is teaching her. Mia loves to ride horses, and when she is running through the trees on horseback, she immediately regains her confidence and balance and can feel the pure joy and ultimate freedom that the horse gives to her.

Mia received her Life Coach certification from Coach Training Alliance, a BFA cum laude from Carnegie Mellon University and studied Italian language at E.N.A.I.P. BOLOGNA in Bologna, Italy. Mia is a member of the Blind Equestrian Community, Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities and the Italian American Advisory Council at the Heinz History Center. She has previously volunteered with the Native American Democratic Caucus of New Mexico, the Pittsburgh Public Schools to teach a documentary film class “Movies with a Message” and served on the board of the New Mexico Women’s Foundation.

Christine McInnes, RYT200 received her Teacher Training at Schoolhouse Yoga in 2016, and is certified in Chair Yoga from Pittsburgh Yoga Therapy, Accessible Yoga from the Accessible Yoga School, Yoga for Wheelchair Users from Allihopa Yoga, and Trauma-Informed Yoga from Joanne Spence. 

She has been facilitating classes for the blind and visually-impaired community since November, 2021 through Blue Awning Yoga and Wellness, helping her students work on balance, proprioception, awareness, and self-confidence. 

She also specializes in incorporating non-movement aspects of the practice including grounding exercises, pranayama, deep relaxation techniques, and guided meditation into her classes to keep yoga accessible to all.  Off the mat, she is a bartender who enjoys walking her dog.