Hi, I’m Julie, and I’ve worked as the team yoga instructor for the Houston Rockets, the Houston Texans, the Rice University baseball and football teams and many other college and high school sports teams.
In my ongoing work with sports teams and athlete’s I’ve realized there is an EPIC amount of injury in the sports industry and a profound need for the kind of flexibility and relaxation training I provide.
My mission is to help YOU get the exact formula that brings results into your strength and conditioning program, and I’ve created this website as your guide through that process.
Two major turning points led me to where I am today.
The first one was in 1999 when I was working full time as a massage therapist and I ended up with a severe neck and shoulder injury. I was drawn to yoga as a way to recover from that injury and in the process of practicing, studying and eventually teaching yoga, I became much stronger than before.
The second turning point was this past summer when I reached a pivotal position of teaching over 16 classes a week, including 8 ‘Yoga for PE’ classes at local universities. That’s a lot of classes!
I had this epiphany where I realized that even if I taught 25 classes a week, I would only reach a VERY small percentage of the people who so desperately need this information. If I didn’t make a change and begin to offer my programs and material online, only those students living in Houston would be able to access it.
So, I’ve created this website as your HUB for gaining insider knowledge about how to gain speed, power, flexibility and endurance with less grueling exercise. And, I’m so glad you’re here to learn more!
Read below for my third person bio 
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Julie Downey has been teaching yoga in Houston since 2003. Her instruction focuses on addressing the unique needs athletes have for increasing speed, strength, flexibility and stamina, while reducing the incidence of injury.
She received her teaching certification through Robert Boustany, and is registered with Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour level. She started practicing yoga in 1999 with Houston Iyengar Yoga studio.
In 2001, Julie took a class from Robert Boustany, and studied Pralaya yoga extensively with him until 2009. She completed Robert’s intensive yearlong teacher training and certification program in 2003, and his advanced teacher training program in 2007. She’s also studied with prominent yoga instructors Doug Swenson, David Swenson, Ana Forrest, and Julie Byrd.
Julie offers private and group yoga and qigong instruction at gyms, universities and corporations throughout Houston. She’s worked as the team yoga instructor for the Houston Rockets, the Houston Texans and various sports teams at Rice University including Baseball, Basketball, Football, Tennis, Volleyball , Soccer, and Swimming; training the players in yoga as part of their strength and conditioning programs.
She teaches the LPAP Yoga classes at Rice University and the Yoga for PE classes at Houston Community College. She has also worked as the team yoga instructor for the Houston Texans, and the Episcopal High School Baseball team. In addition, she has worked with individual players from the Houston Rockets, the Houston Texans, and NFL prospects.
Prior to becoming a yoga instructor, Julie was a full-time massage therapist, completing over 1000 hours of training in advanced bodywork techniques, with special emphasis on myofascial pain syndromes.
Julie’s also a lifelong student of dance, and taught West Coast Swing for five years at a local Houston Dance studio. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Miami, FL. When she’s not practicing yoga you might find her dancing West Coast with her friends.
“Thank goodness for Julie Downey touching my life!! At the age of 48, after owning a fitness center for 20+ years, teaching aerobics, conducting running/walking programs, and an avid weight lifter, I thought I was going to have to live with all my overuse injuries. Knowing how important stretching is and requiring my clients along with myself to stretch on a regular basis, I thought I was covering all the bases! Taking my first class with Julie, opened my eyes to how much I was missing in my stretching program. Now after over two years of working with Julie, I am much stronger, capable of doing more pull-ups then ever before along with the main plus of not having the “overuse” injuries that I thought I was going to live with. I look forward to many more years of being able to stay with my fitness passion as long as Julie is available to continue to work with me!! Thank You Julie.”
… Cathy Swatek, CPT
