Qoya-Inspired Embodied Movement
Qoya is a shift in consciousness that evolves the way we have been taught to move our bodies, relate to our bodies, and live in our bodies. Drawn from the wisdom of yoga, creative expression in dance, and the pleasure found in feminine movement, Qoya helps us embody: to inhabit our bodies in a way that feels safe, authentic and pleasurable.
In Qoya there is NO WAY you can do it wrong— and the way you know you’re doing it “right” is if it feels good, and feels true, in your body. This is a safe welcoming space to explore your own relationship to your body— the practice meets you where you are. There is no performing or needing to get it “right.”
In Qoya we move from the body being something to observe and consume to the body as a free agent of wisdom that is free to move authentically without judgment. It’s liberation. It’s homecoming in a deep sense.
Group classes combine benefits of fitness — including strength, flexibility, balance, and agility training — with a unique empowering approach that is feminine, expressive, and FUN!
Jaime teaches all-women and co-ed classes in Asheville, North Carolina and around the world (she has taught in Costa Rica many times and in Europe).
All Qoya classes follow 13 pillars
1. We set sacred space. This is done by the teacher before class begins and together in the beginning as we each bring our voices into the circle and share our truths to the level of our comfort.
2. We anchor in our time together with a brief introduction of qoya, our theme for class, and an opportunity to connect with each other in a relaxed way.
3. We take a moment to connect to our breath, come into the present moment, and set an intention.
4. We begin to warm up by circling through each part of the body. This helps release tension, moves us from more linear movements into more feminine, flowing movements, and connects us with the sensations in our body.
5. Using movement as metaphor, we connect to the music and explore simple movements to open our hearts and explore what it's like to let our hearts lead.
6. We bring awareness and movement into the hips through sensual movement, slowing down to feel more, and exploring how we might release shame and shyness and invite in more pleasure and enjoyment.
7. Through simple flowing yoga movements, we dance our yoga as prayer, connecting to our intentions and letting our movement be an opportunity to both ask for and open to receive that which we desire.
8. We dance with the shadow of our theme, honoring the challenges in our lives and dancing with them (instead of pretending they are not there). Dancing with the shadow invites us to embrace our wholeness, not just the "pretty" parts, and offers us a way to become more comfortable with all of our emotions.
9. We shake. We shake through each part of the body to release any emotions or energies that have been brought up from the shadow that we wish to clear and/or anything that no longer serves us. We shake to reclaim our vibrant resilient nature.
10. Through a simple, easy-to-learn choreographed dance, we have FUN and fortify our mind-body connection through collective movement.
11. We free dance with the full embodiment of the theme, moving into our full creative expression.
12. Community connection offers each woman a chance to use language to anchor in any experiences or insights from class and to witness another woman as she shares.
13. Final integration through stretching and relaxation of the body, and sealing in our practice with a return to our intention.
What people say about Jaime’s Qoya Classes
““I had the chance to be part of a Qoya class and Despacho Ceremony with Jaime and she’s holding a beautiful and impeccable container that allows each one to connect deeply with Self as well as honoring the medicine in each and everything. Her humility, knowledge and deep reverence for her practices are profound gifts to the community. “”
“To be at Qoya with Jaime is to be in love and acceptance, because Jaime IS love and acceptance. Her spirit is at once ancient in wisdom and childlike in joy. She taught the first Qoya class I ever attended; as a person who hadn’t danced in ages and hadn’t danced comfortably ever, I was apprehensive going in. But within moments of being in the space Jaime had cultivated, I melted into the moment and found myself dancing with abandon. I want every woman I know to come with me next time.”
“Jaime’s ability to hold space as a Qoya teacher is astounding to me. She pays close attention to details, creates gorgeous space, welcomes women as they arrive with a tangible sense of warmth, and holds space throughout the class, beautifully.”
My Qoya Healing Journey
Qoya found me in the spring of 2015, showing up everywhere I turned: a friend mentioned it over lunch, a healing practitioner insisted, “You have to go, Jaime!”, and then I stumbled across Rochelle Schieck online while she was raising funds to publish her first book. I watched her videos and immediately recognized something in the way she spoke and moved: integrity, love, and embodiment. I donated to her Kickstarter without ever having taken a class, and that same day, a local teacher offered a free private session to supporters. I booked my first Qoya class without hesitation.
At the time, I was deep in a healing crisis. Since becoming a mother, my body had been calling for change through reproductive illness, autoimmune issues, adrenal burnout, digestive problems, and more. I had never considered myself a dancer — I was awkward, self-conscious, disconnected from my body, and accustomed to movement practices that told me exactly what to do. But during that first Qoya session, something shifted. At one point, my teacher blindfolded me so I could stop focusing on the world outside and finally feel what was happening within. When the music began, I experienced — in my body, not just my mind — my own power, beauty, resilience, and divinity for the first time. It felt ancient and deeply familiar, as though some lost part of me had remembered itself. I came back every week after that.
Since then, Qoya has become a path home: home to my body, my soul, and a community devoted to remembering the body as wise, holy, trustworthy, and true. It is now one of the deepest honors of my life to teach this practice around the world in women’s circles, men’s groups, and co-ed spaces alike. If you’re new to Qoya, know this: there is no way to do it wrong. The only measure is whether it feels true in your body. In Qoya, your body is the highest authority, and your soul is the only one you need to answer to.
