About me
From his early childhood in Haiti, jean-jacques gabriel has been focused on seeing, shaping, and amplifying beauty, which he defines as “a mixture of what circumstance commands and infinity implores”. The son of painter Jacques Gabriel, jean-jacques painted before he could walk and later studied painting and drawing at The University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. While in art school, jean-jacques fell in love with the radical presence he found in Yoga. It served as a complimentary balance to the figurative work he was creating. It anchored his life with presence and creativity and circuitously called him into teaching. jean-jacques started teaching yoga to children in West Philly and then to incarcerated people while working with Marshall Eddie Conway, a former Black Panther and political prisoner. From the start, Black freedom has been central to jean-jacques’s yoga teaching journey, and helped root his wellness work in community care. This has guided his work in public schools, prisons, yoga studios, yoga teacher trainings, retreats, and large festivals; teaching yoga, breathwork, Thai-Massage, partner yoga, AcroYoga, and nonviolent communication. He currently leads the 200hr Yoga Teacher Training at Studio 34 Yoga in West Philly, teaches public classes & workshops, and works with private clients. In addition to sharing practices that help us to be more grounded and free, jean-jacques loves learning and laughing with his two daughters, and drawing and painting portraits.
