Maintaining a positive outlook on life

PAUL LAMBIS meets one woman determined to develop strong, balanced and confident individuals through her yoga programme

Nicole Joannides is not your average individual. Aside from the incredible energy she exudes in your presence, there is also a sense of calm, a feeling of refreshing tranquillity, and an absence of tension or worry.

Most individuals who have met her, attended one of her workshops, or participated in an online session through one of her specially designed programmes aimed at helping people achieve a balanced body, mind, and spirit will wholeheartedly agree.

Naturally, for Joannides to be able to maintain a positive mindset by cultivating an attitude of gratitude, engaging in self-care, and fostering healthy relationships, she had to take decisive action to empower her mental attitude to achieve success and find fulfilment.

“The turning point that created the life I love today happened in 1998, after I attended my first yoga class in a small studio in Notting Hill, London, and at the end of the session, I felt as if my feet weren’t touching the ground,” Joannides recalled.

“It was euphoric, like nothing I’d ever felt before, and there was a sense of calm running through me, both inside and out.”

Although she had just received her degree in psychology and sociology from Oxford Brookes University at the time, Joannides was still looking for that intuitive feeling that was more profound than her conscious mind. That first class did it.

Today, and over two decades as a professional body worker and yoga practitioner in Greece, Nicole Joannides is also the founder of the ‘Y Program,’ which aims to develop strong, balanced and confident individuals “who can impart their motivation and balance to their families, friends, and to live the life they have always desired”.

Joannides was born in Nicosia to Greek Cypriot parents in 1977 and was inspired by her mother’s strong business ethic and her father’s architectural inventiveness. The youngest of three siblings, Joannides revealed that she was always drawn to philosophy, constantly reading books on the subject, particularly Indian philosophy and mythology. “I was intrigued by the Indian deities and found common ground with Greek mythology, especially the ancient stories and how these can be applied to life-changing experiences, such as divorce, trauma and death,” she explained.

After finishing her degree, she decided to focus on her yoga education with world-renowned teachers such as Noah Mazé, Seane Corn and Sianna Sherman, which she continues to pursue once a year when she visits Los Angeles.

“I studied Indian Philosophy with Douglas Brookes, a Harvard University professor who now organises a seminar in New Jersey every year for only a handful of his students to talk about philosophy,” she added.

Joannides relocated to Greece permanently after marrying her husband, however the couple’s relationship ended in divorce. She is a single mother of two boys who has worked with children for the last ten years at two of Athens’ most influential schools, where she takes a holistic approach to a child’s physical, personal, social, emotional and spiritual well-being, as well as cognitive aspects of learning.

But it was during the pandemic that Joannides decided to launch her successful ‘Y Program’, which is designed to help women, schoolteachers and companies. “The initial goals were to educate people after the global epidemic on how to reconnect with one another, to reunite their body and mind through yoga poses, breathing exercises, and focus on techniques to control the ‘monkey mind thinking’, which is our inability to quiet our minds when there are many thoughts, ideas, and worries swirling around in our heads.”

Another of her goals was to have her programme implemented in both private and public schools to help teachers become more balanced so that they can be more focused when dealing with any type of student in the classroom. Joannides claims that her programme, when practised correctly, will help foster a more balanced community and society as a whole, resulting in more motivated children.

“I am still working towards making it happen,” she said. “That is how I intend to make a difference in the world in my lifetime. It is the legacy I want to leave behind.”

When it comes to working with companies, Joannides’ programme is specifically designed to foster employee solidarity while also providing an opportunity for any employer to demonstrate their respect and dedication to its employees by offering something back.

The programme lasts twelve weeks and is available both physically and online. Participants are given a personal handbook outlining the sessions within the programme, which cover topics such as self-awareness, physical strength, meditation, breathing exercises, and balancing the body, mind, and spirit.

“One of the most fundamental concepts in yoga practices is the recognition that everything in life is subject to the ebb and flow of our existence; light cannot be seen without darkness, expansion occurs after contraction, heartbreaking lows can follow incredible highs, and we must root to rise, like the lotus flower through the muddy waters,” she explained.

Nicole additionally offers year-round yoga-friendly escapes in various locations around Greece, where professionals may combine yoga and meditation sessions with leisure activities and nutritious eating.

“Everyone who joins the ‘Y Programme’ has their own set of challenges, whether personal or physical, and my goal is to see those obstacles through their eyes and understand what they need from the moment they step onto the yoga mat,” she said.

Her approach after that is to provide people the space to shift from their limited belief system and step into uncharted territory, allowing them to realise their full potential for creativity and enjoyment of life.

Nicole Joannides is a proud Greek Cypriot who believes in the same strong family values, work ethic, and dedication that were instilled in her by her parents. Despite her own share of pain, such as her divorce, her father’s death, and the death of one of her brothers, she retains an optimistic attitude on life and believes she can make a difference in the community and society as a whole.

“My late brother advised me to focus on what makes me happy and what will make a difference in the world, and I intend to follow through on his advice.”

To find out more about Nicole Joannides, visit https://nicolejoannides.com