My version of an old Cherokee tale begins with a wise man who approaches his grandchild and says “There is an incredible struggle going on in my stomach, there are two wolves and they are fighting for power!! One is evil and full of anger, envy, greed and lies… The other is kind, compassionate, loving, generous and empathetic. This same fight is actually happening inside of all of us!” The child looks at his grandfather and replies with urgency “Well how do you know who is going to win!?” Endearingly, the man looks at his grandchild with a warm smile and says “If you feed them both correctly, they will both win! You see, if you just choose to only feed the good wolf, the jealous wolf will be waiting at every corner, waiting for you to get distracted so he can jump at the opportunity to get your attention away from the patient and kind wolf. However, if you acknowledge the envious wolf, then he will be content. Even with all of the negative traits, the dark wolf also brings courage and fearlessness, which the light wolf lacks - you really need them both. If you feed them in a balanced way, you won’t have this constant internal battle. You will have the space and ability to listen to the inner wisdom they both offer, which together will help guide you on your path. The goal is inner peace of course, and with peace comes abundance.”
I approach my wellness practice in the same way… I am here to help facilitate your healing, not to fix you. I will help you to the best of my ability to feed these wolves in a balanced way, and hope to inspire you to feed the right wolf at the right time. I will encourage you to surrender and soften into the myofascial release body work, but also to stabilize and strengthen the areas of the body that need it. I will ask you to take a look at all of your lifestyle choices, but only make changes that feel accessible and attainable. I hope to embolden you to take these steps in this dance, these perfect transitions between fluid motion and total stillness in your body, mind and soul.
Wishing you well on your journey, no matter which path calls you,
- Dr. Jo
Dr. Joanne Wolf - Owner and Physical Therapist
Dr. Joanne Wolf, PT, DPT, CMTPT/DN
Holistic Physical Therapist
Dr. Joanne Wolf (Yonit Batya) received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Touro College in Manhattan, NY, where she was Vice President of the student physical therapy association (SPTA) and class representative for the graduating class of 2015. She also graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in 2009. Joanne became a certified personal trainer through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) and worked and trained clients at Washington Sports Clubs for 2 years before heading to New York to begin her physical therapy journey.
Joanne has always been passionate about being a part of the health-care system, helping people get back to their normal level of function and then taking it a step further to higher levels of wellness. She brings a caring and holistic approach to her evaluations and treatment sessions, combining various manual therapy techniques, breathe-work, and functional movement assessments/training to treat a plethora of ailments. Joanne is a certified manual trigger point therapist of dry needling (CMTPT/DN) and has attended over 300 hours of continuing education courses in the following modalities to add to her evaluation and treatment options: John Barnes Myofascial Release Approach, Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT), Trigger point dry needling (Myopain seminars), CranioSacral Therapy (Upledger), and Pelvic Floor Therapy (Herman and Wallace). She specializes in improving overall wellness as well as treating acute and chronic conditions involving fascial restrictions, sports injuries, repetitive movement injuries, TMJ (temporal mandibular joint) dysfunction, concussions, GI issues, and pelvic floor dysfunction. Her true passion lies in working with any patient who truly wants to heal and to get to the source of their condition. She strongly encourages wellness visits when you are not in acute pain, focusing on mindfulness, preventative care and reaching the highest levels of health and well being.
Joanne encourages a balanced approach to wellness and health. She suggests that all patients be prepared and willing to evaluate all aspects of their lifestyle - sleep, nutrition, hydration, exercise habits, stress levels and aspects of their spirituality and relationships. In order to create the best fluidity of care, Joanne works in collaboration with various wellness professionals in DC and Chicago (functional medicine doctors, primary physicians, orthopedists, physiatrists, naturopaths, Pilates instructors, acupuncturists, social workers, health coaches, energy healers and meditation facilitators), helping patients to navigate their healing journey and reach their wellness goals.
When she’s not in the clinic, Joanne enjoys learning torah and Jewish studies, dancing, meditation, live music, swimming, pilates, hula hooping, cooking, learning about nutrition, traveling, camping and any excuse to be with community/friends out in nature.
We are in Israel!
Come visit our new location and company in Tzfat, Israel at Foundational Healing - Women's Wellness Center in Tzfat.
Contact us at YonitBatya.Healing@gmail.com
or Whatsapp us below.
*See Foundational Healing Tab for List of Services & Events.