About Our Team & Approach
Jill Knouse Yoga
Yoga, as I teach it, isn’t about chasing perfect shapes.
It’s about learning to listen — and trust — what your body already knows.
The Embodied Vinyasa Method isn’t about perfect postures — it’s about cultivating embodied self-trust that ripples into every part of life.
The mat becomes a laboratory for living. Learning the difference between pain and productive challenge helps you trust those same instincts in relationships, career, and everyday choices. Discovering your body’s intelligence in a pose teaches you to honor that wisdom everywhere else.
When I guide, I offer alignment principles, creative sequencing, and anatomical understanding — while inviting you to sense what truly serves your unique body in each moment. It’s not rigid, and it’s not a free-for-all. It’s the practice of embodied discernment.
This looks like trusting your felt sense over external “shoulds.” Adapting poses to serve your body instead of forcing your body to serve the pose. Building confidence through movement that carries into life beyond the mat.
This approach infuses everything I create — from weekly classes in Portland to shared meals and movement around the world. Whether flowing through vinyasa or dancing under wide skies, the invitation is the same:
Come as you are.
Trust what you feel.
Move like it matters.
Let your body guide you home.
This is the Embodied Vinyasa Method.
About Jill Knouse
Founder, E-RYT 500
So much comes together in the practice of yoga. For me, it’s heart and wisdom, artistry and inquiry, sweat and soul — all woven with a deep intention to connect. My teaching grows out of a lifelong love of movement, music, imagery, and the simple joy of being in relationship with people.
For more than 20 years, I’ve taught thousands of students and led nearly 60 retreats worldwide. Registered at the 200- and 500-hour levels with Yoga Alliance, I’ve also devoted myself to ongoing study — nearly a training each year — and to the deeper learning that comes through living. Nature, poets, my students, and my partnership with Michael are among my greatest teachers. Cancer, loss, and love have equally shaped my understanding of what it means to grow and to trust the body’s wisdom.
When I’m not traveling, I live in Portland, Oregon with my husband Michael and our two pups, Addie and Dug — grateful for the extraordinary community that surrounds us.
About Juan Pablo Hernández Zorrilla
Director of Operations & Guest Experience
After spending two decades in the high-tech industry — working with Yahoo and Airbnb in operations, employee experience, and communications — I decided to take a different path. In 2020, I semi-retired and moved to Mexico, a decision that opened new and fulfilling chapters in my life.
One of the most meaningful endeavors I’ve undertaken here is founding El Futuro en Mexico, a mentorship and coaching program for public university students. Through this work, I support students as they practice English, explore opportunities to study or work abroad, and develop essential interpersonal skills. Witnessing their growth and helping them navigate new possibilities is deeply rewarding.
As a practicing Buddhist, my spiritual journey is a significant part of who I am. I am currently pursuing a degree in psychology with a focus on neuroscience at Naropa University, aligning with my long-standing interest in the mind–body connection. Yoga has also been a cornerstone of my life for more than 20 years. Jill Knouse was my first yoga teacher, and over time our teacher–student relationship has evolved into a deeply rewarding collaboration. I was also part of one of Jill’s first cohorts in the Elevate Yoga Teacher Training in 2015.
Meditation and yoga aren’t just practices for me — they’re woven into nearly everything I do day to day, offering a foundation of peace and clarity.
I share my life in Mexico with my partner, Rodrigo, and our four dogs: Diego, PocChuc, Mazapan, and Lupita Jones. When I’m not working or studying, I find joy in travel, time at the beach, reading, listening to music, and occasionally embracing the art of doing nothing. I’ve come to value boredom as an important part of life — a space for creativity and reflection.
About Our Values
At the Heart of Roam to Om
At the heart of Roam to Om Adventure Retreats — and everything we do — are a few guiding principles. They’ve grown from decades of teaching, traveling, and gathering people together, and they shape every retreat, class, and shared experience.
🤝 Connection
We gather to reconnect — with ourselves, with one another, and with the world around us. Yoga reminds us that belonging isn’t something we earn; it’s something we remember.
🌍 Adventure
We explore with curiosity and courage. New landscapes, cultures, flavors, art, and languages widen our perspective and invite us to see more — both outwardly and within.
🌿 Awareness
We slow down. We notice beauty. We practice presence. Time spent in nature restores rhythm, reveals cycles, and reminds us that we are part of something larger.
💙 Care + Thoughtful Hospitality
We lead with attentiveness and heart. Every detail is chosen with intention, creating experiences where people feel supported, seen, and genuinely cared for — so they can fully arrive.
🎉 Play + Joy
Joy is essential. We laugh, move, dance, sing, and let creativity and play open places that words alone can’t reach.
So why does this way of traveling — and practicing — matter?
Because moments like these are worthy of our attention.
Because they’re alive with meaning.
Because they leave a lasting residue on our souls.
This isn’t hushed reverence or performative spirituality.
This is life lived fully — awake, connected, and in motion.
Together, we create moments we never outgrow.
✨ About Jill’s Dedication to Learning
In two decades of teaching, I’ve guided students and teachers across our incredible planet — while remaining a devoted student myself. My greatest teachers have been yoga traditions, wise mentors and friends, life itself, and the thousands of humans I’ve practiced alongside. I also learn endlessly from nature, from poets and artists who remind me to stay awake to wonder, and from every relationship where we practice the art of witnessing with compassion.
All of this — training, teaching, and living — feeds into the embodied experiences I love to create: classes, retreats, and trainings woven with soul, sweat, truth, humor, and heartfelt connection.
📚 Ongoing Study & Credentials
Yoga Philosophy & Spirituality
Bhagavad Gita & Dharma with Stephen Cope • Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with Judith Hanson Lasater • Tantrik Yoga with Hareesh Wallis • Silent Meditation Immersion with Adyashanti
Anatomy & Movement Science
Jason Crandell (Sequencing & Anatomy) • Jules Mitchell (Science of Stretching) • Ray Long • Alexandria Crow (Deconstruct to Reconstruct)
Ayurveda & Mind–Body Practices
Studies with Dr. Sujatha Kekada & Janet Stone • Nicolai Bachman • Matthew Remski
Mindfulness & Coaching
MBSR with Jon Kabat-Zinn’s team • Martha Beck Institute (Wayfinder Coach Training) • New Ventures West • Positive Intelligence with Shirzad Chamine
Healing Arts & Credentials
Reiki Master Level 1 & 2 Attunements • Oregon School of Massage, 600 hours • Certified 200-Hour + 500-Hour Yoga Teacher • ERYT with Yoga Alliance
Academic Foundation
Business Management, St. Mary’s College
