MEET OUR TEAM
Joanne is a certified yoga instructor and wellness educator with decades of experience designing programs that meet the needs of individuals and the community. As the owner of Pleasure House Point Yoga & Wellness, her mission is to guide people toward discovering their most authentic selves through movement and self-awareness.
Joanne’s alignment--focused teaching style is relaxed and supportive. She encourages students to listen to their bodies and move with self--compassion, curiosity, patience, and humor, while building awareness of anatomy and breath. She believes a sustainable, body-centered approach to asana offers benefits that last a lifetime. Her accessible classes are welcoming to the beginner and experienced yogi alike, allowing all students to practice safely while keeping a lighthearted spirit.
Joanne Lappin Parker
E-RYT 200, RYT-500, MPH
In the studio, students are invited to connect with one another, smile, and find community through movement, breath, and mind. Joanne believes anyone can practice yoga, regardless of age or condition, with patience and a willingness to listen to the body.
Joanne has lived in Virginia Beach’s Ocean Park neighborhood, home to PHP Yoga, for over 25 years with her husband, while raising two children and many beloved pets. She enjoys travel, hiking, games, and reading, with summers in the mountains and winters on sandy beaches. Watching the sunset from Sylvan Beach is a gift that she is grateful for every single day. She believes that authenticity and gratitude are essential to happiness and seeks these each and every day.
Emme Watkins
RYT-200
Emme is a 200-hour certified yoga teacher with training in Ashtanga Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, and Classical Mat Pilates. For her, yoga is both a spiritual and physical journey, and she loves helping people feel their best on and off the mat.
Emme fell in love with yoga nine years ago and later completed her teacher training in Bali. Her teaching style is supportive, upbeat, and refreshingly down-to-earth. She brings a balance of structure and ease to her classes, helping students build confidence without feeling pressure.
Outside the studio, Emme has a strong personal interest in exercise science and stays consistent in her own strength training practice. That curiosity shows up in her teaching through thoughtful sequencing, smart cues, and an emphasis on helping students feel strong, capable, and at home in their bodies. Her goal is simple: to create a space where people can move, breathe, and feel good without overthinking it.
Located in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Virginia Beach, framed by the beautiful Pleasure House Point Natural Area on one side and the Chesapeake Bay on the other, Pleasure House Point Yoga & Wellness seeks to exist in balance and harmony with the spaces around us. This includes living and learning from nature, recognizing that balance and imbalance are part of the same practice, and inviting change and growth into our experience.
Balance on the mat is the practice. Balance in life is the purpose.
