Jo Manuel is the Founder and Executive Director of The Special Yoga Centre - a charity that is dedicated to supporting babies, children, teenagers and adults living with special needs to realise their full potential, through the practice of yoga and mindfulness. The Special Yoga Centre is also a Centre of Excellence with a renowned umbrella of teacher training programmes specialising in teaching yoga to children/teens with a specific emphasis on special needs.

Jo Manuel has practised yoga for over 30 years and trained extensively under Sivakami Sonia Sumar. She taught yoga to children for 10 years and in 2001, took her first training in Yoga for the Special Child^TM , completing all higher-level courses. In 2003, Sonia invited Jo to teach The Yoga for the Special Child^TM training in the UK. She is now the UK and Europe's leading special yoga practitioner and teacher training expert in yoga and mindfulness for children.