About Me
Who am I? How did I end up becoming a Goodball Instructor?
Hello fellow Goodball-ers and those who are interested in dipping their toes into a new world of fitness and self-care. My name is Marystellar Hyeji Park (or simply "Mary") and I am an Advanced Goodball Instructor and the sole practicing Goodball instructor in North America. I had the privilege of encountering Goodball for my own health and since then it has been a journey to get to where I am today. Up to now, I have completed and received the Goodball Instructor Level 1 license, Goodball Expert Instructor license and Timeless Holistic Goodball license. Alongside my education, I have also helped translate the Goodball Brochure into English and am currently working on bringing more educational print materials into English.
My background in Linguistics and English comes as a surprise to many in my field. Afterall, what is a book-smart girl doing in the fitness industry? However, my many years of teaching and tutoring students is only a reflection of my passion for learning, growing, and sharing what I’ve learned with those around me. Moreover, working out of a neuro interdisciplinary clinic has been eye-opening, and I was able to learn about the many personal and intimate stories of people’s health journey through pain, physical health and overall wellbeing.
Goodball really stuck with me because of the paradigm shift that it was founded upon: that our body is a soft, three-dimensional body. Although it sounds intuitive (“Of course our body is soft and three-dimensional!”), the way we treated our body through previous modalities did not reflect that perspective. Who would use a dense foam roller on tangerines to soften it? In fact, are tense muscles actually hard and need to be softened? What is the deal with the buzz word “myofascial release” that popped out of nowhere and that everyone in the fitness and health industry seems to be focusing on? Not only did Goodball answer all of those questions, but it helped simplify my knowledge about the body as a whole. Needless to say, I was sold and went on to pursue all the licenses available at Goodball Academy to broaden my understanding of both theory and practice of Goodball - yet I am still constantly learning.
Thanks to Dr. Lee, my colleagues and fellow Goodball instructors as well as the amazing organizations, sponsors and companies who support the vision of Goodball, I was given the opportunity to travel all across South Korea to participate in classes to members of The National Dance Company of Korea, The National Orchestra Company of Korea, Universal Ballet, Brooks Running Club, Korean National University of Arts, Yongin Public Library for the Visually Impaired, Senior Community Centers and many more.