Education Centre Archives - Page 2 of 3

Gabrielle

Gabrielle’s love for teaching, sharing and learning about yoga and mindful living is matched by her affinity for her students. She believes yoga brings us greater joy, freedom of movement and a deeper connection to ourselves and one another. Forever a student of life, she embraces the opportunity to learn alongside those she teaches. Her yoga journey began in Okinawa, Japan, while teaching English to the great-grandchildren of some of the world’s longest-living people. Inspired by the connection between movement, mindful living and well-being, she went on to complete Ashtanga yoga teacher training with David Swenson in Tokyo. After returning to Ottawa in 2011, she completed Hatha yoga training and began teaching full time. Today, Gabrielle is an E-RYT, E-RCYT and RPYT, with experience in multiple yoga disciplines, functional anatomy, mobility, resistance stretching and intuitive movement. She is also osteopenia/osteoporosis-informed, bringing an understanding of bone health to her teaching. She shares her passion for anatomy, body mechanics and alignment, blending traditional and...

Anastasiya

Anastasiya is a member of the PranaShanti Education Faculty and holds E-RYT 500 and YACEP credentials through Yoga Alliance, qualifying her as an experienced teacher and Continuing Education Provider. She has taught in six 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings at PranaShanti, where she leads education in alignment, class structure, sequencing, and asana practice. Prior to joining the faculty, she taught and assisted in three intensive 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings and a 300-hour teacher training intensive at Vida Asana School of Yoga in Costa Rica. Her teaching is informed by the Ashtanga and Iyengar traditions, both rooted in the Krishnamacharya lineage. Her continuing education includes a 40-hour Ashtanga intensive with David Robson and Jelena Vesić of Ashtanga Yoga Toronto, advanced teaching and alignment studies with Alejandra Torres in Costa Rica, and intensive Ashtanga study in Mexico. Meditation is also an integral part of her practice, informed by Vipassana training. With over 1,500 teaching hours, Anastasiya has led workshops in advanced alignment, foundational asana, teaching...

Lynda

I believe that everyone is whole and complete even as the desire for change is present. My purpose is to remove the barriers to your belief in your infinite potential. My yoga, meditation, yoga therapy and life coaching programs are designed to increase the resilience of all persons, especially those working in high-stress environments, and to alleviate symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and trauma. My approach is based on two key cornerstones of invitation and inquiry. By offering choice and encouraging curiosity, I guide you to fully inhabit your body in the present moment, thus empowering you on and off the mat. WHO AM I? I’m a Registered Professional Yoga Teacher (E-RYT-500) with over 1000 hours of training. I’m a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), and I’m certified to teach Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and Chair Yoga. I have over 2000 hours of teaching experience. I'm a Certified iRest® Yoga Nidra Teacher. I’ve been leading iRest classes since 2014. I’m a meditation practitioner and have studied and taught other styles of meditation and mindfulness. I'm a Certified Warriors at Ease...

Barrie

E-RYT 500, YACEP Barrie Risman is an internationally-recognized yoga teacher, public speaker, and author. Her best-selling book, Evolving Your Yoga: Ten Principles for Enlightened Practice, is a guide for teachers and continuing students to deepen, expand, and integrate the benefits of yoga in their lives. Widely regarded as a teacher's teacher, she's the creator of online classes, courses, and trainings that fuel the inner journey of yogis around the globe. Barrie is well known for her ability to convey the essence of the wisdom teachings of yoga with exceptional clarity, insight, and relevance to students of all levels and from all walks of life. As unpretentious and down-to-earth as she is wise and inspiring, Barrie teaches with a remarkable combination of rigor and challenge balanced with sensitivity, humor, and compassion. Her events weave together the technical precision of refined alignment-based practice with an ever-present awareness of the great wisdom of yoga philosophy distilled from decades of intensive study and practice. Teaching since 1999, Barrie shares the depth of her experience...

Anna

The desire to live a meaningful life brought Anna to Hatha yoga and Vajrayana Buddhism. In her studentship over the past 15 years, she’s learned that in order to follow this path it’s important to study, practice, and continually apply the teachings to our everyday life. Anna’s practice and teachings are rooted in classical tantra. She teaches yoga that reflects this vision of reality. Tantra gives us tools to evoke as much energy and insight from our experiences as we can. Using an integrated somatic approach of body, breath, and mind, Anna offers classes that establish a strong and stable foundation in the physical body while expanding the wisdom energy of the heart....

Laurie

Laurie was one of those who was unwillingly dragged to a class back in 1988, and Anne Pitman was her first teacher. She loved yoga from the start, though the journey to embracing the practice fully was bumpy, to say the least. Over time, yoga has become one of the most potent tools to help her navigate through life. Some of the things she loves most about yoga is that there is no end point and that the "perfect" asana is the one you can do with how your body feels at the time. It doesn't have to look good to feel right. Under the guidance of many skilled teachers and following her own unending curiosity, Laurie's practice continues to unfold and evolve. She started to teach almost as soon as she returned from completing her first 200-hour teacher training at the Kripalu Yoga Center in 2005, and has since gone on to complete over 1500 hours of training across a...

Kim

Before finding her way to yoga, Kim began as a meditative child, eventually turning to physical postures in early adulthood to help overcome anxiety and become stronger in her body while experiencing the effects of endometriosis. Her personal practice has given her the space to observe her body without judgement and honed the capacity and confidence to become a better advocate for her physical healing. She became certified to teach Yoga through Pranashanti Yoga Centre in 2019, and was eager to begin her teaching journey. She has since taught over 1200 hours of classes, workshops, and trainings. Her classes seamlessly weave mobility techniques, simple biomechanics, mindfulness, and yoga philosophy while cultivating a space for play and curiosity with humour, and humility. As a member of the Pranashanti Yoga Education Centre’s faculty since 2023, Kim has taught in five 200HR Hatha yoga teacher trainings where she has led lectures and discussions in anatomy, yoga philosophy, methodology, posture clinics, and teaching authentically. Always approaching her...

Melissa

Melissa Delaney is an Embodiment Coach, Registered Yoga Therapist, Yoga Instructor, Educator, Retreat Host, and Women’s Gathering Facilitator. Her work is devoted to helping people reconnect with themselves, their bodies, and one another—and to discover their spark so they can live with greater authenticity, connection, and soulfulness. With more than 17 years of experience studying and teaching yoga, Melissa brings a holistic and integrative approach to her work, weaving together the wisdom of yoga and tantric philosophy with the science of somatics, trauma-informed practice, and modern psychology. Her approach is compassionate, practical, and grounded in tools that can be brought into everyday life. Her extensive training includes Hatha Yoga, Yoga Therapy, Yin and Restorative Yoga, Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga, Pelvic health, Pain science, Core restore, Tantra philosophy, as well as trauma and emotional well-being. She recently studied ancestral healing and introductory Qigong energy healing Melissa offers weekly yoga classes, private Yoga Therapy and coaching sessions, and continuing education workshops exploring topics such as...

Michael

Om Sri Hanumate Namaha Anjaneya, Michael Hutkins teaches traditional Hatha Yoga and meditation classes to students of all ages and abilities. With his foundation of classical Hatha Yoga, classes incorporate Pranayama (Breathing exercises), Sun Salutations or other warm ups, Asanas (Steady postures) and a deep guided relaxation. He adds gentleness, challenges and humour, to help students along their path. Classes can be made accessible to all students. Training at several Sivananda ashrams in Canada, USA and India has allowed Michael to live with his teachers and be fully immersed in the yoga experience. His training covers a wide scope of yoga, from philosophy and Bhagavad Gita courses to chanting and devotion ceremonies to the physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. As well as enjoying family life, Michael is also a Certified Yoga Therapist....

Monique

Monique is a Yoga Therapist, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, Mind-Body Coach, and Mediator (ADRLi). In addition to her 800 hour embodied yoga therapy certification with the School of Embodied Yoga Therapy (SEYT), which was grounded with somatic work and a focus on our nervous system, Monique is trained in somatic stress release (SSR), integrative somatic trauma therapy (ISTT), and somatic attachment therapy with The Embody Lab. Monique has been holding training workshops for yoga practitioners since 2017. As a yoga therapist and conflict resolution practitioner, Monique focuses on trauma-informed approaches, embodied conflict resolution, and supporting practitioners and service providers with workshops and trainings. Monique is particularly interested in supporting yoga therapists and other practitioners in deepending their practice, self-awareness, and self-care to support their attunement and presence as service providers. She also regularly provides conflict resolution trainings to teams within the nonprofit sector including leaders, labour relations officers, and frontline staff responsible for service delivery. She co-leads the design and delivery of 21-hour community...