About Me
When I was a child, my parents placed a lot of importance on being with nature. Whether we were hiking, bird watching, growing plants and flowers, snorkeling and free diving in the Mediterranean sea, or just hanging out in the backyard, it always felt like home. From these experiences and others as child, I've had the blessing of understanding the therapeutic quality of being with nature.
Yoga did not formally enter the picture for me until I was a teenager; and for years I just dabbled in the history and philosophy of yoga. Then, during a very difficult period in my early twenties, when I felt I had reached the bottom in my life and I was questioning everything that I thought I knew, I was instinctively drawn to the other tools of yoga, beginning with the physical practice. I didn't know at the time, but I was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from a very horrible personal experience. For weeks after beginning my first yogasana classes, I lay in rest at the end of class and silently wept the psycho-emotional pain out of my body and mind. In this way, I experienced first hand the power of yoga to heal the whole person and I knew right then that I must dedicate myself to sharing this path to help alleviate the suffering of others.
What is the common thread between nature and yoga? Traditionally, yoga was practiced in retreat, in nature. Students took care of gardens and animals, and learned to live in nature. What we find in the world around us is not separate from us, rather, everything we can see, hear, and touch is part of the same whole. From the buzzing bee to the babbling brook, we all are in this together. Rather, we all ARE this together. Ecology is the study of interactions and relations between organisms and their environments. Yoga is the practice and discipline of perfecting relationships, both internally and externally to remember our innate wholeness. The common thread is CONNECTION. Through the practice of yoga, just as when we are immersed in nature, we experience and remember our connection to something bigger than individuality. That ever present source of well being and contentment that is the birthright of all those who exist, and is available to us, always. Sometimes we just need help remembering.
I've been a yoga teacher since 2001, and blessed to be a practising yoga therapist since 2011. I have studied extensively with master teachers. I've taught in corporate settings, as well as public yoga studios and gyms, but my full dedication and passion is now in 1:1 or small group therapeutic or accessible settings. I have seen students with a variety of needs or conditions including hearing loss, physical concerns due to accidents, venous return issues, herniated spinal disks, diabetes, pre- and post-natal care - especially in the presence of an additional condition(s), fertility, Parkinsons, PTSD, chronic and acute pain, addiction, and other trauma related issues. Every individual that comes to me for yoga therapy or accessible yoga is a blessing to receive in my practice.
As a Yoga Therapist, my goal is simply to support people from various walks of life by developing an appropriate program course meeting their therapeutic needs that will help them experience breath, movement, and being, to remind them of their wholeness, and gently encourage a re-connection with their own innate inner wisdom.
Yoga did not formally enter the picture for me until I was a teenager; and for years I just dabbled in the history and philosophy of yoga. Then, during a very difficult period in my early twenties, when I felt I had reached the bottom in my life and I was questioning everything that I thought I knew, I was instinctively drawn to the other tools of yoga, beginning with the physical practice. I didn't know at the time, but I was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from a very horrible personal experience. For weeks after beginning my first yogasana classes, I lay in rest at the end of class and silently wept the psycho-emotional pain out of my body and mind. In this way, I experienced first hand the power of yoga to heal the whole person and I knew right then that I must dedicate myself to sharing this path to help alleviate the suffering of others.
What is the common thread between nature and yoga? Traditionally, yoga was practiced in retreat, in nature. Students took care of gardens and animals, and learned to live in nature. What we find in the world around us is not separate from us, rather, everything we can see, hear, and touch is part of the same whole. From the buzzing bee to the babbling brook, we all are in this together. Rather, we all ARE this together. Ecology is the study of interactions and relations between organisms and their environments. Yoga is the practice and discipline of perfecting relationships, both internally and externally to remember our innate wholeness. The common thread is CONNECTION. Through the practice of yoga, just as when we are immersed in nature, we experience and remember our connection to something bigger than individuality. That ever present source of well being and contentment that is the birthright of all those who exist, and is available to us, always. Sometimes we just need help remembering.
I've been a yoga teacher since 2001, and blessed to be a practising yoga therapist since 2011. I have studied extensively with master teachers. I've taught in corporate settings, as well as public yoga studios and gyms, but my full dedication and passion is now in 1:1 or small group therapeutic or accessible settings. I have seen students with a variety of needs or conditions including hearing loss, physical concerns due to accidents, venous return issues, herniated spinal disks, diabetes, pre- and post-natal care - especially in the presence of an additional condition(s), fertility, Parkinsons, PTSD, chronic and acute pain, addiction, and other trauma related issues. Every individual that comes to me for yoga therapy or accessible yoga is a blessing to receive in my practice.
As a Yoga Therapist, my goal is simply to support people from various walks of life by developing an appropriate program course meeting their therapeutic needs that will help them experience breath, movement, and being, to remind them of their wholeness, and gently encourage a re-connection with their own innate inner wisdom.
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Qualifications
• Children's Yoga Therapy (In progress; anticipated completion, Summer 2018) • C-IAYT Yoga Therapist (Yoga Therapy Toronto - Toronto 2011-2012) • Yoga Therapy Ball Practitioner (Yoga Tune Up - Toronto 2011) • Ayurveda & Thai Yoga Therapy Practitioner (Lotus Palm - Montreal 2005-2007) • Jivamukti Yoga Teacher (Jivamukti Yoga - Austria 2003) • Yoga Teacher Training (Namaste Yoga Shala - Michigan 2001-2002) • Ongoing continuing education workshops and trainings with master teachers on various facets of the yogic discipline (yoga nidra, Samkhya philosophy, meditation, pranayama, anatomy, mudra, etc) (500+ hours / 2000-2017) Lineage & Inspiration The lineage that gives me the blessing to offer yoga therapy is of Sri TKV Desikachar. I have been blessed to study with many divine teachers. The following are teachers from whom I draw direct inspiration: • Felicia & Ante Pavlovic - Yoga Therapy Toronto • Saraswati Vasudevan - YogaVahini • Dr. Richard C. Miller Integrative Restoration Institute • Sharon Gannon & David Life - Jivamukti Yoga Other Education, Training & Experience • Graduate courses in English, Communications and Cultural Studies; Windsor, 1998-9 • Specialized Honours B.A: English; York University - Toronto, 1998 • CPR / Emergency Medical Response - Toronto, 2012 • Student of American Sign Language (ASL) since 2012 • Award-winning Marketing professional with extensive experience in Go-to-market strategy, Brand Marketing, Online Marketing, and Marketing Communications . Praise |
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