My Practice Story: 

I practice yoga because movement is my medicine and awareness in my body is my sanctuary. It’s gotten me through my toughest times and sustained me in my wildest times. The states that yoga has brought me to through pranayama, asanas, and yoga nidra have completely shifted how I experience reality today. I have evolved to be a more empathetic and embodied woman. Whether it be through storytelling or through teaching yoga, I love creating a space for my communities to cultivate their best selves on their own inner journeys. 

My journey of practicing yoga originally began as a way to get fit and look my best while going through a heartbreak in university. After only a few months, I started realizing that this practice was giving me much more than just the physical benefits that I was looking for. I was beginning to feel more calm and less reactive the more that I practiced. Next, I tried practicing with every teacher in my studio until I found my few favorites, which then inspired me to commit to a daily practice. 

My Hatha practice itself was a great workout, but the reason I stayed committed to my practice lies in the commitment that my teachers showed in providing a safe and encouraging learning environment for me. Lerrita, one of my first and my favorite yoga teachers that I’ve practiced with, started to see me in every class that she taught. As every great yoga teacher does, she inspired me to push myself further than what I subconsciously limited myself to. Her classes were centered around classical Hatha and she effortlessly spoke words of wisdom to my soul through every practice. I still think about some of the things she’s said in her classes commonly in my practice and it’s literally been 6 years. 

One day, she extended an invite to me to attend one of her yoga nidra classes (the only class she taught that I made a point to skip every week) and I agreed to attend it only because it was her asking. I showed up to her yoga nidra class in my activewear thinking I was about to do some really unique asanas and felt so much resistance to staying when I saw everyone in their pajamas buried under bolsters and blankets. At the time, this wasn’t my idea of “yoga”. Reluctantly, I began my first practice of yoga nidra, which was my first longer format meditation. In Lerritas’ closing speech to the class she said, “Our society is plagued with so much mental illness today. So much anxiety, which is worrying about the future and so much depression, which is worrying about the past. In this powerful practice, I guide you to stay in the present moment, which is the only moment that truly exists. When you keep practicing staying in the present moment again and again, you will feel all these worries fade until you are one day operating from a mind that is clear. And that is true yoga.” So ya… then I cried and became completely obsessed with my practice. I knew I needed to make this a habit if I really wanted to change my reality to one where I felt calm more than I felt anxious. 

Just as Lerrita did for me, I aspire to be part of my community members’ ‘aha’ moments. I have faith that one day a student of mine will be looking back over their journey and knowing that our interactions helped guide them to themselves. 

My Teaching Space:

When students come to my class, they can expect an open and safe space where they know they’ll be guided back into their own bodies. Here, they will be encouraged to develop their own inner awareness and to cultivate their own terms of a successful practice. I meet my students where they’re at and acknowledge the small things we can celebrate. They will feel inspired to practice to the best of their ability and confident to know when they need to settle into stillness. I am their guide to finding their own inner harmony. 

Forming connections with my community is my strongest asset, so my students know they can rely on me to be a consistent source of uplifting energy and to be a safe space that they can open up to about their lives or their practice. I like to drop facts about the benefits of practice on our bodies and our energy systems, so that my students are reminded that they are doing something good for themselves every time they practice. I also like to pay homage to the teachers who have come before me through storytelling about the history of yoga. My students will leave feeling proud of themselves for their practice and confident about how they can incorporate yoga in their daily life. In my opinion, the most advanced yogis are the ones that have the most fine-tuned body awareness, so that’s what my teachings are built upon. 

I also am extremely passionate about alternative healing, specifically Chinese Medicine, and female cycle awareness. My 100 hour YACEP course is a deep dive into women’s cyclical health, the history of women in yoga, the art of teaching yin, Chinese Medicine theory, the meridian systems, and taoism. This course has inspired me to want to run retreats and teach about the women’s cycle to my communities because women becoming in touch with their rhythms is valuable for everyone. 

My favorite styles of yoga are dependent on how I’m intuitively feeling. When I crave movement and flow, I practice vinyasa and power yoga. When I crave grounding and steadiness, I practice Hatha and when I crave rest, I practice yin and yoga nidra. 

My Trainings and Skills:

• Completed 200 hour YTT in November 2023 in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
• Currently enrolled in a 100 hour YACEP called Unwind the Feminine: Yin, Yoga, and the Tao led by Bex Tyrer. This will be completed February 21st, 2024.
• BASc with Honors in Human Nutrition and Microbiology from the University of Guelph
• 2 years experience as a Social Media Health Communications Volunteer where I took masterclasses and produced content for a Naturopathic Doctor and a Cellular Rejuvenation Clinic     
• 8 years experience in hospitality, including 2 years at luxury boutique hotels    

Yogis that I admire and follow:

Bex Tyrer: My most inspiring yogi who is not only a fierce activist, but also a true leader in feminine empowerment in yoga. 

Zoe Nash: My most inspiring Chinese Medicine trained yogi who taught me about the meridian systems and how desperately our society needs a yin yoga practice (also an amazing activist).   

Rohit Rawat: My main form of yogic philosophy education who teaches with such simplicity and creativity. 

Naia: My favorite instructor that I met through my 200 hour YTT who fine-tuned my teaching skills and ignited my confidence in teaching.

Lerrita Rubinoff: She is currently teaching in Spanish, so once I learn that language I will continue to practice with her videos.