Summer 2015 Contributors
Violet Pasztor Wilson
Founder and CEO, Canadian Yoga Alliance See The Origin and Roots of the Canadian Yoga Alliance. Basantdeep Kaur
(Anna Madejak) Basantdeep Kaur is an Addiction Counselor, certified KRI Kundalini and Classical yoga instructor, Hormone Yoga Therapist, Rei-Ki Practitioner, Beyond Addiction Instructor/Trainer and Healthy Breast Educator. Basantdeep completed the Beyond Addiction training with Sat Dharam Kaur in 2008 and has been using it to help individuals conquer addictive behaviours. She teaches aspects of the program at Vitanova Foundation Treatment Center in Woodbridge and at the Medical Withdrawal Unit at CAMH (Center for Addiction and Mental Health) in Toronto, as well as in her private practice in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Basantdeep is presently as co-teacher at all Beyond Addiction training programs offered in Ontario. She has been invited to co-teach Beyond Addiction with Paramjot Sing (an artist, certified Kundalini yoga teacher and Beyond Addiction Instructor) in Berlin and the UK this coming fall. 416.806.3556 Ismat Dhala Nathani
Doctorate of Natural Medicine (Canada), MSc. Integrative medicine (UK), Bachelors of Naturopathic and Yogic Sciences (India) Ismat is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Ayurveda & Indian Systems of Healing (CAISH). Her contribution to the Canadian community has been remarkable. Her passion for Ayurveda, yoga and natural medicine has motivated her to bring Indian medicine to the forefront of the Canadian natural health industry. She leads the team of highly qualified Ayurvedic doctors, yoga practitioners, philosophers and teachers at CAISH. Ismat, at the very young age of 16, got initiated, by her master Lajpatrai Mehra, to study the ancient art and science of Nadis. That led her to academic studies and to becoming a health care professional. She introduced Neurotherapy "Nadi Vigyan" to the west. Centre for Ayurveda & Indian Systems of Healing #305, 344 Bloor Street W Toronto, Canada 416.233.2049 www.CAISH.ca Melissa Donohoe
Melissa believes in the interconnection between all, and the healing power of connecting to the earth. She is a full mesa carrier with a deep love for playing in nature, movement, and stillness. Melissa is a registered yoga teacher, holds degrees in psychology and education, and has a background in dance. She has been teaching for over a decade and is now honoured to be part of the Shamanic Yoga Teacher Training in Squamish, BC. [email protected] Michelle Blance
Michelle has been involved with the yogic teachings of Swami Radha since 1992. She has taken two yoga development residential courses both of three months duration. She first did Hidden Language Hatha Yoga Teacher Certification (a two-week residential course) in 1998 and has taken this certification several times since then, mostly recently in August of 2014. She is also certified with the Canadian Yoga Alliance. She currently teaches in Edmonton, Alberta. For information on classes, contact Michelle at 780-245-1224. Perri van Rossem
Owner Living Yoga Studios, Teacher, Therapist, Student and Spiritual Seeker Throughout her life, Perri has been a dedicated student of both the body and mind. As an athletic child she followed her passion for physical activity into dance and worked as a personal trainer and an aerobics’ instructor. Her educational pursuits were, and continue today, to be in the area of philosophy. In 1990 yoga found Perri. It became immediately obvious that yoga naturally blended Perri’s passion for a healthy, vital body with her pursuit of understanding the nature of reality, life and the mind. Perri instantly began a committed personal yoga practice and an in depth study of the yogic teachings. She has studied with many of North America’s greatest teachers. Her expansive study, practice and teaching eventually lead her to the home of the teacher of many of the world’s greatest masters, Krishnamacharya’s Mandarim in Chennai India. Her initial teacher training was with the Yoga Institute of Houston, where attention to anatomical knowledge and structural alignment was heavily emphasized. Perri believes that a clear understanding of, and instruction in, alignment is an integral part of every good yoga asana class. However, Perri also enjoys the vinyasa (flowing) style of practice and integrates the two in a unique and creative fashion. The emphasis in her teaching remains on the fundamentals of good body alignment, breath awareness and mental focus. Perri’s passion for sharing the deep wisdom of the ancient philosophy of yoga takes her classes beyond the physical practice alone. She considers yoga to be a practical philosophy that offers tools to assist us on our everyday journey through life. To think of yoga as an exercise system for the body alone is underestimating and limiting to yoga’s overall potential. Perri imbues her classes with a blend of physical, mental and spiritual teachings. When we free the body, and release the mind, we allow ourselves to let go of all that no longer serves us. By incorporating the tools and philosophy of yoga into our lives, we can free life force energy, create change, growth and well being in all aspects of our lives. Perri’s passion and faith in the healing powers of yoga will continue to inspire her to offer the best possible instruction and services to all her students. Perri van Rossem Living Yoga Studios 11 Livingston Ave Kingston, Ontario K7L 4L1 (613)453-8811 http://www.livingstudios.ca Tetyana Lytviak
Tetyana is a Nithya yoga teacher, intuitive counselor, volunteer for the Nithyananda Meditation Academy, writer, artist, mother, wife, sister and friend. She lives the art of yoga and shares it with others both on- and off the mat. She invites you to check out her website and contact her for support as well. If you are in the Calgary area, join a class. She is also available for private sessions, in person or via video conferencing, to support your process in blissfully being yoga. Blissfully Being Yoga www.blissfullybeingyoga.com Yves Panneton
Yves Panneton is a CYA-RYT Gold member of the Canadian Yoga Alliance. He was introduced to yoga at the age of 5 years when his parents went on a yoga vacation in Val Morin, Quebec where Swami Vishnu-Devananda had established his ashram. Yves has over 30 years of experience in the practice of yoga. Over the years, he completed his Teacher Training Course, Advance Teacher Training Course and took the Sadhana Intensive during which time he practiced under the watchful eye of a guru trained by Swami Vishnu-Devananda. |
Matthew Remski
Matthew Remski has been practicing meditation and yoga since 1996, sitting and moving with teachers from the Tibetan Buddhist, Kripalu, Ashtanga, and Iyengar streams. Along the way he has been certified as a yoga therapist and an Ayurvedic consultant, and has maintained a private practice in Toronto since 2008. From 2008 through 2012 he co-directed Yoga Festival Toronto and Yoga Community Toronto, non-profit activist organizations dedicated to promoting open dialogue and accessibility. During that same period he studied jyotiśhāstra in a small oral-culture setting at the Vidya Institute in Toronto. He currently facilitates programming for yoga trainings internationally, focusing on yoga philosophy, meditation, Ayurveda, and the social psychology of practice. In all subject areas, he encourages students to explore how yoga practice can resist the psychic and material dominance of neoliberalism, and the quickening pace of environmental destruction. He is the author of eight books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Of Threads of Yoga: a remix of Patanjali’s Sutras with commentary and reverie, scholar Mark Singleton writes: “I don’t know of any reading of the yoga sutras as wildly creative, as impassioned and as earnest as this. It engages Patanjali and the reader in an urgent, electrified conversation that weaves philosophy, symbolist poetry, psychoanalysis and cultural history. There’s a kind of delight and freshness in this book that is very rare in writing on yoga, and especially rare in writing on the yoga sutras. This is a Patanjali for postmoderns, less a translation than a startlingly relevant report on our current condition, through the prism of this ancient text.” Of the forthcoming What Are We Actually Doing in Asana?, Buddhist teacher and author Michael Stone writes: “Matthew Remski’s WAWADIA research digs beneath the statistics of yoga injuries to examine the stories we tell ourselves about our bodies, perfection, inadequacy and freedom. We all know that repetitive strain or too much flexibility creates the conditions for injury. But what we haven’t brought to light yet are the consequences of the narratives we tell ourselves—how they set us up for physical trouble in practice and how they influence the way we go through life. This research will help you pay attention to the strange unconscious intentions that get all mixed up in a life-long practice, so you can clear out unhelpful motivations and follow through on what’s truly good for you.” As an Ayurvedic consultant he tries to hold space for people as they integrate the shadows of flesh and heart. In the background of any meeting, he stays aware of whatever experience he has gained through Ayurveda, yoga therapy, and yoga philosophy. Often, these disciplines provide useful lines of inquiry and protocols. But he tries to be careful to not let what he thinks he knows encroach upon the person, his or her unique growth, or his own. He tries to hold his tools lightly, because they change. He lives in Toronto with his partner Alix Bemrose and their son Jacob. http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/ Alisha Stubbs
Alisha is from a small town, and loves big-hearted conversation and listening to peoples’ stories. She is a new mom, an individual, couple and family therapist, school counselor and yoga teacher. Herein lies her passion for holistic well-being: body, mind, soul. Alisha strives to integrate elements from her clinical background with her yogic foundation to create a space for herself and the individuals she works with to be authentic to each other and themselves. Alisha can be reached via LinkedIn. Eryl McCaffrey
Eryl is a certified yoga instructor and freelance writer from Toronto, Ontario. She also manages a beautiful, intimate studio in downtown Burlington, Ontario called Kinetic Yoga & Pilates. When she's not teaching or managing, Eryl is sharing her journey and learnings in her writing. Eryl firmly believes that self-love leads the way to happiness, freedom and connection. [email protected] twofeetheartbeat.wordpress.com Kristie McGregor
Kristie is a physiotherapist, yoga teacher, and yoga therapist. She loves to explore the body-mind connection, and brings together the science of physiotherapy and the art of yoga for her clients in Golden, BC. [email protected] 250-344-6654 www.elementtherapeutics.ca Facebook: Kristie McGregor - Physiotherapy & Yoga Shari Arial
Shari Arial is from Edmonton, Alberta and is currently completing her 954-hour yoga therapy training through Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. Shari found yoga therapy through her own journey of recovery from stress and burnout. Shari used yoga to come to the realization that something needed to drastically change in her life and she stepped away to begin her 200-hour yoga teacher training. Shari is excited to share Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and empower others to make changes in their lives. As a Practitioner in Training, sessions are being offered for a limited time at the reduced rate of $45.00. Contact 780-863-7779 for more information! Skye Neufeld
Skye began her personal yoga practice years ago, but deepened her practice after a near fatal motorcycle accident in 2008. She broke several bones and was told by medical professionals that, because of her traumatic injuries, she would have to work hard to recover and manage relentless chronic pain. She came to learn that yoga was an effective natural alternative to cope with and to overcome what she was faced with. She naturally developed a strong desire to share the benefits and healing powers of yoga, and completed a 200-hour teacher training with Feel Good Yoga Studio in Victoria. She is a registered teacher with the Canadian Yoga Alliance of Canada and is currently committed to an apprenticeship with Sandy Dillabaugh and Cathy Valentine, working towards her 500-hour Vijnana yoga certificate. She loves to focus her practice from the inside and encourages her students to listen to their own bodies. She raises her three beautiful children in a lovely seaside town. She loves her life on Vancouver Island and takes advantage of every opportunity to get out and enjoy its beauty. Ripple EffeKt Yoga [email protected] Vadivambal Rajagopal
Dr. Vadivambal (Vadi) Rajagopal, Ph.D,P.Eng, holds a doctoral degree in Biosystems Engineering (University of Manitoba, Canada) and worked at UFM on grain quality research. In her research career, she has authored numerous papers, conference proceedings, chapters for books and a book on biological imaging. She is a Yoga Alliance Certified Advanced Hatha Yoga Teacher, an expert in the practice of pranayama and a member of Canadian Yoga Alliance. She has been practicing yoga for about five years and teaching for about two years and offers Hatha yoga classes for all ages at various locations in Winnipeg. For details contact Vadi at 204-261-3615 or email [email protected] or visit www.aagnayoga.com |