My passion is to help people feel better and live healthier, happier lives. I have been teaching Gentle Yoga classes since I was 28, teaching part-time for more than 25 years.
I am also a certified Holistic Nutrition and Lifestyle Consultant, trained through the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, and taught visually impaired and blind children and youth for 30 years in various school boards.
For more than 30 years I have been exploring yoga for healing, recovery, alignment and strength. I believe that a regular, gentle and conscious yoga practice that includes meditation offers an important tool for managing daily stress, both physical, mental and emotional. I came to Yoga in a serious and committed way after a car accident when working in Toronto as a teacher with the Toronto District School Board. At that time I discovered Wendy Nemeth's (formerly Pierce-Jones) yoga classes and was inspired by her commitment, knowledge and warm heart. A couple of years later, I attended Wendy's extensive teacher training program over the course of a year and a half.
Yoga is the settling of the mind into Silence
Wendy trained under Esther Myers in Toronto, influenced by Vanda Scaravelli, and also practiced and trained at the Kripalu Yoga Centre in Massachusetts. I also attended Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont. for Yoga Teacher Training. More recently in 2024, I attended Donna Farhi's on-line program, the Art of Teaching for Yoga Teachers over 4 months and I continue to learn from Donna on-line. Studying Yoga, as well as Feldenkrais and Somatic movement practices are a passion that continues to support my own well being and expand the quality of my teaching.
Yoga became a critical part of my own healing.
I came to Yoga with some familiarity, because Yoga has been a part of my life since I was a child.
I watched my mother practice throughout my life on the living room floor of our busy home and cottage and on the beaches of Manitoulin Island. I witnessed that her practice, which included meditation and prayer, was very important through some of her most challenging times. She practiced with notable ease and comfort, without a mat or special clothing wherever she found herself; and as I grew up, I often joined her on the floor.
My Grandmother taught Yoga in her 50’s and continued with a daily spiritual meditation practice into her 90’s. She shared her books and stories with me over the years and attended some of my classes in her 80’s. Her father (my great-grandfather) also practiced yoga into his 90’s.
In 2002, I carried and cared for my twin boys, who brought incredible joy and comraderie, and who continue to enrich my life. The pregnancy and early stages of care presented new physical demands on my body and my practice. Yoga and meditation has been a critical part of my own healing through health challenges and work I often found stressful. Yoga continues to be my way of tapping into a renewed sense of life and healing. My intention is to continue to share this love and passion for yoga with others so that each person may also tap into his or her innate and natural healing abilities and learn personal ways to manage daily stress.
Stillness and silence are relative, life is flowing and moving all the time.
● We all need to move daily and yoga provides the opportunity for moderate and gentle exercise that can be used throughout one’s lifetime.
● Yoga is not primarily about being flexible or about perfect posture, its about how it supports you in daily life.
● Yoga can provide you with useful strategies to function better under stress, with better focus, awareness and patience.
● Yoga can leave you feeling more centered, grounded and more peaceful.
● Yoga in various forms may be accessible to everyone.
● Yoga is ideally modified and personalized and made your own.
● Yoga can be a good counterbalance to both physical stagnation and excessive movement or exercise.
● Yoga should not be painful, although there may be times when it is challenging or involves effort.
When the weather is warm, I am often doing yoga outside - it's one of my favourite things to do
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