I didn’t love yoga when I first tried it. It was the early 2000s, I was a university student, and wanted to connect with my body in a new way. I did not feel welcomed in the practice and I sure as hell didn't see any larger bodies like mine! Thankfully, I stuck with my search and found my love for yoga in a gentle class taught by one of my mentors and teachers, Tiina Kivinen from Peterborough Living Yoga. 

​

That first negative experience really ignited a fire within me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Most people associate yoga with only the physical practice piece. We've seen examples of this all over social media as thin/able bodies demonstrate seemingly impossible postures as they bend and stretch the body into fascinating shapes. However this is simply not accessible to most bodies, and unfortunately, this yoga aesthetic is rampant across social media, online yoga journals, yoga magazines and even in our community yoga classes. 

​

As a larger bodied person, I can assure you, yoga is for EVERYbody and you can develop your own relationship with yoga and other forms of healing, like Reiki, that works best for you. It is my mission to meet you in the moment where you are at and offering you a holistic yoga and reiki experience that incorporates the mind, body and spirit.  I strive to create classes that are accessible to all, regardless of body size, physical limitations, age or gender. Yoga should always be available to EVERYbody!

I pratice Hatha yoga, with a  focus on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. There are 8 limbs/branches on this yoga tree, and only one of them is dedicated to the physical practice (asana). The core of my instruction will focus on breathwork (pranayama), meditation (dhyana), and easing the body into asana’s through gentle "warm-up"  movement (pratapana), thereby integrating these elements resulting in the awareness of connecting breath with stillness (samadhi) and movement . Prana in yoga philosophy, is the essence of life, of spirit and of breath. Prana is energetic, and flows through all of us.

Most of yoga is the study of how the mind and body react to external influences and how to practice moving inward, then practising how to present yourself outwardly from a place of love and compassion.