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Marion (Mugs) McConnell Marion was first introduced to yoga in 1971. Her passion for this ancient practice led her to study under the late Swami Vishnudevananda where she graduated from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre as a Yoga Acharya in 1978. Later she became a live-in disciple of the late Dr. Hari Dickman, who was also a devotee of Swami Sivananda and Paramahansa Yogananda. Marion is a founding member of the South Okanagan Yoga Academy (SOYA) and SOYA’s Yoga Teacher Training Program (RYS200+500®). She is a Registered Teacher with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT500®), and the Canadian Representative for the International Yoga Teachers’ Association since 1980. She has presented workshops in Canada, United States, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Australia, and has been teaching yoga for 30 years. She currently teaches classes in Mexico and Penticton, while training yoga teachers throughout BC and Alberta. Certification: Certified Yoga Siromani (Teacher),
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, 1978 Website: www.yogaessentials.com,
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Dariel Vogel Dariel (Kalyani) is certified by the Alberta Yoga Association (YAA) to teach teachers, as well as from the Freidel Khattab School of Yoga (FKSY). She is a Registered Teacher with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT500®) and the International Yoga Teachers’ Association (IYTA). Dariel is a founding member of the South Okanagan Yoga Academy (SOYA) and the SOYA Teacher Training Program (RYS200+500®). Dariel has been practicing yoga for over 30 years. Email: kalyanidariel@hotmail.com
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Vancouver
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Dorothy Polukoshko Dorothy is a certified teacher through the SOYA program, has been practicing yoga for 30 years and teaching since 1998. She is also a certified teacher with the International Yoga Teacher’s Association and a Registered Yoga Teacher (ERYT®).
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Chris Clancy Christine began the practice of hatha yoga in 1990 and taught her first classes in 1992. She began teaching in earnest after beginning the SOYA Yoga Teacher Training Program in 1998. Chris focuses on the fundamentals of body alignment, rooting and approaching yoga with humility and invites her students to move inward, exploring body, breath and mind as they practice yoga. Dedicated to yoga as a life practice, Chris helps her students uncover the ‘living’ yoga by moving beyond the physical reward toward an inward journey that extends long after class is over. Chris is a Primary Teacher with the SOYA Yoga Teacher Training Program, she is certified with SOYA, the International Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA) and is registered with the Yoga Alliance (ERYT®). Email: coveyoga@shaw.ca
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Prince George and Northern BC
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Carla Wainwright Co-owner of Chinook Yoga Studio in Prince George, Carla began practicing yoga in 1996. She found early classes challenging but continued to persevere and began to feel a deeper connection between mind, spirit and body. Carla’s passion for yoga grew, and she began teaching in 1999. She has studied with Mugs McConnell, Shirley Daventry French, Erich Schiffmann, Shiva Rea and Geeta Iyengar. She is a graduate from the SOYA Yoga Teacher Training Program, a member of Yoga Alliance (ERYT®) and a certified International Teacher of Yoga (IYTA). She teaches a wide range of classes - from intermediate Vinyasa to Pre-Natal/Mom & Baby Yoga and also runs the Prince George Satellite of the SOYA Yoga Teacher Training Program. As a young mother, yoga has helped her stay flexible and grounded with a deep sense of well-being despite a much more busy life! Website: www.chinookyoga.com
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Calgary and Area
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Helen Mikuska Helen is a certified yoga instructor with South Okanagan Yoga Association (SOYA), an E-RYT500® Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance and IYTA certified to teach internationally. She runs the Calgary Satellite for SOYA Yoga Teacher Training. Helen’s yoga classes include Hatha Yoga (physical postures which stretch, strengthen and release different muscle groups), which also includes pranayamas (different breathing techniques to help your work in the postures, release stress, help with concentration and to prepare for meditation), Raja Yoga (meditation to still the body and mind) and Bhakti Yoga (love and devotion), which includes Mantra Yoga (chanting and japa). The classes encompass a practice of breath work, postures, meditation and relaxation. The goal in all her yoga classes is to help to assist you in the calming of your mind, obtain peace, make the body-mind-spirit connection and also to have a little bit of fun. As the body becomes more flexible and receptive, so does the mind. The regular practice of yoga will bring balance to both your physical and mental health, bring harmony and open your heart to happiness and freedom. Helen’s other qualifications include many certifications in fitness; having taught 29 years in the fitness industry. She has also completed Stott Pilates Intensive-Plus and Advanced Matwork courses and has graduated from a two-year diploma program in Food and Nutrition Management. Website: www.harmonyyogastudio.ca
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Ft. McMurray and Area
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Katherine Labonte Katherine (Omkari) owned and operated a yoga studio and school for 15 years. She currently lives in Cochrane, Alberta and is primary faculty for SOYA through RYT. Qualifications: SYVCA (Sivananda Yoga Acharya, Advanced Training), YAA, SOYA, IYTA, ERYT, David Swensen Primary Series, David Swensen Second Series. Restorative Yoga, Maternity Yoga, Soya Advanced Philosophy, 1 year Ayurveda Certification, 1 year Vedic Astrology Certification. She has also studied with Richard Miller, Mukunda Syles, Donna Holleman, Donna Farhi, and Manjus Jois. She is currently working on Mantra Teacher Training. She works with other healing modalities such as Nutrition and Colon Hydrotherapy. Private lessons are available. Website: www.dharmaspirit.ca |