About Me
+ What I have to offer you
My educational background in biological sciences and strong knowledge base in yoga and anatomy directly influences the quality of teaching and the learning environment I offer.
My goal is to help you improve yourself through yoga. As such, I focus my attention on guiding you to effectively learn about your body to perform the postures taking biomechanics and alignment into account.
+ My Teaching Style
I teach based on my knowledge and experience, and from a caring and careful perspective. My classes are my way of sharing my love of teaching and yoga with you. My hope is to provide sense of physical and mental balance to my students at the end of each session, and for students to feel comfortable and that they have gained knowledge and a better understanding of themselves and their bodies.
Muscular engagement, skeletal alignment, mental focus and safety are very important to me. I also stress the importance of the integration of breath with movement to increase focus. As such, I instruct in such a way that each student may focus inward to improve themself, while I pay strong attention to each student to ensure safety. I aim to lead each class at an appropriately challenging level for the student or group, and to provide balanced, well-rounded, enjoyable classes.
+ Why I Love Yoga / My Yoga History
Yoga makes me feel confident, self-aware, and physically and mentally strong and flexible. My practice allows me to better let my inner kindness shine brightly in my daily life and to simply go with the flow.
After obtaining my black belt in Tae Kwon Do, I became injured and began to look for other means of focussing my energy in a less aggressive way. I garnered an interest in yoga while exploring other means of exercise. In the end, yoga provided me with a feeling of balance and completeness that no other form of exercise did, along with the energy and philosphy I loved about martial arts. I began immersing myself further in yoga in 2009, starting a daily at-home practice in 2011, and found myself consistently recommending and sharing yoga with the people in my life.
Yoga has helped me balance my life, feel comfortable in my own body, heal from injuries, gain physical fitness and health, among many other benefits. For me, the clarity of mind and activity of body is a form of artistic outlet and a source of inspiration. It is also an ever expanding area of knowledge acquisition and research.
+ Yoga Certifications and Training
My years of yoga practice with knowledgeable, encouraging, genuine and experienced instructors, notably, Ian Fraser and Matthew Harper, inspired me to learn more about yoga. In addition to adding a daily home practice, I began to read books and articles online to learn more. Eventually I began to search for a course that would provide me with an opportunity to learn yoga and related disciplines from someone who I admire, who is knowledgeable, inspirational, intelligent and experienced.
After looking for many months at dozens of yoga teacher training courses worldwide, I found the great yoga teacher’s instructor Dan Clement in British Columbia and immediately contacted him. After completing my masters in Biomedical Engineering, I went to Vancouver to undertake my Yoga Teacher’s Training and Certification at Open Source Yoga with Dan in August 2014. I have also been fortunate enough to study class sequencing with Natalie Rousseau, mythology and yin yoga with Bernie Clark, Thai Yoga Massage with Carol Wray and an additional certification with the Ottawa School of Thai Massage, Therapeutic yoga anatomy and physiology from Dr. Robin Armstrong, meditation with Nathalie Kellier as well as various other meditation courses including at Ryosokuin Zen Temple in Kyoto, Japan, Business of Yoga with Shannon Cluff, and Ayurvedic medicine basics with Todd Caldecott, among many others.
+ My Love of Teaching Yoga
Yoga has been so important for my personal development and my physical and mental health. Teaching yoga contributes further to the development of my personal yoga practice as I gain insight from my students, and introspect to find better ways to instruct.
Sharing my experience and knowledge with others to help similarly enhance their lives adds further significance and inspiration to my yoga. My yoga journey and its impact on my life as a whole has been so wonderful; sharing this with others in a healthy, safe, exciting, educational and encouraging way brings joy to my life.
+ Where I Am Currently Located
I am currently located in Ottawa, Ontario.
Testimonials
“There are a lot of yoga teachers — but Leah’s style keeps me coming back. Her classes are a harmonious balance between power and technique, hard and soft, stillness and laughter. Her knowledge of human anatomy is present and woven into every series. You will never get away with a poor chaturanga under her masterful eye, and you will always leave with an invigorated body and a full heart. That is the best compliment I can give.”
“I’m forever grateful for having Leah as one of my first yoga teachers. Her abundant knowledge of poses and transitions combined with a bioscience background have helped me to heal a back injury, and develop an emerging spirituality-based practice that has become a foundation of my life. Add in her flare for the creative and the humorous, Leah is highly recommended for the new and experienced yogi.”
“Leah leads her class with an energetic blend of authority mixed with friendliness.Her attention to detail and proper form had me discover new things about my body and my yoga practice.Such a great experience!”
“Leah’s yoga instruction is like experiencing yoga as taught by a true Yogi. Leah is a real student of yoga who aspires to mastery and knowledge in all aspects of the ancient discipline.”