Lauren Rogele
ERYT 500
Lauren has been teaching yoga fulltime since 2005. She has spent thousands of hours learning a variety of different yoga, movement and healing modalities, including being a certified fascial stretch therapist.
Lauren is also a teacher trainer and has been involved in yoga trainings since 2010 both as program director and faculty member through the Vancouver school of healing arts.
Expect the unexpected in Lauren’s classes. She brings her extensive knowledge and playful spirit to each class. With a well-balanced and functional approach to yoga and movement, you’re sure to leave feeling satisfied and relaxed.
For more information on Lauren, go to her website www.laurensyoga.com.
Cathy Lawson
Professionally, Cathy has spent many years in Sales & Management. She have been practicing yoga for over 10 years, but in 2010 she spent an awakening weekend with Baron Baptiste which led her to the possibility of teaching. Through 2010 & 2011, she completed a 100 hour level-one with the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute and then completed her 200 Hour Teacher Training and subsequent mentorship with Rachel Scott at YYoga in Vancouver. In 2012, she completed Hot Training with Kirsten Campbell.
These days, she spends a lot of time hanging with an amazing son who makes her laugh and smile way too much! Students can expect a well sequenced, alignment based class from Cathy. Her classes offer students an opportunity to meet their edge and challenge themselves through self inquiry. Her class lends to building heat in the body through a series of strengthening postures always leading towards a peak pose.
Kerri Neild
Kerri brings a holistic approach to yoga by weaving into her classes the philosophical, energetic, and spiritual aspects of yoga, as well as the scientific and physical benefits. She believes that we practice yoga on the mat so that we can encourage a more flexible body, mind, nervous system, and way of being off the mat. She is a certified hatha, yin, and restorative yoga teacher with over a decade of teaching experience, and a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (RTC) working as a Somatic Therapist. She loves her family, learning, creating, reading, meditating, Netflix, strong coffee, being outdoors, philosophical conversations, and connecting with others.
Leena Joshi
Yoga has been part of Leena’s life since she was a child: She watched her 81-year grandmother, who was blind, gracefully, and elegantly do her daily yoga practice. Leena feels that in her wiser years, she looks back with inspiration and awe at her as a person; and her dedication-it was a lifestyle. In adulthood, yoga found Leena when she was ready. Leena started to explore yoga: the breath and poses dance so intimately.
Leena has completed her 200- and 300-hour yoga teacher trainings, including Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga; and recently, 2 years of training in Mindfulness and Meditation, and mindful based Stress Reduction.
Leena’s hope for her students is to be present with their mind, body, and breathe; be okay with what arises in those moments; and being held in a safe space. Leena is there to facilitate their journeys. We are all students, and Leena continues to learn so much about herself on and off the mat.
Carli Jean Loptson
CJ loves connecting with people and being a part of a practice that requires people to fully show up. She can’t imagine not teaching yoga, it fuels her and she learns so much from the amazing people that continue to show up and practice in her classes.
Carli Jean brings a thoughtful sequence that includes emphasis on breath and movement linked together. She likes to play music and expect laughter.
CJ wants students to leave her classes feeling empowered, and to feel connected to their self as well as to each other.
Her best piece of advice would b to get on your mat. Sit, breathe, move, sweat, dance and remember this is a practice. If we all showed up with the answers or able to do every posture then it wouldn’t be much fun. It is a process and this is where the yoga happens.
Tina McNulty
Therapeutic Yoga Teacher
Tina is honored to be a part of this wonderful community! Having discovered the deep healing powers of yoga through her own personal journey, Tina became a yoga teacher to deepen her knowledge of how and why yoga works so well for healing. She loves to be able to share what she learned with others. Tina found teaching to be so inspiring that she is now also studying to become a Yoga Therapist. She is excited to share her knowledge and wisdom with students. Tina often explains why certain shapes are good for your body and nervous system to help students understand why they are doing what they are doing. Tina’s deepest yogic passions are the practices of Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga. Tina has a caring and thoughtful approach to her classes, join her for a Restorative yoga practice on Tuesday mornings at 11:15am.
Maria Van Roode
Maria is a devoted teacher and student of yoga. She teaches with a focus on increasing flexibility, strength and balance through stability. She encourages her students to be open and accepting of where they are today yet continuing to challenge them to strive beyond their boundaries. She teaches students to be observing of their own bodies and have greater alignment in their poses.
“My yoga practice brings me joy and an openness to learning. I wish to share this with others. When we are open and accepting of where we are today, it allows us to restore calm in our body, mind and soul so we can continue to grow.”
Karin Olsson
Karin teaches mainly restorative yoga, focusing on the deep healing of the body and the mind in this meditative practice. She believes that true rest and yoga is life-altering, leading to better sleep, healthier minds and bodies. In addition, meditation, which she weaves in to the practice, helps train the mind, helping to deal with life off the mat. Her wish for each student is to connect to the goodness inside and to restore all the trillion cells in the body to health and peace.
As so many students of yoga, she began the practice of yoga to heal her physical body and discovered that yoga healed more than the body and always made her feel good. She loves sharing the practice and her teaching style is gentle, warm and inward-focussed.
Line Grantham
As a student, Line immediately fell in love with the practice and eventually decided she wanted to expose people to the wonders of yoga.
Line brings her passion for yoga to each class with lots of focus on building strength, balance and awareness, all while enjoying a good stretch and all the other amazing benefits yoga has to offer.
Students can expect a well balanced & creative sequence along with a spirit of playfulness, followed by breath work and a relaxing Savasana.
Jill Forsythe
Jill loves people, connection & community. Being an avid yoga practitioner for over 20 years, it was a natural progression to turn her love of yoga into a career.
Trained in Hatha and Yin, Jill marries form and structure with body connection. Asking participants to be honest and loving to their bodies, she provides a supportive space for self-discovery. You’ll often hear her remind her class, they have a ‘beautiful side of their body and a gorgeous side’, and to be aware and accepting to meet their personal goals.
It’s Jill’s goal to be practicing yoga into her late 90s so ensuring low impact, strengthening, and maintaining body health is paramount.
When not practicing you’ll find her enjoying the outdoor and volunteering (sometimes both together).
Kerri Sumner
CYA-E-RYT 550hr, Yoga Therapist in Training
Kerri was introduced to yoga in 2006 and quickly began to see the benefits of yoga, reducing years of chronic back pain and inspiring more work/life balance. Yoga has supported her through many life challenges, including loss and PTSD, and her practice continues to heal her heart.
Kerri is a 550hr certified instructor, with over a decade of teaching experience. She is currently training to become a certified yoga therapist, specializing in chronic pain, functional movement and trauma. She is passionate about supporting students’ healing through yoga.
Her classes are clear and alignment-based, with a focus on mindful, breath-inspired movement. She believes that yoga should be accessible for everyone, and empowers students to explore their practice with curiosity, connecting with themselves to uncover more peace and ease on and off their mat. Her relatability and sense of humour provide a comfortable, safe space for students of all levels and backgrounds.
Vanessa Fryer
RYT 200
Vanessa is an enthusiastic Yin and Hatha teacher that brings her experience and knowledge as a personal trainer and group fitness coach into her yoga classes. She has been practicing yoga for over 12 years, discovering methods from Bikram all the way through to Yin. Her passion comes through in class with her creative movements and thoughtfully planned sequences suitable for all levels of yogis. Her balanced approach of intensity and calmness play well with teaching one’s self to overcome difficult moments both on and off the mat.
In her classes you will discover a deep connection to the breath, self-awareness and internal love by encouraging her students to honour their bodies. Vanessa is dedicated to helping people feel their very best.
Dreena Burton
When Dreena isn't on the yoga mat, she's in the kitchen. In addition to teaching yin yoga, Dreena Burton is also the OG plant-based cookbook author with six solo cookbooks, and two titles co-authored with a doctor. She has been plant-based for over 25 years, and is a mom to three daughters. Dreena completed her yoga teacher training at Vayusha Yoga, and soon after became certified in yin yoga and kundalini yoga. You can connect with Dreena online at www.dreenaburton.com.
Elaine Wang
Elaine's yoga journey began in 2006 when she suffered from severe seasonal allergy. She got immediate relief from practicing hot yoga and in the spring of 2008, she successfully completed 500hr YTT and began teaching yoga full time. In 2013, she completed yin YTT with Bernie Clark and in 2015 she completed 300hr Vinyasa YTT in Goa, India. She also fulfilled the training on RAD Myofascial Release; Thai Yoga Massage; Aerial Yoga TT and some Tai Chi.
She always considers herself a student and enjoys practicing various styles of yoga and honored to share her knowledge and experience with others. She believes that practicing yoga is process of learning to listen and discover about the body and mind. Her classes are filled with compassion and her energy is very humbling. You will feel very relaxed and grounded when you leave her class.
Cindy Thornton-Veltri
After dabbling in yoga as a teenager, Cindy fell ”head over heels” in love with the practice 20 years ago. She has since spent over 600 hours studying and training with masterful teachers.
While raising a family, Cindy enjoyed an active life teaching fitness classes and travelling as a flight attendant for 42 years, but multiple injuries made her seek out yoga. Yoga always brings her back to a place of healing and health.
Cindy is passionate about helping people find their own path to recovery. She enjoys the activity of strong yang movement and finds balance in the quieter yin and restore practice.
Colleen Romano
Colleen has been practicing yoga since 2005 and has been teaching since 2017. She discovered yoga as a way to still her mind and move her body; she found meditation in movement within her yoga practice.
Colleen is passionate about the history and philosophy behind yoga and travelled to India in 2018 to learn more about the birthplace of yoga. She teaches with love and respect and cares for her students in their experiences. Her favourite form of yoga to teach is Restorative and she has a deep love for guided meditation.
Colleen is certified in Hatha, Restorative, Prenatal and yoga for pain. She also has many hours of Meditation training.
In her personal life, Colleen enjoys cooking, reading, embroidery and wild crafting. She travels around BC often, especially if it is near the ocean.
Nazanin Khan
Nazanin was introduced to Yoga, specifically Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga following a traumatic car accident. Not only was her body constantly in pain, but her mental health suffered. She tried everything she could to help "fix" herself with no real lasting benefits, so she gave yoga a shot. After a few months, her body felt different. She was healing. And then came another shift. Through this practice, Nazanin noticed her mind was more calm. She began to share her experience with friends and family and eventually decided she had to share with others.
After taking her 200 YTT, Nazanin completed her 50 hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training along with a 60 hour extensive Restorative Training. Since then, she has received her Meditation Certification, MBSR, CWMF and she is currently in the process of finishing 500 YTT and Integrated Yoga Therapy. We never know that one of the worst things that happen to us is actually a blessing in disguise.
Lisa Martin
Lisa started practicing yoga as a young athlete to help gain flexibility and increase strength. Since then her yoga journey has become a necessary outlet for self care, taking to the mat to get out of everyday life and focusing on what her body and mind needs.
Lisa’s classes will provide thoughtfully guided instruction. Pulling from her knowledge of yoga, fitness, and acrobatics, you can expect a balanced and playful class of strength and stretch ending with relaxation and focused breathing exercises to bind the body, mind and soul.
Jocelyne Couture
Born and raised in Manitoba, Jocelyne was surrounded by her Métis heritage and taught early on about indigenous teachings and our connection to all relations. Her healing practice evolved in becoming a Hatha yoga teacher for over 20 years and now weaves her Métis and yogic teachings in Stretch and Restorative Yoga classes which she lovingly calls her “gatherings”. Jocelyne brings us a meditative, receptive practice allowing ourselves to let go of holding ourselves up and being supported while surrendering layers of deeply held tension. She also carries the teachings of her Elders in her classes aimed at connecting you to the Sacred Healer—your Self.