Please take a moment to become acquainted with our teachers, manager and studio directors.
teacher, studio director, co-founder Moksha Yoga
Natalia has been teaching yoga for over a decade. She has been blessed to study with many leading teachers in various styles of yoga internationally since
1997. Aside from yoga studies, Natalia has become certified in The Work of Byron Katie, a certified Traditional Thai Massage practitioner, and has immersed
herself in therapeutic work through The Transpersonal Therapy Center and through modern shamanic work. Her most profound experience of life and spirit have
come through the birth of her son Shai and she is forever transformed by motherhood.
Her greatest and most treasured accomplishment is making her son laugh.
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teacher, studio director
Felicia comes from an athletic background with a keen interest in the physical functioning of the body. She is trained in Moksha and Restorative yoga. Her passion is her family, the outdoors and of course yoga. Once nick-named the "gentle commander", Felicia is an encouraging and compassionate teacher. She believes that the practice of yoga is within everyone. For some it is more easily accessible and others must dig deeper to find it. Felicia was relatively new to yoga when she discovered the Uptown studio. It was within the "warm" Moksha community that she realized the true healing power of yoga. Her focus was redirected from the physical realm to the amazing effects of the mind/body connection and beyond. She is most grateful for the unexpected growth and limitless strength she has experienced as a student and as a teacher. Each student comes to class for different reasons. Felicia endeavours to be sensitive to individual needs and to gently guide students to a place that feels right for them. Along that path she believes the most effective guide is the smile.
Favorite pose: Canoe Savasana in Algonquin Park
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studio manager, teacher
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teacher
Equipped with a love for teaching, an in depth knowledge of human anatomy, and a spark for connecting with people, Anna approaches movement from a holistic perspective. After years of practice and training in both Yoga and Pilates, Anna teaches her classes and private clients with clarity, experience, and humor. She believes that movement is a platform for human transformation and what thrills her most is watching her clients unfurl to their potential.
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Kathy Donoghue believes the wellspring of wholeness is fed by practicing yoga. To this end, she left a career in IT consulting and qualified as a Bikram yoga instructor in 2003. She also practices Ashtanga and Thai Yoga Massage and has been fishing since the age of four. She welcomes you to her classes.
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teacher
Roz started practicing Ashtanga yoga back in 1997, in 2000 she discovered Bikram yoga during a visit to New York City. It only took one class for Roz to feel the positive impact of this unique hot yoga practice, soon after she decided to become a certified Bikram instructor and received her certification in 2001in Los Angeles followed by her Moksha certification in 2002. Roz believes that hot yoga has been the best form of physical fitness she has experienced; it works at a very deep level both physically and mentally. Her practice continues to evolve as does her self-awareness. She has been teaching for over 5 years and continues to be inspired by guiding students through the practice and watching their progress. Teaching and practicing yoga helps Roz balance her full time consulting work with health and wellness.
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teacher
Joanne began practising yoga 8 years ago, while completing her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition at Ryerson University. She has since trained in the Bikram, Moksha and Ashtanga yoga systems. She is ever grateful to the amazing teachers and students who have inspired her along the way, and she has witnessed and experienced the transformative powers of yoga - on and off the mat. When life gets complicated and our minds become cluttered, yoga fosters balance, nourishes our spirits and reminds us to be true to ourselves.
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Michelle Corbeil found her passion when she was introduced to hot yoga, feeling that heat facilitates amazing transformations that occur within both body and mind. She strongly believes that the path and desired results that lead people to yoga are as varied as each of the unique practitioners. Michelle is grateful to be a part of this community and to be surrounded with such inspiring people.
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A member of the Moksha Yoga Uptown community since May of 2004, Jessica Lemon has been balancing life as a student and a teacher since receiving her Moksha Yoga certification in 2004. She studies at the University of Toronto and last year completed a year abroad in France where she studied French literature and taught both Yoga and English in the North Western region of Nantes. Love of travel and self-discovery first led Jessica to hot yoga at the age of 18 when she moved to Vancouver to pursue acting. Since then, she has lived and worked in Montreal, Toronto, and London Ontario using her enthusiasm and talent for communication to inspire both French and English communities to explore methods of healing and health through yoga. It is Jessica’s goal as a teacher and student to integrate the desire for growth and evolution with love and compassion. She believes it is through this balance that we will heal the world.
An understanding heart (is) everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl Jung
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teacher
Daniel tried his first hot yoga class in 2004 and could not believe how great he felt. Daniel began pushing himself to see how far he could go and learned as much as he could about yoga and most importantly, himself. Becoming a Moksha Yoga Teacher was a natural extension of this process for him.
Daniel teaches as he lives: openly, honestly and willing to change and grow into something more. He takes that same perseverance and enthusiasm into the practice room. He encourages his students to challenge themselves and their perceptions of where they are and where they can be.
"With God's help today, I do not require the attention and approval of others, in order to be at peace with myself."
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Following more than two decades in varying corporate administrative positions within the winemaking industry, Danny’s growing penchant for wellness and physical conditioning eventually lead him to pursue a career in health and fitness. Shortly before attaining certifications in fitness assessment and personal training, Danny was introduced to yoga while traveling abroad on the island of Kauai. This initial introduction to Hatha yoga piqued Danny’s interest. However, it wasn’t until shortly afterwards, upon his return to Canada, while attending his first Hot Yoga class that Danny experienced a truly cathartic revelation. From the outset, it was clearly evident that the awareness and inter-connectivity that yoga cultivates was an ideal complement to the rigors of conventional fitness. In the summer of 2004, Danny registered and subsequently graduated from the inaugural Moksha Teacher Training certification program consisting of over 800 hours of study. Danny has since studied with many highly accredited teachers including David Life, Paul Grilley, Judith Lasater, Baron Baptiste and John Friend. Danny’s love and passion for yoga grows with every passing day. Danny credits his teachers, students and family for helping him to attain a greater understanding and appreciation of connection, compassion and awareness.
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Scott Miller
teacher
After years of professional practice as a massage therapist and a student of Ashtanga, Hatha and Bikram yoga, Scott had discovered the important balance yoga offered to his life. As his professional practice evolved and grew, so too did his interest in yoga and meditation. In addition to a number of Vipassana meditation courses, Scott felt drawn to teach after completing his first yoga teacher training in 2005 for Ashtanga yoga. He discovered that teaching was a natural way to incorporate his understanding of human anatomy and biomechanics with the deep and graceful release of energy possible through yoga postures. Having been a student and member of the Moksha community from its introduction it was a privilege to partake in the 2008 teacher training program held in India. Scott is also proud to be a member of the New Leaf Yoga foundation, a charitable organization offering yoga and meditation to ‘at-risk’ youth. Through the support of the Moksha community and on behalf of New Leaf, Scott also teaches and offers yoga to a small but dedicated group of troubled boys at the Brookside Youth Correctional Center. Scott credits the many teachers on his journey for the inspiration to explore and greet life with awareness, acceptance and gratitude.
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teacher
Kierstin was introduced to Bikram Yoga in 1999, and was immediately hooked. Yoga became a major part of her life, where her heart, body, and mind found a home. Having a deep interest in health, physical and mental, she feels that Yoga is for everyone, and should be available for all. In 2005 she took the Moksha Yoga training in Toronto. Kierstin is so grateful to be a part of the Moksha community, and continues to learn and grow with each class she guides, cherishing all the benefits, mental, spiritual, and physical that yoga brings.
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Tracy has been guiding students in their yoga practice since participating in the Moksha Yoga teacher training in the summer of 2005. She has also participated in restorative yoga training with Judith Lasater. Previous occupations have included working as a corporate commercial lawyer and a stay at home Mom to her now teenage son and four older step sons. She credits yoga and her many wonderful teachers with creating improved balance, health and awareness in her life and she considers it a privilege to be able to share these possibilities with her students. Through yoga Tracy continues to seek enlightenment, health, compassion and a lower handicap.
“Yoga is the practice of becoming radically present in your life.” Judith Lasater
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Aura was first introduced to Ashtanga yoga in 1996. It was part of her movement class in the theatre and dance program where she received her Bachelor in Fine Arts. Her love for hot yoga started with Bikram, introduced to her in 2002, which then led her to Moksha and she’s been hooked ever since. Aura carries lightheartedness in her teachings but at the same time challenges each individual to go to their edge. Her training in dance and physical theatre supports her teachings by honing in to proper alignment and use of breath. She has an eye and the touch to support a posture whether it’s for an advance student or your very first class!
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Katrina started her yoga practice in 1998 and found Moksha in 2005 when she innocently stumbled upon an early Sunday morning Moksha Uptown class after socializing late into a Saturday night. She and her classmates survived her surprise introduction to heated yoga and she returned to her usual Ashtanga floor intrigued at the totality of the experience. The 2008 Moksha Teacher Training in Kerala, India was undertaken primarily as a conduit for furthering her practice and as a release from the demands of her Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Having completed both, she now finds herself nicely settling into Toronto and her role as an educator in yoga and pharmacy.
People keep telling her how, “Yoga saved my life.” And she relates but knows they mean they saved their own lives.
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