Jennifer Pritchard

Jennifer Pritchard is the pioneer, senior teacher and kirtan singer at Victoria's longest running Ashtanga Studio and Mysore Program, The Yoga Shala . Jenni established The Yoga Shala in the fall of 2002 upon her return from yoga training with Guruji in Mysore, India. Jennifer is authorized by KPJAYI, and is an E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with the Yoga Alliance.

She has been exploring yoga most of her life as her mom started her yoga explorations in the 70's. She has been a dedicated Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioner for 13 years and was introduced to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Primary Series in 1997 at the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, and again with Nancy Gilgoff in 2001, in Victoria. Nancy Gilgoff is the first certified female student of Guruji's and encouraged Jenni to attend David Swenson's YTT in Vancouver in the summer of 2001, sparking a serious interest in Ashtanga Yoga.

Alicia

Alicia grew up with Yoga as part of her daily life.  Throughout her childhood, she spent many summers and weekends at The Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, where as a teenager she was took part in their Karma Yoga Service.  It was there with Baba Hari Dass that her personal yogic journey began.

After having her two children,  Alicia's yoga practice became more important and focused than ever, eventually leading her to study with Jenni at The Yoga Shala to become a Registered Yoga Teacher. She uses her knowledge of Reiki for her in-class adjustments to create a restorative peaceful environment for her students.

Alicia is also a certified Rainbow Kids Yoga teacher, and has established Little Gurus Yoga, which provides her a unique opportunity to combine her love of art, music, and nature with her love of yoga, and share them with children and their families.

Corrin

Corrin began studying at the Sivananda Vedanta Centre in Toronto at the age of 12. She taught her first yoga class when she was 15. Throughout her career as a professional dancer she maintained her study and practice of yoga. Corrin began teaching full time in 2002. She has since trained yoga teachers in Toronto and Mexico at the 200hr level in Hatha and Prenatal yoga. Corrin is a certified Doula, Thai Massage Therapist, Ayurvedic and Sanskrit Scholar. She is currently teaching Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Prenatal yoga in Victoria, BC.

Christa

I've been practicing yoga for over a decade but my practice became really serious around 2006 and it was at that time that I realized that my yoga practice would be central to my life for the rest of my life. I studied for several years with a teacher in South Taiwan where I lived at the time. Her style was eclectic and incorporated elements of Hatha, Iyengar and Ashtanga. It was in Taiwan that I began to develop a solid home practice in addition to classes, often spending hours seeking the perfect sunset beach or rocky cliff in order to enjoy my practice in nature.

Upon returning to Canada in 2009, I found the Yoga Shala and realized that Ashtanga yoga was definitely the next step on the path for me. Though I continue to enjoy Vinyasa Flow and Yin style classes, Ashtanga is the base of my practice and that which allows me to progress. After completing the two month intensive YTT training program with Jenni in the spring of 2011, I found that to share my practice with others and help them enjoy some of the many benefits of the practice was an even greater joy than my own practice. Yoga will always be a passion in my life and I continue to learn new things every day to share with my students.

Gillian

Gillian’s first introduction to the Ashtanga Practise was back in 2001 whilst attending University.  She loved the balance it created in her hectic life and started to notice the physical challenge of the practise was giving her a calmness and mental clarity.

Gill has a passion for travelling and adventure this has taken her to Europe, South America, Asia.  She has lived in Australia and Laos for a year where she really explored different styles of yoga.  Every time she found herself coming back to the Ashtanga practise.  After her most recent trip to India Gill undertook the Yoga Teacher Training at The Yoga Shala here in Victoria.

 Her classes are full of enthusiasm and energy and demonstrate her great ability to be a warm and generous teacher.

Jason

I took my first yoga class in 2004 as a supplement to my regular gym workout and was immediately hooked. Over the next few years I gradually left other forms of exercise behind and began focusing more and more on yoga. Dabbling in different styles (power flow, yoga-pilates, bikram, yin, iyengar and my own home practice) I felt that new-to-yoga excitement all over again when I took my first ashtanga class in a small studio in Calgary. Ashtanga promised everything that I was looking for in a yoga class: physical challenge (strength, flexibility, cardio) wrapped in a flowing, breathing, balanced sequence. Knowing that this yoga is tied to a long tradition and offers opportunity for exploration into the soul-feeding realm of Indian philosophy was a further selling point. In May 2010 I took Jenni's yoga teacher training here at the Yoga Shala and am now happily able to share my yogic knowledge and enthusiasm with the rest of the world. Though primarily an ashtanga teacher I have been known to teach the occasional power flow class in which students are encouraged to explore some of the fun and challenging poses from the second and third series of ashtanga yoga mixed in a flowing practice. I look forward to seeing you in class..... Jason.

Jenny H

Jenny believes that yoga is truly for everyone. She started practicing Ashtanga in 2004 while attending art school in Halifax. At first she was just happy to have found a fun and playful way to stay fit, but soon realized that yoga encompassed so much more than that. When she began to investigate the idea of yoga beyond the studio, she discovered its ability to bring clarity to and cultivate acceptance in everyday life. Teaching is a way for her to share this discovery with others; she enjoys finding humour and lightness within the rigour of Ashtanga, and creating exciting sequencing with Power Flow. She is inspired by all yogis she meets, but is particularly grateful to her amazing mom Pam, Jenni Pritchard, her yoga teacher training group, and her young yogi son.

Jessi

My first experience with yoga was following along with the TV show Yoga with Lillian as a kid. I started to get serious about yoga at the end of high school and it started having a magical effect on me. I found yoga helped me fight negative thought patterns & I was now able to see the brighter colours in the world. Yoga also gave me the space to challenge myself & my body in a non-judgemental way. My yoga practice took another leap forward when I completed The Yoga Shala’s first teacher training in 2006. In my classes I like to encourage people to practice awareness of their body, mind and emotions- taking time to notice thoughts and emotions but always coming back to the breath and connecting breath and movement. In my daily life it’s important to me to also be aware of the world around me- practicing the Yoga of Action & honouring the Warrior.

Julia Breese

Julia's journey into yoga began as a method to increase flexibility and prevent injuries from the extreme sports she was involved in. She attended a few studios, eventually settling into a regular practice while attending the Yoga Shala in 2006. It was here that she discovered Yin Yoga and despite her initial discomfort in the quiet class, she became passionate about how stillness and long held postures could transform her body and settle her mind.

She is a certified yoga teacher who is currently working on a 500 hour Advanced Teacher of Therapeutic Yoga certification. In addition she has attended many workshops and YTT's focusing on Yin, Restorative, Trauma Sensitive Yoga, and Yoga Nidra. She specializes in working with yoga to ease stress, boost the immune system, reduce chronic pain and assist the mind/body to let go of negative patterns and conditioning. More info at www.garudayoga.ca

Miranda

Miranda loves swimming in lakes, and eating fresh food from her garden. She also loves learning. These three passions; nature, health and inquiry vibrate in her teaching style as well as her personal practice. Miranda views yogic practice as a tool which enables us to be conscious, aware, and active agents in our world. She encourages her students to cultivate awareness, compassion, and courage in their practice, as tools for everyday life.

Miranda dabbled in various forms of yoga asana before she experienced the healing benefits of the Ashtanga Vinyassa system. What she loves about Ashtanga is how it cultivates strength and flexibility through a physically demanding practice which also heals the body and the mind. She practices and teaches Yin yoga as a complement to the vigorous Ashtanga practice, and to help open and heal the “difficult spots”. She began practicing Ashtanga yoga in 2006 at the Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Victoria. Over this time, she has had various teachers to whom she is ever grateful, especially Jenni Pritchard who she has worked with over the years. In Summer 2010 Miranda completed  the Yoga Teacher Training program with Jenni at the Yoga Shala and has been teaching classes there ever since. One day she hopes to visit India and study with R.Sharath Jois at the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore India.

Miranda is grateful for the opportunity to share her passion for yoga and wellness. What she loves about teaching is witnessing people transform and heal themselves through practice while supporting them on their journey.  One of her favorite Guruji quotes is: “Practice, all is coming” Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Nicky Jones

Scotty

Zoe

Zoe began practicing yoga about 7 years ago and has loved it ever since. She is constantly in awe of yoga’s ability to open up the body as well as the heart, bringing a greater sense of peace and clarity to her life on and off the mat. Zoe completed her yoga teacher training at the Yoga Shala in Spring 2011. Her classes encourage students to become their own teachers by tuning in to the body and breath, while passing on some experiential knowledge in-between. In her spare time Zoe likes to dance, bake bread, and drink coffee with friends.