Yoga & Meditation Study Hours
With reverence for the cultures, traditions, and people who have made it possible and continue to make it possible for me to study and teach these practices.
Acknowledgements
I have studied yoga and meditation for 23 years and taught for 17 years. Most of my study was informed and influenced by Kasmir Shaivism, Srividya, and Zen Buddhism. My process for respectfully sharing the wisdom that has been deeply informed by practices that I am not culturally connected to is an ongoing commitment for me. Part of this is being transparent about my studies. As I list my formal studies, it also feels important to name the people who helped wake me up to the complex and often troublesome ways that yoga is taught in North America.
After the first few years of studying and as I became more deeply embodied, I started to notice what misogyny, sexism, and white supremacy felt like. At this time, I didn’t have words for it, it was just a body experience. For example, I noticed how studying with charismatic white cis men gave me more access and credibility. It felt yucky but I didn’t quite know what to do about it. Later when I opened a yoga studio in downtown Toronto, I found myself in the good company of queers, artists, and activists who helped me find the words and also challenged me to look at the ways my offering was a form of cultural appropriation as well as the ways that power and privilege were playing out in the yoga community.
Those conversations shaped me. I’m forever grateful to the following people exploring these difficult questions together:
→ jamilah malika abu-bakare
→ Linseed Toner-Calmusy
→ Tessa Jones
→ Aruna Zehra
→ Cassandra Lord
→ Tuku Matthews
→ Alena Peters
→ Leah Henderson
→ Monique Wolonough
→ Tobias Wiggins
→ Eliott Endre
→ Karishma Kripalani
→ Matthew Remski
→ Leena Miller
→ Emma Dines
Formal Study Hours
February – August 2006 : 200 hours
Anusara Teacher Training with Sue Elkind & Naime Jezzeny in New Hope PA.
June 2006 : 10 hours
Int/Advanced Weekend Workshop with John Friend in New Hope, PA
November 2006 : 13 hours
Weekend workshop with Todd Norian and Anne Green in Toronto, Canada
February 2007 : 13 hours
Weekend Workshop with Naime Jezzeny in Oakville, Canada
June 2007 : 4 hours
Weekend Workshop with Ross Rayburn in Toronto, Canada
July 2007 - July 2008 : 300 hours
Moksha Yoga Teacher training with Jessica Robertson & Ted Grand
October 2007 : 13 hours
Weekend Workshop with Sue Elkind in Oakville, Canada
February 2008 : 10 hours
Weekend Workshop with Tiffany Fraser in Toronto, Canada
March 2008 : 30 hours
Level 1 teacher Training with John Friend in Columbia, SC
August 2008 : 20 hours
Theraputics training with Naime Jezzeny & Sianna Sherman in New Hope, PA
September 2008 : 18 Hours
Anusara Grand Gathering in Estes Park, CO
(Master classes w/ john Friend, Meditation classes with Douglas Brooks, Sally Kempton and Bill Mahoney, Breakout classe with Noah Maze, Sianna Sherman and Desiree Rumbaugh)
October 2008 : 10 hours
Weekend workshop with Sianna Sherman in Oakville, Canada
January 2009 : 30 hours
Immersion 3 with Kenny Graham in San Jose, Costa Rica
February 2009 : 10 hours
Weekend Workshop with Naime Jezzeny in Oakville, Canada
April 2009 : 40 hours
Meditation, Asana, & Philosophy Intensive with Michael Stone in Toronto, Canada
June 2009 : 42 hours
Weekend Workshop with John Friend in Montreal, Canada
Spanda Karikas Intensive with John Friend in Montreal, Canada
Weekend Workshop with John Friend in Toronto, Canada
Two Day Workshop with John Friend in Winnipeg, Canada
July 2009 : 23 hours
Weekend Workshop with John Friend in Calgary, Canada
Weekend Workshop with Sianna & Kenny in Toronto & Oakville, Canada
August 2009 : 37 hours
Weekend Workshop with John Friend in Vancouver, Canada
Therapeutics with John Friend in Vancouver, Canada
September 2009 : 33 hours
Teachers Intensive on adjustments with Noah & Darren in Tucson, AZ
Advanced Intensive with Noah & Darren in Tucson, AZ
November 2009 : 3 hours
Full spectrum class with Sue Elkind in New Market, Canada
December 2009 : 3 hours
The Nexus of Power with Chris Wallis (Hareesh) in Toronto, Canada
January 2010 : 10 hours
Poised for Grace with Douglas Brooks in Burlington, Canada
February 2010 : 20 hours
Mixed Level Workshop with John Friend in San Francisco, USA
Int/Adv Workshop with John Friend in San Francisco, USA
February 2010 : 20 hours
Mixed Level Workshop with John Friend in San Francisco, USA
Int/Adv Workshop with John Friend in San Francisco, USA
March 2010 : 20 hours
Mixed Level Workshop with John Friend in Detroit, USA
Int/Adv Workshop with John Friend in Detroit, USA
March 2010 : 30 hours
Prenatal training with Sue Elkind & Anna Verwaal in Burlington, Canada
May 2010 : 10 hours
Theraputics training with Naime Jezzeny in Burlington, Canada
May 2010 : 18 hours
Tantric Philosophy with Christopher Wallis (Hareesh) in Toronto, Canada
May 2010 : 3 hours
Eye of the Tiger class with Naime Jezzeny in Toronto, Canada
June 2010 : 15 hours
Weekend workshop with Noah Maze in Toronto, Canada
July 2010 : 120 hours
Meditation, Asana, & Philosophy Intensive with Michael Stonein Toronto, CanadaSeptember 2010 : 10 hours
Teacher’s workshop with Chris Chavez in Toronto, Canada
December 2010 : 7.5 hours
Weekend workshop with Darren Rhodes in Toronto, Canada
December 2010 : 48 hours
Silent Retreat with Michael Stone in Midland, Canad
September 2010 to January 2011 : 50+ hours
The Heart of Recognition w/ Christopher Wallis (Hareesh) by distance studies
January 2011 : 15 hours
Tantric Philosophy with Christopher Wallis (Hareesh) in Burlington, Canada
January 2011 : 3 hours
Tantric Philosophy with Christopher Wallis (Hareesh) in Toronto, Canada
January 2011 : 11 hours
Tantric Philosophy with Douglas Brooks in Burlington, Canada
March 2011 : 40 hours
Yoga Intensive with Sianna Sherman, Amy Ippoliti & Douglas in Costa Rica
March 2011 : 40 hours
Mixed Level Workshop with John Friend in Grand Rapids, USA
Int/Adv Workshop with John Friend in Grand Rapids, USA
Mixed Level Workshop with John Friend in Detroit, USA
Int/Adv Workshop with John Friend in Detroit, USA
May 2011 : 15 hours
Weekend workshop with Noah Maze in Toronto, Canada
December 2011 : 10 hours
Weekend workshop with Darren Rhodes in Toronto, Canada
May 2012 : 15 hours
Weekend workshop with Noah Maze in Toronto, Canada
December 2012 : 10 hours
Weekend workshop with Darren Rhodes in Toronto, Canada
December 2013 : 10 hours
Weekend workshop with Darren Rhodes in Toronto, Canada
September 2014 : 15 hours
Psoas workshop with Liz Koch in Toronto, Canada
August 2015 : 120 hours
Native American Bearing Witness Retreat with the Zen Peacemakers in The Black Hills, South Dakota
May 2020 : 15 hours
Love and Rage Course 2.0 with Lama Rod Owens (Online)