|
Dennison Smith
Matthew Remski
Scott Petrie
Dana Lerman, ND
Jenna Morrison
Andrea Marie
Peloso
Raj Balkaran
 Dennison and Matthew's
primary study of classical Asana has been
with Kim Schwartz and Ramanand Patel. Their
style and understanding is affiliated with the
Iyengar lineage. We received our initial
training certification from Darren John Main,
Jonathan Reynolds, Jay Kumar, and Michael Watson, and we have gone
on to study with Tias Little, Aadhil Palkhivala,
Dr. David Frawley, and Shar Lee. Our teaching
styles reflect these various influences, as well
as our own personal research, intuition, and
experience.
We
have conducted
our training in meditation primarily through
the
Geluk lineage of the
Tibetan Buddhist system, under the tutelage of
the late Sermey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin and
several of his senior students. We have
traveled to Bodhgaya to receive Bodhisattva Vows
from H.H. the Dalai Lama, and to Karnataka to study
Buddhist epistemology with Geshe Thubten Rinchen
at Sera Mey Monastery. We have also studied
with numerous teachers of the Kagyu and Dzogchen
lineages.
Matthew is a certified Ayurvedic Health Educator
(Advanced) through the American Institute of Vedic Studies,
under Dr. David Frawley. He is also a graduate
of the Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga and Ayurveda's Yoga Therapy Certification Programme,
under the directorship of Sarasvati Buhrman,
Ph.D. In addition to studying Ayurveda and
Yogic philosophy with Professor Buhrman, he has
studied structural alignment and Marma Point
therapy with Shar Lee, Yoga Therapy for Asthma
and Diabetes with Dr. Sarita Shresta of Nepal,
Yoga Therapy for Cancer Patients with Jnani
Chapman of Commonweal, Yoga for Problems of
Aging with Nischala Devi of the Dr. Ornish
programme, and Applied Yogic Psychology with
Maitreyi'i Nolan, Ph.D. He serves as
adjunct faculty member for many of the Yoga
Teacher Training Programmes in Toronto, teaching
Ayurvedic theory and practice. He is
director of the
Ayurvedic Health Education Certification
Programme, the first programme of its kind
in Canada. He is currently studying
Jyotisha with Davis Batson, and has begun studying Vastu Sastra
and Hasta Samudrika Sastra with Hart Defoew.
He has used Ayurveda, Yoga Therapy, and more
recently Jyotisha to help hundreds of clients
regain balance and self-nurturance.
Dennison’s education in Yoga began 25 years ago
as an actress. She studied Stanislavski and
Grotowski technique, both of which have their
physical roots in Yoga. While completing her
degree in performance studies at Northwestern
University (Evanston, Illinois) she studied
extensively with mime and acting coach Bud Beyer
and director Frank Galati. She went on to train
in physical theatre in London, England, working
with Bert Van Dyke and Enrique Pardo, continuing
her work with the Grotowski technique, which
calls upon the actor to free her innate energies
by bringing the body to a perfect “neutral” from
which to explore the extremes of expression.
Before opening Baraboo Yoga in Wisconsin,
Dennison taught Yoga firstly as a physical basis
for an actor’s training. In Wisconsin, she ran
two theatre companies, studied Contact
Improvisation, and pursued private study in the
principals of Rolfing and Acupuncture with Al
Drucker, formerly of the Esalen Institute.
Our most important teachers, however, have been
our students, whose challenges along the road
have helped us face our own. Through them we
have learned how to marvel at the mysterious
intersection of universality and uniqueness that
characterizes the human voyage. We teach to
learn.
Scott
Petrie received his BA from University of
Western Ontario in History and
 Philosophy, his
Masters in Theological Studies from Dalhousie
University, and his MA in Comparative Religion
from the University of Toronto, and has, for the
past 29 years, been engaged in the study and
practice of yoga. He currently teaches Hatha Yoga, meditation, and lectures on the history and
philosophy of yoga.
Over the years, Scott
has focused upon developing an open dialogue
between practitioners of all schools around the
central issues facing yoga today. He
currently is co-director of
Yoga Community
Toronto and is the founder of the Yoga Darshana
Society of Toronto -- a monthly forum for
lecture, discussion and debate around current
ideas in the modern practice of yoga.
 Dana Lerman is
a Naturopathic Doctor trained at the Canadian
College of Naturopathic Medicine. She is also a
yoga teacher, trained in a two year teacher
training at the Vidya Institute in Toronto. She
has a multi-disciplinary practice, working with
people experiencing many different health
concerns. She has a passionate interest in
women’s health, digestive disorders, and working
with people to get to the root of their health
related issues. In her practice, Dana places
great emphasis on nutrition, lifestyle
modification and stress reduction as the
cornerstone to maintaining and improving health.
She uses herbs, acupuncture, supplements and
simple stress reduction techniques to enhance
and promote healing. She is strongly influenced
by both Traditional Chinese Medicine and
Ayurvedic Medicine, and is currently studying
Ayurveda through David Frawley in New Mexico.
She has studied Ayurveda with Dr. Vasant Lad and
Swamini Mayatitanada (Maya Tiwari). Dana is part
of the part-time faculty at the Canadian College
of Naturopathic Medicine. She believes strongly
in the healing power that resides in each
person, and works on an individual basis with
people to find their unique health care needs.
Jenna Morrison RYT and Thai Massage
Therapist
 Movement and its many forms has been an integral
part of Jenna’s life since she was a small
child. Her original love and interest was in
dance. She trained and performed Classical
Ballet, Highland Scottish Dancing and Modern
Dance. As she continued to study different
movement techniques and how to connect more with
her body, her awareness evolved into an interest
in yoga and her passion shifted.
Jenna earned her certification from the Vidya
Institute in Toronto. She studied under Gitta
Berchsgaard where she completed the required 750
hours. The program was strongly based in
Ayuvedic Medicine and women’s health, as well
as, a large focus on Restorative Yoga. In
addition, Jenna is a Thai Massage Therapist,
having been certified at The Spirit Wind
Internal Arts Centre.
In 2005 Jenna co-founded and was co-owner of
Pure Intent Healing Arts Center in Kensington
Market, Toronto. In 2008 after the birth of her
son she left the demands of the business &
brought her focus back solely to her teaching.
In addition to the many adult classes and
privates Jenna has been teaching to-date, she
also enjoys teaching children’s yoga, both at
the Pure Intent location and at Esther Myers
location.
Because Jenna sees yoga as a life long pursuit
she is continuing with her studies. Currently
she is studying Ayurveda at Renaissance Yoga
with Matthew Remski, Toronto. She is also
completing an Ayurvedic Health Practitioner
course through the Institute of Vedic Studies in
New Mexico with David Frawley.
Andrea Marie
Peloso embraced Restorative yoga over 5
years ago because of its profound effect on her
body and mind. Restorative Yoga is a simple yet
subtle practice that can be of immense long term
benefit to practitioners on all levels. Andrea
has been on the faculty of the Downward Dog
teacher training programs as a teacher in
Restorative yoga for the past 3 years. She has
also taught workshops, classes, and intensives
in other studios in Toronto including Mind the
Body, Breathe Yoga Studio, and The Yoga Studio.
Internationally Andrea has also taught in Tokyo,
Regina, Cortes Island, and Athens, Georgia.
Andrea's primary teacher is Judith Hanson
Lasater with whom she has studied extensively
over the past 5 years. Andrea assists in the
United States and Canada. She has both studied
and assisted Judith many times in Restorative
Yoga, also Advanced Restorative, Anatomy, and
Moving from the Organs. She has also studied the
spine, sacrum, shoulder, and other themes.
Andrea also continues to study with Ramanand
Patel, and in Ashtanga yoga with Matthew Sweeney
and others.
 Raj
Balkaran has completed a BA in
Comparative Religion and an MA in Hindu Studies
at the University of Toronto. He has also been
studying through a living oral tradition at the
feet of a spiritual master for several years in
conjunction with developing his own practice as
an avid chanter.
|
