Studio Director and Teacher

Tina grew up in a professional athletic family and was brought up with strong athletic mind set. Working at Good Life Fitness for a number of years made her realize that most people looking to be fit also needed peace of mind and inner calmness. She started practicing yoga and realized then that yoga not only strengthens the body but also gave her peace.

Tina then became very passionate about hot yoga and made it part of her everyday life. She is grateful about where she is today, whcih came from her exploration in yoga. She loves to share her practice and is happiest when instructing a class. Her positive energy encourages others to achieve more in the class. She also realized that yoga is great but nutrition is also very important. With that in mind, she became a Certified Nutritional Consultant to further assist her yoga students to complete wellness.

Founder, Teacher

Sujun was born and educated in China where she had professional careers as a doctor, banker, school principal, teacher at her own vocational school and instructor at her fitness studio.

After her retirement, she challenged herself by immigrating to Canada under the live-in caregiver program. During the time as a live-in caregiver she never stopped learning, earning Diplomas in Early Childhood Education, Personal Support Worker, Relaxation Therapist and Yoga Teacher Training. Then she started her own yoga studio and took a number of yoga and qigong instructor programs. Recently she finished Meditation Instructor training and Nutritional Counselor training.

Sujun feels that a person needs to achieve complete balance in life through yin-yang, acid-alkaline nutritional balance resulting in a spiritual, mental and physical well-being. Happiness is key!

As the founder of Hot Yoga Wellness, she puts particular emphasis on Wellness by combining stress management, acupuncture, osteopathy, RMT, reflexology, Health Qigong, taichi, Pilates, nutritional guidance as well as Hot Yoga classes at the studios. This reflects Sujun's main mission in life: to share her concept of improving health, wellness and peace to all.

Teacher

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 Yoga 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 credits his teachers, students and family for helping him to attain a greater understanding and appreciation of connection, compassion and awareness.

Teacher

A yoga instructor with training in Moksha Hot Yoga, Sheridan College’s Hatha Yoga program, Meditation with Michael Stone, YOGAKIDS program, and Maala’s kids yoga program.

Personal practice has involved Iyengar prenatal, Iyengar Level one, Hatha, Insight/ Satipathana Vipassana Meditation, and Moksha Yoga.

A professional rehabilitation counselor with 20 years experience working with children and adults suffering from severe brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. Owned and operated two rehabilitation case management businesses.

Teacher

Teacher

Bonnie has been practicing yoga since she was a student. She worked as a translator and proofreader at a drug company, and then in collections, while practicing yoga in her free time. She almost became an engineer, a graphic designer and an accountant but has found great satisfaction teaching yoga. She enjoys applying lessons she learned in her other jobs and other studies to yoga.

She has also learned great things from studying many different kinds of yoga: ashtanga, anusara, kripalu, Iyengar, Power Yoga, and of course, Moksha yoga.

She liked Moksha so much that she got certified in July 2007 and now teaches at Moksha studios and on her own in the Greater Toronto Area. Her favourite thing about doing yoga is that it helps her to be more physically and mentally fit (especially patient and calm). Her favourite thing about teaching is seeing the students’ faces light up when they feel themselves improving in a pose. Her favourite yoga pose is downward dog. Her favourite quote is: “Investing in your health is one of the most important investments you can make.” (author unknown)

She views her yoga practice as a journey of a lifetime, and she wants to help other people develop their own yoga journey. She owes so much to some great teachers in yoga: Ted Grand, Jessica Robertson, Maureen Clyne, Pierre Desjardins, Joanne Lowe. She also owes a lot to some great teachers in life: her family, her partner, her co-workers and her friends.

Teacher

I was introduced to yoga in 2003 while I was very sick. At the time I was so excited to find something that not only improved my health but also changed my life. I have never looked back! I am happy to have been taught this practice by many fabulous teachers, including David Swenson, Duncan Wong, Todd Norian, Ann Greene, Ron Reid and Diane Bruni. I started to teach yoga in Canada 4 years ago. As a registered yoga teacher of Yoga Alliance, I teach all the levels of Ashtanga Yoga, vinyasa flow yoga and hot yoga. Because of my Ashtanga Yoga and Iyengar Yoga background, my classes blend a strong component of body awareness, alignment, core strength and traditional teaching. Much love to all my students for letting me spend this special time with them.

Teacher

Todd is a Collingwood native who found yoga in order to rehabilitate his body. Todd has been highly athletic as a surfer, windsurfer, high-caliber tree planter and competitive snowboard racer. Injuries from several of his passions left him with chronic pain that lingered for years. Thanks to a friend's referral, hot yoga completely fixed Todd's body, and this is the sole reason for his choice of path as a yoga teacher: to help people help themselves and free their bodies from pain. He has taught at studios in California, Vancouver, Montreal and now resides in Richmond Hill and Collingwood. Todd is founder and director of Moksha Yoga Richmond Hill.

Teacher

A competitive dancer since 1990, Lisa continues a career as singer/dancer/actor, and has starred in major productions such as Peter Pan, Anne of Green Gables, Mama Mia!, Broadway's production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas and CATS.

Lisa discovered Yoga/Pilates when these practices healed her from a dance-related injury and inspired her to continue studying. Lisa recently returned from India where she attained her Yoga Instructors Certification at SVYASA Yoga University in Bangalore. Lisa is also a certified Pilates teacher, studying privately since 2004, with Master Miriane Taylor of Taylor'd Pilates.

Lisa continues to educate others on the value of holistic living, relieving common stresses on the mind and body. She shares her depth of experience in her quest to empower others to bring harmony and peace to society by improving the quality of one's every day living.

Teacher

Dorian was born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and is proud of her Canadian heritage. Being of Greek descent, she has always had an admiration for fitness, dance and theatre. Dorian earned an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Ryerson University.

For several years, Dorian worked primarily as a Toronto based actress, earning her credits in the "Grid", "Starhunter", " Playmakers", "The Dolphin Bay Project" and "Olive Girls". Dorian earned the title of "Best Actress" in the 2007 Red Light Center International Film Festival for her role of "Annie" in the imaginative thriller "JINN". She was a full-time student at George Brown College in the Fitness & Lifestyle Management Program, where she earned the title of "Top Achiever". Her qualifications include: Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Fitness Consultant -CSEP (Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists), OFC Group Fitness Leader Certification, Swim instructor/Lifeguard, Standard First Aid & CPR-C.

Dorian has completed her Bachelor in Education at the University of Toronto, teaches drama at a private school for grades 1-6, teaches dance at Young Dancers of Canada, and simply loves teaching hot yoga.

Teacher

Sandy has been interested in sports since childhood. Since the first school tryout at age ten she has been involved in sport or practice. For eight years she played volleyball, including both school and competitive league volleyball with a National Championship. For seventeen years Sandy was also involved with weight training. Sandy competed in bodybuilding contests, with a first place finish in 1999 and a third place finish in 2001. On top of all that, she also completed her teacher training course at Mad Dogg Spinning and taught spin classes for a year.

Sandy first discovered yoga six years ago. She began with Hatha, and for the last three years she has been practicing Ashtanga. Sandy completed her yoga instructor certification at the Downward Dog Yoga Centre and is currently enrolled for another 100 hour teacher training course for the spring of 2009. Yoga has made such a great impact on Sandy’s life that she has left her corporate job in the fall of 2008 to teach yoga full time.

Sandy emphasizes while teaching that yoga is a very personal practice. She creates a comfortable environment, where students are encouraged to practice at their own level. A key benefit of yoga in her opinion is recognizing and respecting your own abilities without the ego. Enjoy your practice as it is NOW. She believes that practicing yoga makes room in the mind for clearer thinking, and also benefits all aspects of people’s lives.

Nora Reda, Jacob Wouthuis, Karen and Miriana