I fell in love with the sense of peace, clarity and overall awareness that appeared during and after class. I began to understand and value the unification of the body, breath and mind. Within a short while I became utterly fascinated by the physical and subtle bodies and began to immerse myself into any style of yoga or healing discipline that my teachers (Deb and Lacie Cosgrove) were offering, from Kundalini Yoga to Ashtanga and Reiki/Energy Healing to Thai Yoga Massage.

Over the years my practice naturally led to teaching, as I taught my first class in 2004. Although I was nervous I experienced an overwhelming sense of gratitude to share the wonderful gift of yoga and the breath. I knew then and there that teaching would be a path I would explore more deeply in the future. From that point on I subbed and assisted classes under the guidance of my teachers, Deb and Lacie. However, it wasn’t until finishing my Bachelor of Design that I was able to furthur my training. First completing the 200YTT Ashtanga training and later the Sattva training with Rameen Peyrow, then traveling to India to study with the ever blissful Yogi Vishvketu at his ashram for the 200YTT in 2010 and 500YTT in 2012 . I feel blessed to have had such wonderful opportunities to immerse myself in the practice of yoga. I truly believe that yoga has guided me in ways that I may not even realize yet and thus have chosen to dedicate this life to the discovery of the self and ultimately union.

At age 40 I completed the 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training at Prana Yoga Studio. That month of intense sadhana catapulted me into total yet gentle change on all levels. I watched, from the sidelines, as my body, diet, lifestyle, priorities and relationships shifted. I completed my 500 hr YTT in the fall of 2011 in Rishikesh, India, with Yogi Vishvketu and the World Conscious Yoga Family. I am so grateful for Vishvaji’s example – his humor, softness and integrity. In my practice and in my classes I love to explore variety, spontaneity, rhythm, challenge, grounding, and flow, with a strong emphasis on prana (subtle energy) – spreading it through the body equally, creating a dynamic equilibrium. It’s this beautiful, living equilibrium and the privilege of sharing it with others that keeps me returning to the mat. catapulted me into total yet gentle change on all levels. I watched, from the sidelines, as my body, diet, lifestyle, priorities and relationships shifted. I completed my 500 hr YTT in the fall of 2011 in Rishikesh, India, with Yogi Vishvketu and the World Conscious Yoga Family. I am so grateful for Vishvaji’s example – his humor, softness and integrity.

In my practice and in my classes I love to explore variety, spontaneity, rhythm, challenge, grounding, and flow, with a strong emphasis on prana (subtle energy) – spreading it through the body equally, coming into a dynamic equilibrium. It’s this beautiful, living equilibrium that keeps me returning to the mat.

During this time, Leala began practicing Vipassana meditation, attending numerous 10 day silent retreats. In 2000, Leala attended an Ashtanga Yoga teachers training course with renowned instructor David Swenson and in 2003 completed her 200 hour training through Trinity Yoga.

After moving to Alberta’s dry climate, intensive physical yoga practices began leaving her deeply fatigued. Leala began seeking a more holistic approach to yoga, one that would synergize her love of meditation, mindfulness, breath and embodied movement. She had a dream where she met and merged with an Indian sage who fused yoga and meditation into heart centered awakening. A few weeks later she met Yogi Vishvketu and began her journey into Akhanda® Yoga.

In 2006 Leala founded Prana Yoga Studio in Edmonton, Canada where she hosts workshops and trainings with Yogi Vishvketu every year. Leala is the Director of Training for the Akhanda Yoga Teacher Training program at Prana Yoga Studio. Along with owning a busy urban yoga studio, Leala has raised a family, guided international yoga retreats, and taught numerous YTT programs in both Canada and India. Leala’s passions include practicing yoga outdoors, hiking, swimming and quality time with her husband and their two vivacious daughters.

The benefits of yoga are precious and far-reaching. The invitation is to be profoundly open inside while holding vibrant presence for boundriless, limitless growth and evolution.

I realized my body started to open and surrender. My mind followed and I experienced  a new openness that set the pattern to further investigate the real meaning of what was happening. Soon after that experience a series of painful events changed my life and my world as I had known it came to an end. I had a choice to open or close to the pain. Somewhere in my heart I chose to open.

I spend the next few years learning all I could about different types of yoga and massage. After finishing a BA in Anthropology I started a long trip to South America and was introduced to Vipassana Meditation. These silent 10 day meditation retreats were an amazing tool that showed me to be still, see and discover the world inside. In the years that followed I continued my studies in massage therapy, I study two years of Anatomy and Physiology in the Medical School of the University of Buenos Aires, I worked assisting classes in a renowned Massage Therapy School and had my private massage therapy practice in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

My first Yoga Teacher Training was in the Iyengar tradition, then I started teaching in 2007. I had the opportunity of attending the Yoga Teachers Training with the whole hearted Yogi Vishyketu in 2010 while I was pregnant with my first child. Being pregnant open up a whole new world and I became a passionate student of women, birth, female bodies, babies… Since then I’ve been learning and teaching yoga to pregnant women and moms and babies.

My husband and I own an alternative health clinic: Integrated Therapies (integratedtherapies.ca) We helped in the creation of two children: Orel and Pina.

In August, 2010, I completed my Akhanda Yoga 200 hour YTT, during which the beautiful teachings of Yogi Vishvketu shone light on so many aspects of my life. The teachings of yoga are continually integrated into my life, as I am guided to live fully and with an open heart. In 2012, I completed my Yin Yoga Teacher Training (60 hours) with Bernie Clark, as well as became certified in Kundalini yoga, restorative yoga and Yoga Lifestyle Counseling during my 500 YTT in Rishikesh, India. It is has been so exciting that through sharing this path with others, I am continually learning in the presence of compassion, uniqueness, and devotion.

During the past five years of my university education, during which I received my Bachelor of Arts (majoring in psychology; 2010), and my Bachelor of Education (2012), I have been working with diverse groups of children and youth. I have worked extensively with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder, in the capacities of a specialized services aide, a classroom teacher, and a yoga teacher for groups and families. I have also been trained with the organization Om-4-Youth (60 hours), which enables me to facilitate yoga groups with marginalized children and youth. I am continually striving to connect my passions for education and yoga; thus, I have created Awaken Education, with the intention of teaching children yoga, and teaching teachers how to bring yoga into their classrooms. Through Awaken Education, I hope to share tools in which to alleviate subconscious emotional reactions, develop awareness of individual and collective wellbeing in the classroom, develop a deeper sense of purpose in each student, and foster healthy bodies, minds and spirits. www.awakeneducation.ca