The following list of Teachers and their bio's is just a peak into the lives' of beautiful, giving and loving souls. We are very fortunate to have such a variety of teachers with so much to offer. Their passion to share the gift of yoga is very present and very appreciated! I hope you take the time to experience them all in your own time. You have your whole life to practice yoga and your practice will evolve as year's go by; Downtown Yoga has a teacher for you no matter where you are in your practice.
We look forward to a lifelong practice with you, See you on the mat.
With Loving Kindness, Gina
Ps: some of the teachers are not presently on the schedule; however you may find them filling in once in a while.
Trainer to trainee, teacher to student, Gina's life clearly reflects a philosophy focused on a love of learning, a desire for personal growth and a need to help others along the way. Her professional career began in the fitness world, passed through the field of elementary school education and finally arrived at her true calling. Whether Gina found yoga, or yoga found Gina, we may never know. But the end result is Downtown Yoga.
Gina began her journey into the world of yoga, as many of us have, by watching a video, specifically a Bryan Kest video, given to her by her friend Dionne. After a few months, Gina felt the weight of her previous very physical world of fitness training lifted from her shoulders. She felt taller, lighter and happier than ever before. As always, Gina felt the need to share herself with others, so many forms of yoga teacher training followed.
Gina has taken teacher training courses at the Sivanada Vedanta Center in the Bahamas in 2002, the Yoga Sanctuary in Toronto with Cynthia Funk in 2003, as well as at the Center for Yoga in Michigan with Jonny Kest in 2004 and 2005. Personally, Gina both practices and teaches yoga six days a week. Having always followed her own path, Gina has never taught for anyone else and finally opened her own studio at Downtown Yoga in 2003. After practicing and teaching yoga for several years, the next leg of her journey took her beyond the physical realm of yoga and into the meditative
side of the practice.
Beginning with the inspiration of a Bryan Kest video, Gina has changed her life into one in which she now inspires others to share her love-filled view of the world. A yoga class with Gina at Downtown Yoga is something that must be experienced, because it is very hard to describe. You leave feeling better about yourself. You leave feeling whole. You leave feeling better about the world around you. Every day, in every class she teaches, Gina invites us to join her on her never ending journey toward self-discovery and transformation.
In September 2003 I was lucky enough to travel to India to study with my laughing yogi Sunil. The four or so months I spent in the holy city of Varanasi brought so much love, peace, happiness and laughter to my life that I felt compelled when I came back to windsor to share this beauty with others. The Downtown Studio has given me the opportunity to do this and I thank the universe every day for my blessings.
Yoga for me is a lot of fun…. …I was introduced to yoga a little over 30 years ago and have flirted with the practice off and on since then,… never really serious but always curious…… finally deciding to get real and explore deeply after falling off a road bike almost 3 years ago.. to make it a daily practice…no matter what!!!!!
Gina has encouraged me every step of the way as well as several other teachers to study and to also teach. I am really fortunate to have her support and the support of everyone at our center…It has been a real joy to also study with Jonny Kest who sets a world class standard and is always challenging all of us to improve.
From the training with Jonny we were all encouraged to consider meditating and to attend a 10 day Vipassana retreat…
Laurel, the founder and owner of Mindful MamasTM, is known for being a soothing and skilled yoga teacher as well as for her warm, gentle and compassionate approach to helping students enjoy being in their bodies. She believes that any student, no matter the level, can benefit greatly through yoga. She aims to make her classes accessible and enjoyable for all.
She is very passionate in helping pregnant women find peace in their body and mind through the practice of yoga and mindfulness. She is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT), a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT) with Yoga Alliance and has taught hundreds of women yoga during pregnancy as well as postnatally. In 2011, Laurel began teaching yoga teachers how to teach prenatal yoga classes safely and effectively through her Yoga Alliance certified prenatal yoga teacher training program. If this isn't enough, she is also a Certified Labour Doula (CLD) and assists women birth their babies by providing emotional, mental and physical support. She believes and has witnessed the benefits of prenatal yoga on the outcome of labour and has found that her students have a great ability to focus, relax, and use effective breathing during the birth of their baby.
Laurel has been practicing yoga since 1998 and has been teaching since 2005. Years of studying yoga and examining what makes her happiest in life led her to leave an unfulfilling ten year career as a mechanical engineer in the automotive industry and pursue her passion of helping others by attending Wayne State University in Detroit for her Master in Social Work. She will graduate in April 2012 and hopes to combine her love of yoga with her love of people.
Her teacher training was completed at the Center for Yoga in West Bloomfield, MI (www.centerforyoga.com). She has also completed Vinyasa teacher training and many intensives with Seane Corn (www.seanecorn.com) as well as assisted Seane with her teaching at national yoga conferences. Laurel has also completed her Prenatal Yoga training with Janice Clairfield (www.urbanyoga.ca).
Laurel is very involved in non-profit work. In 2009, she travelled to Cambodia with Seane Corn, Suzanne Sterling and twenty other beautiful yoginis to volunteer with the Cambodian Children's Fund. Check out the Outreach page for more information. Laurel is now teaching yoga to at-risk youth in Windsor, Ontario at New Beginnings (open-custody detention facility for teenage boys) and believes that bringing the tools of yoga to this population will give them the much needed tools to help improve their lives.
I was pregnant with my second child when I began practicing Yoga. It was early in the spring, 2004. Yoga seemed like an interesting way to exercise and relax; I had no idea it would change my life forever. I am eternally grateful for this ancient practice and I look forward to a lifetime of learning.
Thanks to my amazing teachers: Gina Wasserlein, Jonny Kest and Jason Hulshaf for guidance, inspiration and wisdom.
Peace
and Love.
A dedicated practitioner since 2009, I initially came to Yoga with hope for managing anxiety while completing my Biology degree at Western. However, the practice of Yoga and its philosophy have since become an integral aspect of my physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual being. I have had many insightful teachers along my journey including Gina, Susan, Ben and Michael here at DTY. The wisdoms I have gained from all of my teachers have contributed to sparking the love and devotion I experience in my own personal practice. Inspired by a good friend, fellow teacher, and Yogini, I completed teacher training this past fall at YogaSpace in Toronto with Kathryn Beet, Patricia White and Hali Schwartz. Through Yoga I began to know and experience my innermost true nature, and as a Windsor native I look forward to sharing its beautiful gifts with our community.
Namaste !