Danea Alexandria Gray
I fell in love with the practice of yoga asana after taking my first class in 2012. After five years of practice, I took the leap into teacher training in 2016- I’ve been teaching ever since and currently lead classes across the GTA. My aim with each class is to present students with sequences that focus on building foundation, strength, and confidence to foster a deeper connection to the physical and intuitive body.
Teri Ann Carty
Teri Ann is a Vinyasa-based teacher and received her Hatha teaching certification at the Yandara Yoga Institute in Baja, Mexico. She then travelled to India, Bali, Thailand, and the UK to deepen her practitioner and teacher knowledge. Teri Ann encourages her students to focus on their journey wherever it begins and to stay present in their practice. Her spirituality permeates all her classes giving her students the opportunity to open up and connect to their own inner flow. She has also studied under the kundalini and Sivananda-based lineages.
Hassan Harake
Hassan was convinced to join a friend for his first yoga class over 8 years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Having suffered from chronic back and sleep issues for as long as he could remember, he quickly saw the practice’s benefits [and relief]. After years of an almost daily commitment to yoga, in 2013, he decided to take his practice to the next level and completed a 200hr CYA certified teacher training. Since then, he has maintained a committed teaching and practice schedule.
Hassan has a direct approach to physical practice, focusing on balance and control within the movement to challenge the body while maintaining steadiness of breath and intention. His goal is to create an environment where each student can develop at their own pace and discover new abilities by adding elements of strengthening and playfulness.
NICOLE DUFF
Nicole was never really into athletic activities growing up….painting and music were more up her alley. However, when she was 16, she finally realized that her relationship with herself and her body needed to level up, which led her to search for a greater purpose. She quickly found yoga and has yet to lose it.
Nicole did her first teacher training when she was 17 and another at 19. She taught yoga throughout all of University in Montreal, Quebec, where she got her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing. Through these years of consistent self-practice and exploration, she grew her practice. It wasn’t until the unwelcome pandemic made its entrance that Nicole began teaching full-time online and then eventually back in the studios. With classes being online, it gave her access to be a student again to teachers in her local area and globally.
Her passion for music and admiration for dance and acrobatics has “swayed her body in new waves” that she’s never ridden before. She fell in love with going upside down (inversions) and has enjoyed being involved in Montreal’s, Vancouver’s and now Toronto’s Acro Yoga community.
Teaching yoga feels deeply aligned with her values of connection, creativity, and physical & mental health. She believes that through conscious breath and creative, intuitive yet challenging movement, we have the power to connect to our truest selves and ultimately to one another as a community.
Ghazal Bina
Ghazal Bina is a certified Yoga & Mat Pilates teacher currently based in Toronto. She has studied extensively with Senior Iyengar & Ashtanga teachers in Iran, India, Germany & Canada, such as Ron Reid, Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty & Manju Jois. She has been teaching yoga (group, private, senior, corporate, and therapeutic classes) full-time for the past nine years.
She has obtained 1000 hours of yoga teacher training in Ashtanga Vinyasa, Hatha Yoga, Yoga therapy and meditation, and mat pilates training. She has also completed a 10-day Vipassana silent meditation course in Nepal.
She firmly believes that the unity of Iyengar, Ashtanga yoga, meditation techniques, pilates, and physiotherapy exercises can turn a teacher into an expert who can improve the quality of life of many.
Laurelle Alexandra
Laurelle is a Toronto-based yoga and meditation teacher, and she considers herself a forever student, living, learning and exploring through this journey of life. You can almost always find her enrolled in a new movement, meditation or astrology course.
She hopes to inspire those who may find yoga or meditation intimidating. Her classes emphasize how the mind and body feel, finding stillness through breath. Each class is accompanied by a curated playlist and offers an opportunity for relaxation and breath awareness. She aspires to encourage self-acceptance and personal growth through movement, meditation and astrology offerings. She believes you can begin to integrate what you learn on the mat into your everyday life.
Sheldon Shannon
Freestyle Flow Level1/2
Tori Lovegrove
Since studying the practices of Vinyasa flow, Power, Hatha, Yin and Restorative yoga, her teaching style has developed over the years but continues to incorporate her childhood love for dance-like expression. With a heavy emphasis on self-exploration and intuitive movement, Tori encourages a vigorous, playful practice while proudly holding space for a diverse community of students that identify with various movement backgrounds.
Lisa Santianni
Lisa felt an immediate connection to yoga the very first time she practiced over 15 years ago. Initially drawn to it for the physical health advantages, over-time, she naturally began to experience reduced stress and anxiety, while developing an even deeper connection and understanding of the mind, body, and spirit. Eventually, she knew it was time to fulfil the innate desire to strengthen her relationship with yoga and completed her 250-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) with IAM Yoga in 2017 and has since fulfilled an 8-hour “Intro to Restorative Yoga.” She continues to study Yoga Philosophy with Hali Schwartz. Lisa is passionate about continuing to learn- for her own benefit and for those she shares her practice with. She teaches Classic, Hatha, Flow and Restorative styles of yoga, bringing elements of gentleness and play while staying true to the roots of the practice. Lisa aims to provide a safe, fun and accessible place for all, uniting movement with breath and providing the opportunity to look deeper within – to feel, to heal, to grow and be present.
Elsbeth Schokking
Yoga has been part of Elsbeth’s life for over 10 years. Her classes are a place where she encourages every participant to take a breath, move beyond boundaries and get their sweat on. Never forget what Elsbeth believes to be the essence of why you are all there: to experience the perfect harmony of strength, flexibility, relaxation, and mindfulness in your body, mind, and spirit. Elsbeth completed her 200-hour training with IAM YOGA in Toronto in 2016 and has been teaching ever since. In the lifelong pursuit of learning, she has also done additional certifications in yin, restorative, meditation, youth, mental health, and trauma-informed yoga. Elsbeth provides creative sequences and an abundance of options for everybody and hopes you will come away from her classes feeling refreshed, nurtured, and balanced.
Linda Malone
Founder of Iam Yoga
Founder of Iam Yoga, Director of Blu Matter Project, and self-confessed type-A yoga gurl, Linda Malone loves teaching and talking about the power of movement and the body all day long! Having completed an 800-hour Yoga Alliance Teaching Training and courses in yoga anatomy with Susi Hately-Aldous and mindfulness meditation with Frank Jude Boccio you cannot help but leave Linda’s hybrid classes, workshops, training and retreats physically motivated and mentally inspired!
This B.A.Sc and Lululemon Ambassador translates her experiences in a unique teaching style that combines anatomical focus, philosophical insight and challenging sequencing. Linda feels so lucky to be able to share her life lessons and love of teaching with Iam Yoga while connecting with incredible people every step of the way.
Sadaf Hosseini
Owner and Director of IAM YOGA
Sadaf began her yoga journey in 2016 after suffering from anxiety and looking for a way to be able to quiet her mind and move her body. IAM YOGA was the only place where she felt connected and open to embarking on her practice. After working as an Engineer at Bombardier for 7 years, she lost her job like many other Canadians during the pandemic and found that she had lost her happy place. Owning a yoga studio (which once seemed like a far-off dream) was now closer and more possible than ever. Losing her job was the motivation she needed to pursue her dreams. Sadaf has a passion for all things active and is happiest when her body is moving. With love for yoga, pilates, and cycling, she cannot wait to be able to begin this journey with the intention of helping others to quiet their mind, heal their hearts and move their bodies.
Lyndsey Bishop
A love for all things yoga has inspired Lyndsey since she first began practicing asana in the late 1990s. What started out as enjoyment of the physical benefits of yoga quickly transformed into a deeper appreciation of the truly transformational aspects of the practice. In 2010 Lyndsey completed her first teacher training program, and this became the foundation for her commitment to sharing this wondrous practice with other like-minded individuals looking to discover the magic of yoga. Lyndsey is a devoted student as well as a teacher and has a particular interest in the meditative and philosophical aspects of the practice. Lyndsey’s asana classes are typically challenging but always kind. She aims to bring together elements of strength, breath and movement to facilitate positive energy flow and the creation of space, within and without. ~Amaram Hum Madhuram Hum – Pure, Free, Forever.
Juliana Klein
Asana Alignment, Sequencing, Psychology of Teaching, Meditation, Pranayama
Juliana began her study of yoga with the Iyengar Method and completed her year-long Yoga Teacher Training Certification at Karuna Center for Yoga and Healing Arts in Northampton, Massachusetts. She has deepened her practice with the help of Rodney Yee, John Friend, Richard Freeman, Cyndi Lee, Dharma Mittra, Eddie Stern, David Robson, Chip Hartranft, Edwin Bryant, and Vipassana meditation.
In recent years she has turned her focus to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, studying with R.Sharath Jois annually, including two trips to Southern India. Her classes aim to bring peace, health, and joy to all through physical movement and awakening consciousness.
Her teaching includes Kundalini, Ashtanga, and Iyengar techniques and is influenced by her interest in Eastern philosophy and contemporary psychology. She believes that by cultivating one’s health and awareness throughout daily life, one can engage with the world constructively and lovingly.
Angela Morley
Arm Balances and Advanced Postures
Ang discovered yoga in 2009 when she finally let her roommate drag her to her first class. She immediately connected with the physical practice and was overcome with acute nostalgia for her days as a gymnast. The connection of that movement with her breath and her mind was what really pulled her in. It became therapeutic; she felt lighter, more balanced, and more connected. Since completing her teacher training, Ang has dedicated her life to the learning and teaching of yoga. Her good-humoured personality and her knowledge of human anatomy provide students with challenging classes focused on proper alignment where they can have a good time in the process. Her love of music always brings an eclectic playlist. Above all, Ang hopes to bring you lightness, more balance, and connection.
Elaine Clark
Creative Sequencing
Elaine Clark has over 6000 hours of experience in directing teacher training, trauma-informed yoga classes, workshops, retreats, and private/public sessions.
She holds an honours degree in Health Sciences, is registered with the Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT-500 advanced yoga educator, and is a certified Trauma Sensitive Yoga provider. Drawing on an extensive study in nutrition to inform a holistic approach in her teachings, Elaine offers wisdom and resources for the work of freeing your best self. She leads a deep yoga practise for her students to increase body awareness and conscious link to breath. She aspires to provide a strong class for her students to reduce stress and limit negative emotional thought patterns. Yoga classes with Elaine are strong, fluid, and creatively sequenced. Students can expect to have fun, be challenged, and find peace. www.elaineclark.ca
Courtney Milner
Travelling the world, Courtney discovered her love for yoga was more than just a hobby; it was a way of living. Courtney trained intensively in Thailand and Cambodia, diving right in and cultivating a strong yoga and meditation practice. While abroad, she completed a 200h student program at Hariharalaya retreat in Cambodia and another 100h at Shambhala Yoga center in Thailand. Upon returning home to Canada, Courtney completed another 250h YTT in Toronto and is currently in the midst of her 300h advanced YTT. Courtney draws inspiration from her various training to provide her students with the platform to cultivate one’s connection to their true Selves in an energetic and fun atmosphere.
Lisa Marino
Lisa Marino is a Registered Yoga and Meditation Instructor who believes in the yoga community. Lisa began training in karate and worked towards her 2nd Degree Black Belt. She fell in love with the strength of her body and found yoga to continue her exploration. Lisa gravitated to the physical aspect of yoga to escape and quickly found a safe place to return to every day. You can expect to feel strong and get playful while connecting to your breath in her classes. If she is not teaching or taking a class, you can find her on a long walk with matcha in hand.
Tracy dePass
Ashtanga
on her mental and physical health.
Tracy quickly adopted a daily practice and was fortunate to study various styles of yoga with several wonderful instructors before finding Ashtanga. In 2014 she met her teacher, Emma
O’Neill, Mysore Toronto continues to help Tracy to deepen her practice and understanding of asana, yoga principles, meditation, and mindful movement. Ever a curious student, Tracy has had a committed Mysore style practice and incorporates
hand balancing, strength and flexibility training, meditation, and laughter in her daily routine. Under her teacher’s guidance, Tracy completed a two-year Ashtanga yoga apprenticeship
with Mysore Toronto and became a registered teacher after completing her 200-hr teacher training in 2018.
helping students better connect with their bodies and cultivate a steady and focused mind.
Vernon Finney
Vernon Finney’s experienced practice flourished upon the completion of his 250-hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2018. Since then, he has immersed himself in the many teachings of yoga and yoga philosophy.
A lifelong learner, Vernon is ever-growing – a feat you’ll find reflected in his teachings. Energetic and strong, each class is a breath of fresh air sure to align your day and mood. His calming voice fluidly guides the body through each posture while maintaining a meditative atmosphere. Vernon is a strong believer in the perpetuity of yoga – it is, after all, an ongoing journey. And it is much better to endeavour that journey with a teacher whose excitement for growth matches that of your own!
Emily Downs
Growing up, the movement was always a part of Emily’s life. Starting as a dancer and continuing that path throughout University, she graduated with her BFA in dance, where she then moved abroad to England to live for two years. Now that dance was no longer in her life daily; she found yoga. Yoga originally was a way of keeping active and staying strong, although it quickly grew into more of an obsession and more of a lifestyle. Upon returning to Toronto, she completed her initial teacher training and has been a full-time instructor in yoga every since. Emily has also completed further training, including barre fit and personal training certifications. Emily’s classes are accessible for all and bring an element of playfulness and fluidity. She desires to create an inclusive environment concerning the roots of the practice and respect all that wish to attend.
Andy Lever
There is something special and powerful in the connection we find with our physical body. Andy first experienced this harmony through dance. While living in Thailand, she found Yoga, which sparked in her the mind-body connection that she sought, and she has been absorbed in a dedicated practice ever since. Andy spent over a decade as a primary school teacher, incorporating elements of Children’s Yoga in the classroom, before deciding to take her teaching practice more exclusively to the realm of yoga. She is so excited to join the IAM Yoga community, with a goal to guide practitioners to use yoga as a tool to deeply connect with and better understand themselves within their own bodies, both on and off the mat. Prepare to play, explore, be curious, and grow in a safe and inclusive environment.