OUR TEACHERS
Andrea Erb
I began taking classes in the Iyengar method of yoga in January of 2000. From the very first class I attended, the approach spoke to me immediately and I knew that it would become an important part of my life.
I see yoga as a joyful blessing to be shared with as many people as possible, and with that in mind I began studying with Val Paape in the teacher training program at Yoga North in the fall of 2003, and received my Introductory II Certification from the Iyengar Yoga Association of Canada in June, 2008.
In addition to teaching classes at Yoga North, I am a full time Legal Assistant.
Janine Gobeil
Janine Gobeil has been a student at Yoga North since September 2002. She enjoyed being at the studio so much that she began working as Office Manager in March 2007. Two years later, Janine became the newest Yoga North partner alongside Drew Perry and Lisa Towson.
Janine is currently in the Yoga North Teacher training program and if that wasn't enough, Janine is a professional singer and voice-over artist for narrations & documentaries.
Darcy Harpe-Lesperance
Darcy moved from Alberta in the fall of 2007 to study the Iyengar method in the teacher training program at Yoga North. He has been teaching at Yoga North now for several years and is also a registered massage therapist.
Alerry Lavitt
Alerry began taking classes at Yoga North in 2004, and in 2006 began Yoga North's Iyengar teacher training program. Before coming to Yoga North, she earned her certification as a Hatha Yoga Instructor with the Yoga Association of Alberta, and has studied yoga, meditation and Ayurveda in North America, Asia and India. Alerry is also an Advanced Remedial Massage Therapist and an artist. For fun, in the summer months, she co-leads YogaCanoe adventures in the wilderness parks of Manitoba and Ontario.
Susan Marshall
Susan began studying yoga when Yoga North first opened. She quickly became addicted and enjoyed so much benefit her children declared it made her younger and nicer! She decided to enter the teacher training program in order to share the practice with others. In addition to teaching a Senior's class at Yoga North, Susan teaches yoga at the Reh-Fit Centre.
Carole O'Brien
In 2009 Carole received her Level 2 certification. She enjoys teaching and sharing her understanding of the practice and its philosophy as it helps to further her own personal explorations.
In her parallel life, Carole is an internationally known independent filmmaker and a freelance reporter for the French CBC. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in City Planning.
Erin O'Neil
Erin O'Neil is an instructor at Yoga North, a wellness consultant and a massage therapist. She also runs "Eklectica Studio" at 91 Albert Street in Winnipeg's Exchange District. Erin aspires to become a yoga therapist where she can combine her knowledge of Iyengar Yoga with therapeutic principles, in order to help her clients.
Val Paape
Val began teaching yoga full time in 1987 when she helped found Yoga Centre Winnipeg. She is the senior teacher at Yoga North with an Intermediate Junior II certificate and is also a founding partner. Coordinating Yoga North's teacher training program is among her teaching duties.
Val did a 3 month teacher training at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. She studied at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Pune, India in October, 1988, and returned to Pune for two months during the summer of 2008. She has also studied with BKS Iyengar and his daughter, Geeta at several North American Iyengar Yoga Conventions. In addition, Val routinely studies with accomplished North American Iyengar Yoga teachers.
As well as regular classes, Val has in interest in teaching classes for people in special situations. To that end, Val pioneered a class for people with cancer over 10 years ago. For 8 years, the "cancer class" has been co-sponsored by CancerCare Manitoba and Yoga North. Val initiated Yoga North's Yoga Basics class to enable students with a variety of problems to benefit from an Iyengar Yoga practice.
Val also conducts workshops on various aspects of yoga including teacher training in other centers across Canada.
Drew Perry
After years of suppressing his inner yogi to meet the demands of a long career in the provincial civil service, Drew has moved into "retirement" by becoming a full-time Iyengar yoga proponent, sharing the teachings he's received from Val Paape, senior North American teachers, and the Iyengar family in India. He is a founder of Yoga North with ten years of teaching experience and holds a Junior Intermediate I certificate.
Karin Rensfelt
Karin began practicing Iyengar Yoga in 2002 and immediately felt as though it made sense to her. She began the teacher training program at Yoga North led by Val Paape and achieved her Iyengar Introductory Level II certification in 2007.
Karin has been working on a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Winnipeg and is committed to promoting physical as well as a mental and spiritual well-being.
Wendy Rondeau
Wendy Rondeau finds great joy in practicing and teaching yogasana. For her, practicing and teaching mutually nurture one other.
Wendy is currently in the final phase of Yoga North's teacher Training program, but recognizes that this is just the beginning.
Besides teaching and practicing yoga, Wendy has completed a Master in Music degree and teaches private voice lessons in Winnipeg. She is also employed in the Music Library at the CBC. Her interests include quiet places, and meditative inquiry.
Tara Suffield
I began exploring yoga with Lisa Towson at Yoga North in 2002. Being the mother of two young girls, I found that yoga became an increasingly important part of our lives. After several years of instructive classes, including teacher training and intensive weekend workshops, I made the commitment to Yoga in the Iyengar tradition. I have studied with many senior teachers across Canada and the United States along with the honor of studying with Geeta Iyengar herself.
Regan Tataryn
Regan started attending classes at YN after the birth of her son Sasha upon her mother's suggestion! Regan has a lengthy background in fitness instruction and Stott Pilates. Learning, training and teaching Iyengar yoga was a natural progression of deepening her knowledge of the body with the added benefit of gaining an understanding of the connection with the mind. It is this connection between the physical, mental and emotional aspects of body and mind that fuels her journey.
Lisa Towson
Lisa began dabbling in yoga over 15 years ago, and became serious about it during her first pregnancy. It wasn't until she traveled to India and studied with the Iyengars that she truly realized the depth of their knowledge and that, unless she renounced her husband, two sons and three dogs to free up some time, she would never know it all. With a great sense of relief, Lisa happily continues to live with her six males on the doorstep of Riding Mountain National Park from where she regularly commutes to Yoga North to lead classes and workshops and assist with teacher training. Lisa is a founding partner of Yoga North, holds a Junior Intermediate I certificate, and is thankful for what she does know.