Instructors

Melanie

The deep inner peace and union experienced during her yoga practices is what inspires Melanie to share her passion for yoga with others.

A practitioner for over 20 years, Melanie chose to nurture her love of yoga by becoming a yoga instructor and eventually taking over as owner of this beautiful yoga studio in Bragg Creek in 2022. She also has a passion for energy healing, and will often incorporate Reiki into her yoga classes, as she believes the two practices complement each other extremely well.

In her classes, Melanie strives to create an environment of inclusivity, peace and non-judgement, doing her best to ensure that each of her students' needs are met with the utmost kindness and respect.

Melanie resides in Bragg Creek and is also the owner of Spirit of the Horse, a retail horse store located in the Old West Mall.

Colin

Colin Hillstrom has been passionate about sound and music all of his life. A certified sound healer since 1995, Colin considers himself an Instrument for Love, Peace & Light when he curates cosmic sound waves with his Crystal Tones alchemy singing bowls.

Colin has recorded a meditation CD with bowls and cello and has written several books on healing relationships. He certifies yoga teachers and holistic healers in his method of facilitating consciousness and healing with quartz crystal singing bowls. Colin resides in the hamlet of Bragg Creek, AB.

Matthew

To Matthew, the combination of movement, breath and mind within the practice of yoga is like a graceful dance with the inner self. He believes that there is something for everybody in yoga, no matter how they get introduced to it. We are all here to inspire each other, so we can all grow strong together, and that is a beautiful thing.

Matthew loves to be in and around nature, whether that is hiking, biking, camping or cold dipping. He is also a big believer in breathwork. Matthew has been practicing the Wim Hof Method, and other pranayama techniques for even longer than his yoga practice, which has been beneficial in his life. He likes to challenge himself on a regular basis by getting out of his comfort zone... trying to find comfort in the discomfort. He likes to encourage students to challenge themselves, to find those edges and play with them. We are all a lot more capable than we think we are. Matthew has also found a love for guitar, which he sometimes incorporates at the end of his classes as he believes that singing nourishes the soul.

Maryna

Prior to moving to Cochrane in 2022, Maryna ran a boutique style Kids and Adult yoga studio and Yoga Childcare business in Winnipeg for 6 years. She is also a mom of an amazing 7 year old boy who has practiced yoga with her since he was 10 days new.

Specializing in health and wellness, Maryna is an energetic advocate for thriving health and abundant living. She holds over 500 hours of yoga training in various disciplines of adult and kids yoga & meditation and is certified in Art Therapy and Education (Math Teacher, Ukraine). Maryna also incorporates her additional training in Cognitive Behaviour Techniques and Neurobiology when teaching her classes.

In her teaching and in her life, Maryna is grateful for the powerful influence of two teachers who have taught her a great deal about spirituality, deep inner-listening, and conscious communication - Jonathan Austin (her yoga teacher who follows the way of a great Indian spiritual master) and her husband. Maryna lives a Yogis lifestyle and enjoys sharing yoga and meditation with adults and children of all ages.

Kelly

Kelly has a soft and inclusive teaching style, creating classes that can be enjoyed by every BODY at every level. She wants everyone to feel welcome and at home in their bodies and hearts. Students can expect un-rushed and mindful classes with Kelly, with slow flow elements interspersed with elements of stillness and grounding. She carefully plans her classes with anatomy in mind, using the asana practice to facilitate mobility and strength into targeted areas. Although her style is soft and sweet, she will push students to explore the capabilities of their bodies, cuing students to rest in the pillars of breath and “effortless effort”.

Kelly is your local “nature nut” and off of the mat, she finds peace and happiness in the natural world. She LOVES to share her knowledge of birds and other wildlife with anyone who lends an ear! She believes that our gifts, knowledge and talents are meant to be shared, and she hopes to continue helping people find peace, love and happiness, and to encourage everyone to share their unique gifts with the world.

Sarah

Sarah's teaching journey has been under way since 2009 and is truly an expression of her personal experience and practice which spans many modalities of movement from Yin and Qi Gong to an invigorating Vinyasa or Aerial class. Sarah doesn't tend to teach the same class twice as her classes are tailored for the people attending and attributing factors like the season and weather. Each class holds a theme that she expands upon throughout the duration with physical strength being a main focal point. Generally her students leave her class feeling motivated, satisfied, balanced and physically grounded.

Sarah is an Artist and Yoga is merely something that she 'does' to stay balanced in her body. The story of her life as an Artist is correlated to how her journey with the practice of Yoga began. In 2000, she was working on a reality TV show where the daily tasks were quite physically demanding. Due to several childhood horse accidents, her body struggled with pain regularly so a colleague and friend introduced her to a daily Yoga sequence. It became something that she needed to do regularly and in 2009, she founded her first Yoga Studio which is still operating in Cochrane and currently known as Alchemy Yoga. She owned and operated this magical place for 9 years and sold it in 2018.

Lindsay

Lindsay Brandon has been teaching yoga, fitness & functional anatomy for 14 years and has a unique interest in Mantra & Nada Yoga ~the yoga of sound. Her classes are often varied in nature as she nurtures a flexible mind along with the body. Lindsay blends from her studies with Doug Keller, Erich Shiffman, Sarah Powers to incorporate Freedom yoga, Yin and Therapeutic practises.

Lindsay is also a musician at heart and often sings in her classes as well as presenting Mantra events teaching the meaning behind the Sanskrit mantras and sharing their elemental healing properties.

When she is not teaching yoga she is running a Permaculture Design Team to teach people how to grow food, connect back to nature and live a more sovereign and fulfilling lifestyle.

Sandy

Sandy has been practicing Yoga for over 20 years. Her career started as a Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, and Fitness Instructor with a keen interest in Anatomy. This work led her to becoming a Reiki Master and taking her Medical Qigong. She also organizes many Nature Retreats that incorporate, foraging, hiking, shinrin yoku, and her beloved Astrology.

Sandy completed her 200 hour Teaching Training in Rishikesh, India and loves to teach Vinyasa, Hatha, and Ashtanga Yoga inspired classes. She also incorporates alchemy singing bowls into her yoga classes.

Isa

Isa’s life has been shaped by movement and being outside in nature since she was very young.

Starting her professional career as a horse trainer, then diving into fitness training, coaching people at the gym, getting her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and most recently completing her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica, physical activity has truly been the essence of her life.

Isa's teaching focuses on incorporating modifications and different approaches to poses to make them work for every body – because Yoga is for everybody. With a background in Kinesiology, she is very interested in the mechanisms of movement and how it can positively change a person's life. Yoga for Isa is a way to connect the mind and the body to the present moment, to tune in and start listening to our bodies again - a skill we often lose in everyday life.