Ellen Reesor

Ellen’s first yoga class was at age 14, and though it was tough, she quickly fell in love with the way yoga made her feel. Though memberships were out of her price range at the time, she was determined to grow her yoga practice, so she volunteered through energy exchange programs, practicing in the evenings and cleaning the studio after classes.

As she broadened her practice, she completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Hatha yoga, and later went on to complete a 500-hour Modo YTT as well as a 100-hour Modo Yoga Vinyasa Flow training. In 2018, Ellen completed a 10 month Teacher Training/Mentorship Program through Spirit Loft Movement Centre, which focused on an interdisciplinary approach to movement & mindfulness education. Ellen completed a 10 Day silent Vipassana Meditation Course and is currently enrolled in a 9 month meditation course studying under Poep Sa Frank Jude focusing on the five precepts. Ellen spends her winters rock climbing, mountaineering, and studying - working towards her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She considers herself an eternal student and is constantly attending workshops and trainings to learn and grow.

Over the years, yoga has deeply enriched her life mentally, physically and spiritually, and she continues to find fulfillment in helping others to tap into the same joy that yoga has brought her.

Andre Talbot

Andre enjoyed a 10-year career as a professional football player in the Canadian Football League where he achieved numerous accolades including Grey Cup Champion.

Since retiring from the rigorous and gruelling nature of athletic competition, Andre has continued to explore, research and share in different disciplines of movement and stillness practices. In movement, Andre blends his lifetime of practice in athletic development with the more subtle and mindful aspects of the embodied arts to assist practitioners in restoring a greater sense of connection, curiosity and playfulness with their body through movement practice. Andre's interest in mindfulness and stillness practices led him to formal study and training with his mentor and teacher Poep Sa (Dharma Teacher) Frank Jude Boccio (Mindfulness Yoga, Zen Naturalism) and the Empty Mountain Sangha. Andre leads mindfulness meditation study and practice groups from a naturalistic heart centred approach.

Andre believes that movement and stillness practices provide us with tools to deepen and strengthen our relationships, helping us to build a greater sense of community and well-being. He shares his lifetime of experience and dedicated practice with others, at his Toronto based studio the Spirit Loft Movement & Yoga Centre. He also leads teacher trainings, retreats and workshops.

Marg Drudge

Marg believes that the way we move matters...That our bodies benefit tremendously from the mindful shapes they are encouraged to take in a yoga practice.

Marg also knows that we love to be challenged - even encouraged - to do a little more - perhaps even a little faster - both on and off the yoga mat.

Her invitation is to come to your mat and do less. Slow down. Connect with your body and your breath.

Since starting her yoga journey in 2008, she has explored many styles and teachings of yoga. Her mat keeps bringing her back to asana (postures) that nourish and heal and that allow for mindful movement and profound respect for the bodies that we do life in.

Marg completed a certification program in Yoga for Healthy Aging with a medical doctor from California. This intensive training affirmed in many ways the practice that she has been allowed to guide at KIND Yoga. She strongly believes that whether you are 18 or 88 - or somewhere in between or beyond - you are invited to come to your mat and move in ways that matter and nourish your body and soul.

Dione Clarke-Adams

Dione is a movement enthusiast who learned intuitively from an early age the ability her body had to help process and digest her experiences. This innate wisdom is the foundation of her teaching. Dione's classes are accessibly crafted to meet the physical needs and abilities of her students and clients coupled with the exploration of meditation and breath work. Dione has a formal education in the areas of psychology and the justice system. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Psychology and a Graduate diploma in Justice Studies. She is a certified yoga teacher and soul coach with a personal and professional meditation background spanning more than ten years. As a Yoga and Mindfulness facilitator, Dione has completed over 1100 hours in Yoga Teacher Training and Trauma Informed workshops with certifications in Modo Yoga, Functional Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Yin and Restorative Yoga, Kemetic Yoga, Yoga for Incarcerated and under-served Youth and Mindfulness Meditation. In addition to her training, she has lead over 1000 hours of yoga classes, workshops, private sessions and retreats. She serves as a mentor in Tracey Sograhti’s 50+ Hour Yin Teacher Training as well as a mentor to new and aspiring Yoga and Meditation teachers.

Students will explore Buddhist practices of the mindfulness tradition from a naturalistic, scientific and empirical understanding and will develop tools to help them navigate the world in a more meaningful, connected and skillful manner. Our program places a strong emphasis on the importance a mindfulness meditation practice and there is a significant portion of time dedicated to cultivating a personal and group practice. Each day of training will include one yoga class and a formal seated meditation led by lead instructor Ellen Reesor and other guest faculty to ensure that students are integrating what the material covered in lectures into their physical bodies.

Students will learn about functional movement and mechanics as it relates to injury prevention during the practice of yoga. Together students will explore how to efficiently and effectively cultivate length, stability, coordination, tension and power through the lens of fascia, joint mechanics and multi-planar movement. Students will be discussing alternative ways of looking at the body and movement as a whole. Learning how to feel from within our own bodies so to best cue and facilitate a safe and meaningful asana practice.

Students will receive an introductory examination of inclusivity within yoga classes and spaces. Based on the assumption that there is under representation within the yoga community, students will engage in self inquiry and the exploration of creating accessible classes and spaces with the goal is to spark further study.

This aspect of our YTT is completely unique as we are offering a comprehensive and integrated hybrid (online/in person) learning platform. We will collaborate with the highly acclaimed anatomy and physiology educator Drew Hume of Yoga Detour. Students will have access to an online learning platform that includes written lessons and videos alongside multiple meetings/Q&A sessions with Drew Hume himself.

Students will explore through lecture and discussion the origins and meaning of yoga, the timeline of yoga’s long philosophical and practical history, the five yogas: history, philosophy, teachings and practice, an introduction to chanting, and hymns from the Upanishads, and how to skillfully apply yogas philosophical teachings into your classes.

Our program covers the traditional and contemporary approaches to yoga sequencing and the differences between varying sects of yoga with a focus on the Hatha/Vinyasa style. Students will learn how to design creative yoga sequences that are accessible, meaningful and sustainable and will learn how to modify to meet the needs of differing levels of abilities including beginners, intermediate, and advanced, as well as how to teach a successful yoga class for students across the life cycle including yoga classes for kids, teens, seniors and those dealing with mental or physical health limitations.

Trainees will dive into the business of yoga and balancing the interesting line of being both spiritual aspirants and business professionals. Students will discuss the tension that arises between our desires to be financially compensated for our work, and our wishes to be accessible in sharing our passion for mindfulness teachings. Students will discover how to distinguish themselves in an ever-growing, saturated market, create meaningful connections with dedicated students and a powerful presence with in-person and online communities, exude confidence teaching yoga in a variety of settings, leverage time-tested marketing and promotional practices, expand professional horizons to include corporate & philanthropic programs, and will experience the profound life-altering experience of what it means to have a sustainable, profitable yoga business. Trainees will leave with a library of business growth resources to reference and utilize, and a connected community of passionate wellness professionals.

Trainees will learn about the importance of showing up as their authentic selves, leading by example and staying true to their core values in all that they do, on and off the mat. From this place of authenticity trainees will learn how to confidently create a safe and nurturing space that allows the power of yoga to foster growth and change within each of students’ lives, creating a more peaceful world one individual at a time.