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Teacher Bios

Divi Chandna, MD
Shanti Yoga Victoria Co-Owner/Director, Instructor

I started Bikram Yoga in 2000 in Vancouver and became a teacher in 2001. I had the pleasure of opening the first studio on Vancouver Island in October 2002.

Prior to my immersion in yoga, I had worked full-time as a family doctor since 1993. I thought my years of medical training would help people live happier and healthier lives.

It didn’t take long for this illusion to be shattered. I quickly realized that the medications and the way in which I was trained to prescribe drugs caused more harm than good. People would end up with more side effects from my treatment than prior!

I saw that the majority of my patients had ailments that prevented them from living a full life. Everything from seemingly minor things like knee pain, back pain, headaches, or fatigue, to major ones like depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and cancer became my daily working reality. These people were living fragmented lives due to these ailments.

And then, I started Bikram Yoga. Through my own healing journey, and through watching the daily transformation of my body and mind through this ninety-minute exercise, I was blown away at how great I felt. I felt like I had a new lease on life. Better yet, I felt like I had a new treatment modality that I could recommend to patients.

When I attended Teacher Training, I had no grandiose plans of changing careers or opening a studio, but through the training process, I realized that this very specific, well-designed practice had the nuts and bolts to treat all chronic ailments.

I met students with both minor and major chronic ailments—and they were using Bikram Yoga for treatment. Through their dedication to the yoga, they were living much happier, more joyful, more meaningful lives than prior. I realized that aging is only a state of mind—that we don’t have to get old, in pain, and moody. Yoga is the answer!

Now, when I teach, and I embark with a student who is willing to do the work of Bikram Yoga, I do my best to encourage them to trust the process, to move with their bodies, to be easy with themselves, and most importantly to know that the work they are doing is going to reap them benefits beyond belief.

I truly believe that the human body can naturally heal, that this yoga series is the answer to all of our ailments, all of our dis-ease, all of our general unhappiness, and that all of us have the ability to live happier, healthier, and fuller lives through this practice.

I look forward to seeing you all in the hot room!
Ed Light
Shanti Yoga Victoria Co-Owner/Director, Instructor

Ed Light is the co-owner of Bikram Yoga Victoria. Ed started his practise in Victoria in the fall of 2001, and he attended Teacher Training in Los Angeles with Bikram in Fall 2002. He’s been teaching ever since.

Ed’s background is in extreme fitness. Growing up, he played every sport from basketball to
water skiing. Ed suffered a severe dislocation of his hip a few years before starting Bikram Yoga, and he was able to work through scar tissue in the hot room. He brings a great degree of empathy and caring to his classes, as he knows firsthand about the journey of healing.

Due to his full-time dedication to the studio, Ed has given up his other pastimes of running and cycling. Despite this, he has been able to maintain a high level of cardiovascular conditioning just through regular practice of Bikram Yoga.

Now, his other favourite pastime is golf. Ed swears that his mental and physical game has improved through his dedication to Bikram Yoga.


Catherine Etmanski
I entered my first yoga class in 2000 and was immediately transformed by a simple lesson in how to breathe. The physical, emotional, and spiritual lessons that have come about since then range from subtle to profound, but the foundation of yoga, for me, remains with the breath.

Since then, my yoga journey has included Kundalini, Bikram, Yin, and Hatha styles of yoga, complemented by Reiki and Vipassana meditation. A formal and informal educator for over fifteen years, I also draw upon my experience in Theatre for Living to understand the symbolism embedded in our personal yoga practices. In addition to teaching yoga, I am an Educational Consultant and Instructor at the University of Victoria, and, on harvest days, you can sometimes find me playing in the mud on Three Oaks Farm.
 
 
Pilates, Yoga and Thai Massage. Maria Filippone, (certified in all three disciplines) with twenty years of teaching experience, has developed a methodology to integrate these complementary, ancient practices. Maria’s ability to create a safe environment allows her to guide her students in their return to a healthy body and mind. Through breath, strength and flexibility, one’s essential nature is restored. This is the mission of 3 Modern Yoga.
http://www.3modernyoga.com
 
 
Tracey's infectious smile warmly welcomes students of all ages and levels to flow trough a yoga practice accompanied by music. Her classes are inspiring and sometimes vigorous, blending vinyasa flow with healthy alignment. She is known for her positive energy and sense of humour which adds to her philosophy that yoga is a joyful practice. Graduating from McMaster University with a Physical Education Degree she has continued to further her career in many areas of fitness, always inspired by the growing evolution of the industry. Thrilled to be teaching, Tracey has studied with and continues to learn from Shiva Rea, and Janet Stone as well as many others along the journey. Accredited by Yoga Alliance, she currently owns and operates her own business here in Victoria, BC.
 
 
Michelle Larrain RYT – Michelle began practicing yoga in 1999 and was captured by the powerful transformational effects it had on her body, mind and spirit. In 2000 she attended her first Anusara Yoga workshop and knew she found her home in this tradition and has been a dedicated student ever since. Michelle began teaching yoga in 2001 and has attended multiple teacher trainings including a year long 200 Hour Anusara Teacher Training with Certified Anusara teacher Sarahjoy Marsh in Portland, OR. Michelle believes that yoga provides a mirror into our lives and into the deepest essence of our hearts, which is fundamentally good and radiant. It is through our practice that we are able to tap into our deep resources of strength, courage, wisdom, and compassion which allows us the freedom to celebrate and express our own Divine Nature. Her classes are taught with the inspiration of the Anusara Yoga tradition and are designed to be fun, safe and supportive honoring each person’s unique qualities and abilities while playfully expressing the truest aspects of their hearts. She continues her studies in Anusara Yoga and deepening her exploration into the many ways we can experience and celebrate life. She is extremely grateful to her teachers Sarahjoy Marsh, Elizabeth Rainey and founder of Anusara Yoga John Friend for their support, guidance and knowledge into this beautiful practice.

Anusara means “flowing with Grace,” “flowing with Nature,” “following your heart.” It is when we align our bodies and hearts with Nature Grace descends into our hearts and nourishes and supports all we do and awakens us to our own Divine Nature. Life, in all of its aspects, is to be honored and celebrated. For more information about this life affirming style of yoga please go to www.anusara.com

Hatha A – This is an Anusara inspired hatha yoga class that is strongly rooted in the Anusara tradition. It focuses on the principles of Anusara yoga emphasizing optimal alignment to cultivate greater stability and ease in poses along with the playfulness to experience and express the true essence of our hearts which is ultimately good and radiant. Great for students of all levels, this class is taught to be fun and uplifting honoring each student’s qualities and abilities. For more information on Anusara Yoga go to www.anusara.com.

 
Kara Martin
Little did I know that what started out as a twice a week practice would turn into my passion and my future….
 
Finding Bikram yoga, and eventually finding myself through the series has been the best gift I could have ever asked for; one I am eternally grateful.
 
Yoga is different for everyone, yoga has brought me clarity, mental and physical strength, has opened my heart to love and brought balance into my life. I have guilty pleasures like everyone, so having balance has allowed me to indulge in the things I love...coffee, chocolate or a good bottle of wine.
 
Yoga found me when I needed it the most. Life has thrown me some serious obstacles leaving me lost. Yoga has helped me through them time and time again and showed me what it means to truly love myself. It has opened a world of awareness and mind-body connection unimaginable.
 
Bikram yoga is giving the gift of life, it is without a doubt the best thing I could possibly do for myself, my community, my universe. Yoga is unity, there is a powerful transfer of energy and we are connected through it, the more yoga practiced the more we can tap into it and become stronger, together.
 
This yoga is life changing, I encourage everyone to leave all expectations at the door and let the yoga do what it is destined to do for you!
 
"Be the change you wish to see in the world" ~ Gandhi
 
 
Lisa Choptiany, RMT
I was born and raised here in Victoria. I had worked mostly in the creative end of the retail field (window display/merchandising, floral designer) until deciding to go to massage therapy college.

My personal health and fitness endeavors always leaned towards classes; aerobics, yoga, belly-dance and pilates. The self-guided gym work-out with treadmills, stationary bikes and "pumping iron" always proved to become too easy for me to abandon; usually around the three month mark.

I took my first Bikram's Yoga class in the fall of 2007, then within a year I found myself on a stage, in Acapulco with Bikram himself handing me a certificate to teach it.  I first came to the the Bikram yoga class for fitness and physical health but found it so healing for so many other facets of my life as well, and now it is also a second career.

I have been a Registered Massage Therapist for 6 years now, and I am always encouraging my patients to heal themselves and increase their fitness and posture through movement and exercise.  The Bikram's Yoga class is the best place I have found for this...and it's for EVERYONE! and for every BODY!  As Bikram says "It's never too late, it's never too bad, and you're never too old or too sick to start from scratch..." My greatest discovery with my yoga practice is that it's NOT about being a "flexy-bendy", it's about trying your best, the right way then you get all the healing benefits of the pose.

Join me in the hot room, look into the mirror, and see the strongest and most beautiful version of yourself.
 
 
Emily Burke
I have been working as a massage therapist for 5 years.  During this time, I have always recommended yoga to my clients as a complimentary therapy.  However I was not listening to my own advice.  2 years ago I sat down with my phone book searching for a yoga class to try that day.  I knew if I was going to do this it had to be now.  Bikram yoga Victoria just happened to have a class within the next hour, so off I went.

60 minutes later I found myself looking for the exits, and wondering if the teacher had any idea how incredibly hot it was in there. 30 minutes after that, I floated out of the hot room, feeling better than I ever could have imagined.  I was hooked, and I knew I had made the right choice.  I knew right away that I wanted to be a teacher.  What could be better than to help others feel this great.

Bikram yoga has changed my life in many different ways, physically and emotionally, with more changes and discoveries everyday.  I am stronger inside and out, bones to skin, fingertips to the toes.  I believe this yoga is for everyone and anyone, no matter what.  Just give it 90 minutes. 
 
Darlene Murphy
With twenty-four years in television, radio, and newspapers under her belt, Darlene decided to follow her husband to Seattle for something different—five years of diplomatic service.

Darlene says, “Some people go directly from the world of work to the loony bin. I chose yoga.” In September 2004, a year after returning to Canada, she took her first Bikram class and she was instantly hooked.

Dr. Divi Chandna, the only medical doctor who owns a Bikram Yoga studio on the island, told Darlene that her shoulders would probably take two to three years to open up. Soon after, Bikram invited Darlene on stage in Vancouver to observe her twisted spine. She has degenerative lumbar discs and arthritis.

Intrigued by yoga’s restorative promise, Darlene took Teacher Training in Fall 2006 and now is among the oldest yoga teachers on the island. “Yoga has saved me physically. At fifty-three, I’m in better shape now than after years of health clubs and marathons. My spine has never felt better.”

Darlene guides her students with passion and with compassion for their bodies. Ever the philosopher, she counsels, “Hang in there yogis! The journey is lifelong—and life-changing.”