Congratulations. It means that you already have an inkling of the changes you’d want to make. Hiring a life coach is one of the best ways to empower yourself. Because, yes, it is YOUR job to empower yourself. Nobody, not your boss, not your partner, not even the most successful life coaches can do it for you.

By investing in a coach you are making a commitment and investment in empowering yourself to do what you were put on this earth to do.

Hiring a personal life coach is the most return on investment you can get on your money. Period.

What Life Coaching can help you with:

Marta Czajkowska

Marta guides her clients far beyond their self limiting beliefs, beyond what they think possible for them in both personal, and professional aspects.

Born in Warsaw, Poland Marta’s life was largely influenced by her passion for rock climbing which carried her to the farthest corners of the earth. Marta lived in Hawaii for 10 years and played a big role helping Renée start Still & Moving Center.

coachingwithmarta.com

facebook.com/coachingwithmarta

instagram.com/coachingwithmarta

By Renée Tillotson

I feel tears welling up as I write – poignant tears of how much I love my parents and how I will eventually miss them. At ages 87 and 90, my mom and dad first came to mind once the seriousness of Covid 19 hit home. With me on the islands and them in California, would I ever see and hug them again? Surely this question had arisen in millions, perhaps billions, of heart-minds globally.

Two Sundays ago, having made the journey across the ocean, I spent a golden afternoon with my folks and my brother Todd at our dad’s home in San Francisco, windows open, masks on, distanced. What made that afternoon so magical? Something more than the quality of light coming through Dad’s sunny, third story window…

A sweetness pervaded the room. None of us could take that afternoon for granted – it was too rare. We’d spent a wonderful long weekend together with the larger family – all outdoors – and I would be flying out the next morning. All of us knew that it might be the last time, although hopefully it’s just one of many more. In addition to eating a lovely meal together (masks off briefly for that, fresh air flowing in freely), we played a rousing, old-fashioned card game called Euchre, Mom and I against Todd and Dad. 

As we played, we shared lots of laughs and reminiscences about Dad’s mom, Grandma Coleman, who had originally taught all of us the game. She was one pistol of a little lady, with a merry twinkle whenever I was around her, unless something had ticked her off, in which case she let you know about it!  We four talked about Grandma’s mother, Grandma Carpenter, who for years ran a parlor for gambling and drinks without a liquor license, and about the cops who came in regularly, along with the other folks! 

As we played, Todd kept pretending to elbow-nudge the score-keeping cards, reminding us that Grandma Colemlan used to warn us against having a “educated elbow,” even though she evidently used her own on occasion to make sure she stayed in the lead! The Super 8 home-movie footage we had watched earlier of Grandma laughing and hugging us happily lingered over our game. 

She and our mom always stayed close, even after Mom and Dad divorced. People always have reasons when they divorce. Our family feels lucky that Dad and Mom never aired any “dirty laundry” with us kids about one another. Nor did they ever openly quarrel. We’ve been able to include them both in family gatherings for decades now.

Without placing all those extra barriers, barbed wires and booby traps between the two of themselves to begin with, Dad and Mom seem to have created space for a different kind of closeness to eventually arise, probably over enjoying their children, grandchildren and recently great-grandchildren together. They also share most political and social perspectives, which they passed on to us kids. So the four of us were a cohesive little group, talking about the events of the times.

Perhaps in a way, we earned that golden afternoon. Over the many years of life as a family, we have certainly endured our moments of stress, anger, loss, miscommunication, disappointment – just as I imagine every family does. Yet we let all of that go, let it fade into insignificance, and just the love remained. We simply and thoroughly enjoyed one another’s company.

Oh – and in case you were wondering – we girls were leading most of the way through our Euchre match, even though all three of the others had to keep reminding me how to play the dang game! In the end, though, Todd pulled off the last winning hand, and we all felt satisfied at a game well-played.

Back in Hawaii now, part of me wants to clutch onto that memory as something precious. Yet my mindfulness training helps me to avoid such grasping. The essence of that golden afternoon is as present to me now – and will be whenever I call it up in years to come – as it was when we were having the experience. That’s the way timeless moments work! They’re always available to us in the now.

By Rénee Tillotson

Worried about over-eating at the holiday feasts? These few tips may help to make holiday dining a happy, healthy experience! Share times of merriment and ‘breaking bread’ with family and friends – whether in person or online, together or even alone – with a feeling of satisfaction, avoiding pangs of guilt. Make this a time of true ‘holy days’.

1. Gandhi says, “Renounce and then enjoy.” Let’s remind ourselves that we could eat just a single crumb of a Christmas cake or Hanukkah latke – or even a simple crust of bread – with mindfulness and gratitude, and in that one bite we could fill ourselves with the spirit of the season. If we can fully enjoy that crumb or crust, any food beyond that is simply a cherry on top to be grateful for! A blessing, a giving of thanks for the farmers and cooks, a joyful song, a prayer – all of these remind us that it’s not the food but holiness of what we are celebrating that’s most important.
2. Fewer dishes, perhaps, with great ingredients and great joy in the preparation. Let’s use quality, REAL, WHOLE, FRESH ingredients when preparing our meal – to the extent that we can do so comfortably, affordably and without stress. If the recipe calls for cream, let’s not replace it with skim milk for our holiday meal! If the recipe calls for butter, margarine will be a dissatisfying (not to mention highly unhealthy) substitute. If we have time to toss fresh cranberries, an orange and a little sugar into the blender or food processor, that will be SO much tastier, life-giving and not too much more work than a can of store-bought cranberry sauce. So let’s go for the tastiest food that is feasible, with the least amount of stress.
3. That said, let’s experiment with cutting sugar in our recipes to half or ¾ the amount called for in the recipe. My personal experience is of enjoying the recipe MORE if it’s not too sweet. For me, less is more. Joyful satisfaction from your holy day meal is tantamount, so if you want to wait until after the holidays to experiment with halving sugar in your recipes, I get that!
4. Let’s wait. Avoiding snacking, sampling and taste-testing before the meal – whether of our own cooking or someone else’s. An Indian housewife never tastes her food in advance. If that’s scary, you might ask someone else just before serving it to give the dish a final taste to check for salt level, etc. My experience of pre-sampling my cooking is that if I’ve already tried all my dishes before eating them at the table, I don’t get that delightful surprise in my mouth of tasting the dish for the first time. Since I never get that full satisfaction during the meal, I actually end up eating MORE because I don’t feel satiated. If you need a little sustenance to keep up your blood-sugar and energy level, snack on a little something healthy that is not part of the holiday menu. 
5. Quality over quantity: let’s prepare our holiday meal plate with a bright, artistic array of foods, in big enough quantities to know we will make it comfortably to the next meal. And let that be enough, rather than going back for seconds and thirds. 
6. Enjoy every mouthful. Let’s go for a full satiation of ALL the senses while mindfully eating our holiday meal. Before eating, let’s take in all the colors with our eyes: the red cranberries, the orange carrots, the green beans or broccoli, the rich brown chocolate, the white whipped cream. Breathe in the tantalizing aromas. Listen to the crunch of a crisp bite. Let’s sense our hungry belly being pleasurably filled, and let our taste buds thrill at the familiar or perhaps first time flavors as they enter our mouths. Let’s get the most out of our holy-day meal, no matter how simple.
7. Holy day traditions around the world include fasting prior to feasting. Consider ‘cleansing” or fasting prior to and perhaps after a holy day. Your fast is a time of clearing the body, mind and spirit to be filled with the essence and meaning of that holy celebration day.  Then when we break our fast, we rejoice by treating the body with delicious traditional foods that delight the senses AND remind us of the spiritual fulfillment this sacred day is meant to bring us.

By Douglas Groesser

Imagine sharing your culture and family cuisine in a foreign land. Imagine creating every part of that vision with your own hands and ingenuity. Imagine working together in a business with your family. And then imagine doing that all with the threat of a worldwide pandemic on the horizon. Let me introduce you to the Hettema family and their restaurant Istanbul Hawaii.

Ahu Hettema was born in Mersin, Turkey on the northeastern edge of the Mediterranean. While her mother, Executive Chef Nili, loved to cook using knowledge passed down through generations in her family, Ahu left Mersin for San Francisco at the age of eighteen searching for a new path for herself. She studied animation at college, but in the end didn’t feel it was a field she wanted to pursue. She got married, and her parents joined her in San Francisco. When her husband, Brandon, had to move to O‘ahu for work, Ahu and her parents came along. It was here that she found a new direction.

Landing on O‘ahu, Ahu felt at a loss for what to do next. Then, she started cooking with her mom at home. A dish called manti – hand-rolled mini pasta filled with meat or cheese and topped with a garlic yogurt – awakened something inside her to the joy of cooking. Another was Turkish Delight, gel starched colored jewels flavored with rose water, pistachios or walnuts. Her father, Aydin Bey, added his knowledge of lamb kebabs and ‘kunefe’, a warm gooey desert of shredded filo, hellim cheese, butter and syrup. Ahu felt joy and family connection in the kitchen, and she began to share their cooking. “I started to give food to our neighbors and our friends. They were the ones who told us we had to open a tent at the farmers’ market,” said Ahu. 

The family started with a food truck and the food was so popular that the business quickly expanded. “We just started with one tent and that turned into two, and two tents turned into four and we realized we needed a commercial kitchen. It was not gonna work out in a small place,” she explained. In the end they boldly decided to directly transition to a restaurant so they could bring customers into their ‘home.’ However, it was not an easy transition. They ended up almost building and installing everything except the chairs and service ware. “I designed the whole place with my husband,” Ahu declared. “People come and say there’s so much detail in this place… It’s because we built it ourselves.”

Upon entering you immediately feel the Turkish vibe. A round six-foot copper and glass chandelier floats high above the eighteen-foot-long wooden bar and the rustic wooden dining tables. The open kitchen design allows customers to watch the food preparation in real time at a safe distance. Ahu even imported copper Turkish trays and dishes to serve the ‘meze,’ the six vegetarian appetizers. “I felt it was important to serve the food visually in the way they would be served in Turkey,” she said. 

The family had to push back the restaurant opening to come together to literally build their dream. And then…Covid. The shutdown pushed that delay for months longer. It was scary and nerve-racking. Ahu knew they had the product and the service to appeal to the local population; they had loyal customers from their five years of serving at the markets. And now, they couldn’t deliver. With loans, debt, and rent adding up every day, the pressure to make it right and be a hit became paramount. 

Finally, in July of 2020, Istanbul Hawaii in Kakaako opened to the public. Despite another four-week shutdown in August, the restaurant has been open six days a week to nightly sellouts, with distanced seating, both indoors and outdoors. Reservations usually fill up days in advance. Recently, Istanbul has also opened for lunch.  

‘Ohana is everything to Ahu. She says that she would not have been able to succeed without the family’s support. Her husband is the architect and accountant. Her father, the engineer, carves his magic with ‘doner,’ a lamb roasted on a vertical spit with a caramelized exterior. Her mother, Chef Nili, creates homemade baklava and ‘su borek,’ a filo pastry with feta cheese served warm. Ahu inspires new creations for the menu. For the holidays she has created a lavender and rosemary turkey and for desert a baklava with pumpkin and pecans! How yummy does that sound?!? 

The joy of sharing their rich culture and cuisine with people is what fuels the Hettema family. Their bountiful Turkish & Ottoman cuisine represents the seven diverse regions of Turkey, the Mediterranean and the Middle East with recipes that are authentic to that part of the world. Serving both street-style and elevated Turkish cuisine, Istanbul uses fresh, organic, and local ingredients whenever possible.

Istanbul has added another Turkish member to their ‘ohana whom the Still & Moving Center knows well, Murat Demirtas. Murat and the Hettemas first connected when they catered the food for his ‘Turkish Night’ extravaganza at the Still & Moving Center in July 2019. That night of dance, food and celebration of Turkish culture was a big hit. Murat now serves as the General Manager, showcasing his Turkish hospitality nightly at Istanbul Hawaii.

“We are very lucky because the food is fantastic. The location is fantastic and the people who come here are fantastic. So everything together is just perfect,” enthuses Murat.

Address: 1108 Auahi St STE 152, Honolulu, HI 96814

Telephone: (808) 772-4440

Website: www.istanbulhawaii.com

Video Sources

https://www.khon2.com/news/business-matters/business-matters-istanbul/

https://www.istanbulhawaii.com/

https://entrepreneurs.hawaiinational.com/profile-istanbul/

By Sarah Hodges

December 2020

“When we move mindfully, breathing in a loving way,” says Marla, “it opens space for the healing to happen.”

An ELDOA and Buteyko Breathing teacher at Still & Moving Center since June of 2020, Marla Waal began her journey into movement at age 6 when she received gymnastics classes as a Christmas gift. She quickly became a focused, dedicated little gymnast, and started competing after just a few years. By age 12, gymnastics was her life. Perhaps inwardly sensing that some variety was needed, Marla decided to try dance classes. With the same laser focus that she approached gymnastics, Marla dove full-on into dance. Struck by inspiration when she attended a show by Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal at age 15, she thrilled with her vision of the life of those dancers: training together, performing in grand shows, dining together, and sharing invaluable life moments. Four years of hard work and diligence later, Marla made her way into that same dance company. Hard work can really make a dream come true!

Marla’s intense training continued. As a professional dancer, Marla learned the necessarily regulated skill of pushing past boundaries and pushing through discomfort and pain. “Being a professional dancer, the highs are very high, but the lows are very low,” she says. The dance performance world put more emphasis on fulfilling expectations and obligations of a dance career than on listening to the quiet – and sometimes not-so-quiet – physical, mental, and even spiritual needs that she felt. 

After a four-year run with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Marla reconnected with an old beau from high school, got engaged, and decided to return to Vancouver. Through this life shift, she came to realize that “between a busy rehearsal and performance schedule, I had to push through a lot of mental, emotional and physical challenges. As professional dancers, we didn’t often get time to stop and take care of ourselves.”  She came face to face with needs that she had pushed aside for many years to create a successful dance career. Something in her knew it was time to listen, and retune her mind-body-spirit connection. “There’s a great value,” she emphasizes, “in listening to your inner voice and hearing what your needs might be.”    

Back in Canada, Marla laid her dance shoes aside and attended meditation practices and yoga classes. “ I became more focused on nurturing and healing myself,” she reflects. There were no more mirrors to perform routines to, and her previous external goals gently shifted into an inward seeking. Once she was ready, Marla returned to dance, but this time with a more joyful, explorative tone: “I began to peel the layers back and rediscover the natural impulse to dance. I was again that carefree girl who could play in my movement, dance and spin freely.”

Pushing through challenges is a valuable life skill, especially when we need to exercise selfless resilience. Marla’s well-practiced ability to persevere serves her well as she cares for her children. She nevertheless remains attuned her own physical limits and needs: a beautiful and dynamic life dance.

Marla now shares her discoveries in body-mind-spirit movement with dancers and students of all levels and backgrounds through her practices of yoga, pilates, ELDOA, and Buteyko Breathing classes. “As a teacher, I aim to create a space where others can reflect and ask themselves questions, and have a quiet time to sense, feel and experience,” says Marla, one of only three Level 4 ELDOA trainers in Vancouver. Her classes offer a space to step out of life’s busyness, and for that hour, to slow down and go deep. 

Marla continues her lifelong journey of learning, currently training to be a full practitioner of the Buteyko Breathing Technique.  “The phrase ‘Waking up your wisdom is good’, but I think it’s more than that,” says Marla. “When we move mindfully, breathing in a loving way to spirit, we open the space for healing to happen.”

Click here to Visit the Online Boutique!

Welcome to Boutique E

E for…

Exercise

Environment

Enlightenment

Still & Moving Center’s Boutique E has lived for almost 10 years in our 1024 Queen Street location, serving our students with Aloha. 

With great joy, we are launching a virtual iteration of the boutique for safe, convenient purchasing options, just in time for the Holidays! 

Like everything at Still & Moving Center, items in Boutique E are mindfully sourced using sustainable materials, with many of the products locally made and/or designed by businesses that have enlightening and inspiring stories. Boutique E features fashion-forward, sustainable dance and yoga clothing, yoga props, artwork and books.

Our featured brands include Queen of Hearts – one of our most popular lines of clothing over Still & Moving Center’s 9 year history. Queen of Hearts production takes place on the enchanted island of Bali and was co-created with a family-operated cottage industry. Production of these soft, moveable, flowing garments have kept a family of tailors working full time since 2002. As an independently owned and operated business, giving back is a priority. Queen of Hearts makes contributions to non-profit organizations in Bali that assist women and children in need. Products are made with sustainable materials in a range of sizes and colors.

“I can go out for a business luncheon, then take a yoga class or teach Nia… without changing clothes!”- Renee Tillotson

Lilikoi Wear, another Still & Moving Center favorite, offers bright, fun, limited-edition prints inspired by the colorful culture of Brazil (mixed with the tropical lifestyle of the Hawaiian Islands!). Lilikoi Wear makes high-end activewear with a new generation of “intelligent yarns” that support the wellbeing of both the wearer and the planet. All of their clothing is 100% biodegradable, made from Amni Soul Eco polyamide nylon fabric, which will fully biodegrade within 3 years under landfill conditions. This fabric is also sweat-wicking, quick-drying, anti-microbial and odor-resistant, and UV50+ which blocks 100% of UV rays. 

And, lets not forget our in-house 2021 Almanac, curated and produced by our very own Still & Moving Center director, Renee Tillotson. For this unique gift idea, please follow the link to learn more about this featured annual offering: (link to almanac here)

Special thanks to our Boutique E team: Rika Eagle (intern) & Eriko Jones, with help from Emily Carr & Neela Vadivel. We would also like to recognize Aloha Connects Innovation for their assistance in sourcing and hiring our interns this year.

Shipping and In-store pickup options available

www.boutique-ehawaii.com

** Now available **

This year’s theme: Self Crafting

$18

Announcing the new, revised….Still & Moving Center Almanac 2021!

This year’s almanac theme of Self-Crafting challenges us to self-define, self-shape, and grow further into the person we long to be. It invites us to sculpt our lives as if creating art.  Our aim in this almanac is to each day provide a quote that speaks to your soul. Look for the themes – every day’s quote follows a carefully crafted theme for the week!

“When I keep the week’s theme humming in the background of my mind, it helps me put to everything that happens that week into perspective,” says the Almanac’s editor, Renée Tillotson.

Make short journal entries to remember key experiences and important events. There’s even room for tips, thoughts, and writing! You can jot in your Gratitude for the day, your Hope Goals, your plans to “Move your body” and your “Ahas!”.

Almanacs were originally designed to help us keep pace with our physical universe, providing sunrise and sunset times, equinoxes and solstices, etc. Ours does that too! You’ll see exactly when the next full moon happens, for example. Join a collective consciousness of beneficent thought as people from around the world read the quotes on the same day. 

This almanac helps you keep pace in a multicultural world, with holidays celebrated by each of the major traditions, and significant events and people from global history listed on their respective anniversaries. What’s the Dalai Lama’s birthday? When was the first star photographed? When is Chinese New Year 2021? You will find the answers here.

Go here to order your almanac online.

Shipping and In-store pickup options available!

Wednesdays 4:00 – 5:00 pm HST (6:00 – 7:00 pm PST)

Starting January 6, 2021

Sign up now!

Trauma Sensitive Yoga is a yoga practice that gives you an opportunity to move in your body while reconnecting with your sense of self again in safe space. People who have undergone trauma – and we all have at some time or another – can experience an inability to connect with or even feel their bodies. Is it time for you to heal, to get back into your body, so to speak? To feel safe to feel again?

In this class you will experience the opportunity to feel, to rediscover sensation, and to make your own choices in your body – both of which are often compromised as a result of trauma. Here you can cultivate your sense of personal agency. Your body is YOURS to direct and guide.

Some things that make this style of yoga different from other styles are the emphasis of choice in every type of movement or breath offering, and the focus on sensations that you may or may not be feeling in your body. The facilitator will always practice with you in this style of yoga, and will not provide hands on assists – even when teaching in person. 

This specific style of yoga facilitation is an evidence-based movement practice that works with those who have experienced trauma. The full name for the practice is Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga – TCTSY – uniquely blending yoga movements and trauma awareness. If you have questions about whether or not this practice may be a fit for you, please reach out to us.

You can reach Jody at jodyhassel@gmail.com.

About TCTSY: website https://www.traumasensitiveyoga.com/

About JRI: website http://www.traumacenter.org/

Jody Hassel

As your facilitator, Jody Hassel’s highest priority is to create access for you to be present, embodied and empowered through practicing yoga.  Jody is the TCTSY Teacher Trainer for Alaska and Hawaii and a Supervisor for the 300-Hour TCTSY Certification program.

Jody facilitates Trauma Sensitive Yoga in small-group and private sessions at Blossom House Healing Arts and to community members in various programs in Fairbanks, Alaska. She is the founder and Executive Director of Blossom House, a nonprofit service organization providing accessible, trauma-informed interventions to incarcerated and in-custody communities. As a headquarters for healing, trauma stewardship, and community gatherings, Blossom House facilitates a collective of artists, teachers, and therapists who work to create access to wellness in order to cultivate a caring and just community.

Blossom House’s Yoga Service Project Alaska and Breadcrumbs Theatre Company currently offer weekly sessions for men and women at the Fairbanks Correctional Center, and for youth at the Fairbanks Youth Facility, and Family Centered Services Residential Treatment Center. Jody also offers Trauma Sensitive Yoga for clients of Turning Point Counseling.

Iyengar-based hatha, restorative, and vinyasa yoga styles add to Jody’s trauma-informed practice in other community classes at University of Alaska Fairbanks and Tanana Chiefs Conference facilities. Jody continues to develop her understanding of personal and community trauma through yoga and the arts.

Thursdays 7:00 – 8:00 am HST (9:00 am PST / 12:00 pm EST) 

Starting January 7, 2021

Sign up now!

This class integrates strengthening of the hips, shoulders, and core with myofascial stretching and ELDOA postures. It decompresses the joints and improves the health of the fascia, to provide the perfect combination of strengthening and stretching. The ELDOA practice particularly addresses issues with the back. You’ll see improvement in both your posture and your core strength well as in your overall movement capacity as you regularly attend this class.

Stacey Stone

At the core of Stacey’s teaching is the commitment to honor the body as an integrated whole, which must be moved accordingly, not as a collection of bits and pieces. 

Stacey loves helping people to move better and become injury resistant, to defy the aches and pains of aging. She finds great satisfaction in educating and motivating her students and clients to take responsibility for their own health and well-being, so they can live more fully and joyfully. Her unique approach to teaching movement stems from 20 years of education, training, and experience, where she has gained a deeper understanding of how the body’s interconnected parts work together. Stacey’s certifications and education includes: BA Psychology, Certified Personal Trainer, ELDOA Practitioner™, CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach- Level 1, CHEK Practitioner- Level 1, Certified Yoga Instructor, Buteyko Instructor- Level 1, Reiki Master.

Fridays 9:15 – 10:30 am HST (6:15 pm PST / 2:15 pm EST)

Started November, 2020

Sign up now!

Explore strength and freedom of movement in all ranges of motion. We’ll focus especially on the main articulations of the body: the shoulders and hips.

Develop your strength, stability, relaxation, and balance. This slow-paced, steady flow class enables students of all levels to engage in mindful movement. As you move through asana (posture) sequences, your teacher guides you through mindful body scanning to connect more deeply with your body, breath, and mind. 

Functional movement patterns and sequences bring you towards better balance, coordination, strength and flexibility. Consistently applying what you learn from these exercises will positively impact your quality of life and give you more resilience during daily activities. 

Your teacher helps you focus on the alignment and form that supports the body’s structure and its many internal systems. You can modify the practice level as needed to meet your personal needs.

Julien Gagnon 

Julien seeks to promote yoga for the development of positive human qualities.

With patience and respect, Julien transmits his passion for movement and yoga to his students, mindful of the founding principles of yoga that prioritize autonomy. He skillfully adapts his teaching to his different students’ needs.Julien is a teacher of great expertise, highly regarded in his field and appreciated for his methodical approach.

Julien teaches yoga at several renowned studios in Montréal, Canada. His original training being in professional dance, Julien feels a strong synergy between the two disciplines and can travel between the two with ease. Convinced that yoga leads to a deep understanding of the body and movement, he wishes to take yoga off the beaten path and introduce aspects of yoga to a variety of fields.

“For me, intelligent movement is about respecting our anatomical capacities to better achieve our potential. When we acquire and understand this knowledge, it can be applied to virtually any activity. In fact, I am convinced that the greatest performances are achieved through intelligent movement.”

An experienced teacher himself, Julien has taken the opportunity, over the last 20 years, to train with Ramanand Patel in Germany and to study with Judith Lasater, Patricia Walden and Manouso Manos, the 4 most experienced Occidental students of Master Iyengar. These master trainers profoundly influence his teaching. He was also selected to assist Richard Friedman as he led teacher trainings in Montreal.

In addition to studying with these leading teachers of yoga, Julien continues to seek out other movement specialists, such as osteopaths, physiotherapists and biomechanic specialists, including Joanna Abbatt, to augment his knowledge. He seeks to create a bridge between traditional yoga, anchored in its cultural heritage, and 21st century scientific practice. The symbiosis of these two combine to create what he considers is the truth, regarding postures, which he helps each student to find their own way into.

A pioneer of yoga for athletes in Quebec, Julien co-founded Asana Performance, a yoga school dedicated to athletes and based on a deep understanding of anatomy and biomechanics. He creates themed workshops and specific teacher trainings to integrate yoga into an athlete’s daily practice. 

Julien has traveled to Indian several times to study meditation with highly experienced teachers and seeks out those with decades of knowledge and practice to illuminate his personal path. He is currently finishing his Bachelor’s in Kinesiology.

Julien Gagnon

Founder

www.asanaperformance.ca