Natassa Gelinas

coach

Born in Canada but a world traveler for the last 9 years... I never thought I would be a yogi. But then the universe had other plans. I randomly volunteered in a yoga retreat in Portugal while backpacking Europe and as the classes were free I thought... why not. 8 years later I am obsessed with yoga. And NOT yoga as we know it in "the West". I went to India and I lived there for 3.5 years. I studied yoga from some of the best teachers and some of the most renowned places such as Rishikesh and Mysore. But the thing that got me the most is how most people think yoga is asana. Asana is amazing, one of the 8 limbs... but it's not Yoga. As a Gemini, I am very much an intellectual being and I was astonished by the knowledge Yoga has to offer OUTSIDE of asana. Yoga philosophy has been a great tool in my life to relieve myself of suffering. And then went on to study Neuro Linguistic Programming. This has been a huge eye-opener as it shares the same basic principles as yoga does but it is codified in a much more "scientific" way. I also expanded my love for mental awareness with Buddhist meditation learning from silent meditation and monks both in Vipassana and in Tushita (in India). I also went to India and started yoga for 1 main reason. I want to heal. I wanted, actually needed, to heal the pain from my childhood. I was orphaned twice and grew up in foster care. I was abused, rejected and abandoned. Needless to say trauma was my middle name! And I wanted to heal my IBS. At 23 I was diagnosed and was told it is "chronic". So I also learned Ayurveda! An essential!