ABOUT LISA SCHWARTZ

Lisa Schwartz is an advanced yoga practitioner who has studied and taught for over thirty years and trained with two of the world's great contemporary figures in yoga: B.K.S Iyengar in India and Vanda Scaravelli of Italy.

Like many, Lisa began her study with books and was inspired to take up serious practice after reading Iyengar's modern classic, "Light on Yoga", in the early seventies. His writings presented a challenge which she was drawn to experience from him in person. This led to many trips and several years of concentrated study directly under Iyengar at his institute in India from the mid-seventies until the present. She credits Iyengar with imparting a unique teaching approach that "thinks on its feet" and adapts dynamically to the needs of students. This approach also works very well with children, a particular love and specialty of Lisa's and the subject of a new book she is working on. Her work in India culminated in a period of study and teaching with the Tibetan community in Dharmsala, with western students and monks, again adapting the Yoga discipline to their specific needs.

More recently, Lisa has worked with the well known European teacher and author of "Awakening the spine". Vanda Scaravelli, with whom she achieved a new level of awareness, an appreciation of the importance of movement and breath and an emphasis on simplicity that her teaching is now known for. Lisa has been featured on a number of local and national television programs and has hosted her own public television series based on her work. She has been teaching yoga and adapting her work with Iyengar and Scaravelli to suit the needs of western students in Canada, starting in St. John's, Newfoundland and Toronto since 1984. Central to Lisa's work is that aspect of yoga which helps us roll with daily life and engenders a gentle, loving spirit capable of seeing the humour in the demanding practicalities which life presents to all of us.