Swaha

RON REID



Ron Reid has been practicing Yoga for over 30 years and teaching since 1988. He is co-owner and Director of the Downward Dog Yoga Centre in Toronto, Canada (www.downwarddog.com)

Ron has studied with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath both in India and North America and was one of the first Canadian teachers to be authorized by Pattabhi Jois. In addition to regular classes at Downward Dog, he conducts workshops and teacher trainings in Canada, the U.S., Europe, the U.K. And Asia, and is becoming a familiar face at various conferences around the world.

Ron is one of Canada’s top teachers, approaching teaching in an inspired, informed and non-dogmatic way. He places the needs of the students ahead of the demands of the practice. While continuing to teach and practice the ashtanga vinyasa system as a foundation, he endeavors to blend tradition with innovation, and to balance precision with grace. Students will find his refined approach to practice both challenging and rewarding.

Ron is also an accomplished musician and composer and performs with his partner Marla Meenakshi Joy under their group name “Swaha” (www.swaha.ca)


MARLA MEENAKSHI JOY


Meenakshi (Marla Joy) first traveled to India in 1988 to study meditation and the philosophy of the Vedas with Swami Shyam, as well as other learned scholars in the Himalayas. She is a Certified Meditation and Yoga Philosophy teacher from the International Meditation Institute in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, Himalayas.

She currently teaches Ashtanga Yoga, Swaha Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Yogadance, Meditation, Yoga philosophy, Sanskrit, and Chanting privately and in yoga studios in Canada, the U.S. The UK, Europe and Asia. She has been teaching Sanskrit and yoga philosophy in Teacher Training courses since 1999, in Toronto and abroad.

She has been a practicing Shiatsu Therapist since 1993, and has a healing and informative touch. She also leads Kirtan (call-and-response chanting) with her band SWAHA, with inspired musical compositions with her partner/keyboardist, Ron Reid. She has produced three CD’s of Sanskrit chanting Prayer’s, Salutations, and Vishnu’s Dream, as well as their newest release entitled “Bolo”.