yoga with ruth
The real miracle of life is not to walk on water or thin air but to walk on this earth.
– Thich Nhat Hanh
When we open our eyes and see everything as an opportunity to explore and to learn, nothing becomes insignificant in its ability to teach us and to grow us – Deborah Adele – from “The Yamas & Niyamas – Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice”
Hi, I’m Ruth
it’s time for you
Why do I do yoga? To learn to be at home in my body and at play in my world. I share what I learn with like-minded clients.
Are you ready to carve out time in your week for yourself? Yoga offers many benefits, beginning with learning to feel better in your body by exploring and enhancing your mobility, strength, balance and endurance.
Feeling better in your body is a great start. However, Yoga is more than physical exercise. It is a transformative process that soothes body, mind and emotional tensions, ultimately bringing you to a deeper level of relaxation, awareness and self care. From there, you can make better choices about how you want to spend your time, tapping fully into your strengths, values and aspirations.
I hope you’ll discover that regular yoga practice offers tools and techniques to help you feel at home in your body – the only home you live in 24-7. In turn, life off the mat might feel more like play, as you are able to cope better with internal and external stressors and cultivate an attitude of gratitude and contentment.
building a regular yoga practice – not so easy!
I have been a student of yoga and mindfulness sporadically since my 20s. Although my interest endured over many years, the long stretches of time in between bursts of enthusiasm indicate that my ability to build a disciplined practice was somewhat less robust – though perhaps understandable given a crazy demanding professional life! I therefore understand from my own experience how challenging it can be to build in a regular yoga routine while managing work and family commitments, regardless of passion, interest or need.
In the mid-90s, I took up mindfulness meditation more actively, participating in several Vipasana meditation weekend retreats that gave me a better foundation to support my home practice. Though my “sitting in stillness” continued to be somewhat sporadic, I came to understand that “mindfulness” wasn’t just something you did on the mat, but something you could bring into your everyday existence, moment to moment.
I began yoga teacher training in 2009 to complement CycleFit classes that I instructed at the University of Toronto Scarborough, then taught brief yoga stretching routines following cycling classes for a few years. During the decade from 2010 to present, I engaged more actively in mindfulness and yoga, both professionally and personally.
I can finally say that I have a regular yoga practice!
how am I qualified to support you?
I offer private, semi-private and small group yoga instruction for individuals who would like to move their bodies, deepen their yoga practice, achieve greater self awareness and find peace of mind in today’s turbulent world. I teach with or without a side of career counselling.
For the last 4 years since taking early retirement as a Career Counsellor from the University of Toronto, I’ve had an active yoga practice. I completed my 200-hour classical yoga teacher training certification with Move from Within out of Port Hope, Ontario in 2020. Then, in June 2022, I completed my 300-hour training with Heart & Bones Yoga out of Comox, BC. While at the university from 2011 to 2018, I supported the creation and delivery of a strengths-based resilience program for young adults that incorporates mindfulness. I also completed through the School of Social Work at the University of Toronto a 6-course Certificate in Foundations of Applied Mindfulness Meditation in 2018.
Professionally, I have many years’ experience in business consulting as well as teaching and coaching individuals on their education and career decisions. Among other educational pursuits, I completed a Master of Education (2012) at the University of Toronto to improve my ability to counsel and coach clients as well as develop quality educational programming. As a result, the strengths I bring to my yoga teaching are first and foremost from the perspective of an educator and coach. This means that I take my lead from clients who set personal learning goals and clarify their unique coaching needs. I then work with them in partnership to make their goals a priority and take action on them.
RELEVANT TRAINING & MEMBERSHIP
- Current Member (CYA-RYT500) of the Canadian Yoga Alliance
- 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training with Heart & Bones Yoga (completed June 2022)
- 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Classical Yoga through MOVE from within by Tracey McDonald and (completed November 2020)
- 14-hour Fast Track Yoga Teacher Training – Module 1 through Maureen Rae’s Yoga Studio (October 2008)
- Certificate in Foundations of Applied Mindfulness Meditation, School of Social Work/Continuing Education, University of Toronto (2018)
EDUCATION
- Master in Education, Career & Work Counselling focus, University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
- Master in Environmental Studies, Quality of Work Life focus, York University
- Honours Bachelor of Arts, French Linguistics, Laval University
yoga & mindfulness fees
HOURLY RATES (Private & Semi-Private)
My fees for yoga and mindfulness teaching through Zoom are:
$40 hourly for private lessons
$60 hourly for semi-private lessons
If you prefer in-person coaching at your location, fees will be adjusted in relation to travel distance and time.
SMALL GROUPS (3 to 10 participants)
If you have a safe space, I can lead your group in a 1-hour face-to-face regular yoga class. Alternatively, we can schedule a regular group class through Zoom.
Fees vary according to location, number of participants, class duration, number of classes and nature of group goals.
Contact me to discuss your need.
15-WEEK RESILIENCE BUILDING (Private or Groups of 4)
I offer a Strengths-Based Resilience program, either privately or to small groups of 4 people. The program is tailored to address an individual or group’s specific life challenges and can serve as a means to explore their yoga practice more deeply.
Program fees:
$1,000 per person
Program overview
Foundations of Resilience
W1. Program Fundamentals – Mindfulness, gratitude and self care
W2. Resilience
W3. Mindset – fixed & growth mindset
W4. Mindset – cognitive accuracy and flexibility
Self awareness, esteem & efficacy
W5. Character strengths
W6. Signature strengths
W7. Personality, Interests & Values – Assessments
W8. Applying assessment information from a developmental perspective
Applications of resilience
W9. Grudge & gratitude
W10. Empathy
W11. Slowness & savouring
W12. Positive relationships
W13. Effective altruism
W14. Meaning & purpose
Closure
W15. Looking forward to your future
contact ruth
LOCATION
Serving the GTA
and beyond
BOOK A FREE CONSULT
Make an appointment to chat with Ruth for a half hour free
ruth@ruthlouden.com
