IRENE BOBOCEL
Something happens when we practice yoga. Whether we are in a room, in a field, on a beach, on a mountain.... something shakes us and brings us to the understanding that yoga feels like 'home'. As my practice deepened, I certified in Level 1 and 2 Baptiste Power Yoga and Art of Assisting ( June 2015) I softened the edges with Yin training, Sattva Kids yoga and as many workshops and festivals that I can sink into. I am also AFLCA certified and instruct many forms of fitness. I encourage you to take your practice to another level on and off the mat. Be brave. Be bold. Create Space and see that yoga is already in you.
CHRISTINA MOHR
I started yoga back in university after leaving competitive sports. I will never forget my first class and how a posture as simple as child's pose gave me relief from chronic pain I was experiencing. I practiced for many years gaining back mobility and freedom from pain. I decided that I wanted to help others to heal as well and decided to take my 200hr training with YogaWorks. After I started teaching I realized I wanted to take a step further and took my 500hr training in Yoga therapy. Using breath work, Thai massage, Asana, Ayurveda, and meditation to weave an individual practice to wellness. Yoga is just not an hour on the mat everyday, I am here to offer tools to extend your practice to your life.
ALYSSA RETZLAFF
Alyssa started practicing yoga to compliment her training as a technical dancer. After 17 years, she retired from that sport and yoga became her vice. Our bodies crave movement, and yoga is a great way to work into those dark corners of the body. Along the way she found that yoga practice is so much more than just the postures. Yoga is every inch of who we are as we live and breathe. It’s the calm, serene, clear minded moments. Yoga is energy and fiery passion. Yoga is grace.
Through love of healing the human body Alyssa became a 2200hr Registered Massage Therapist in 2015 and a 200hr Yoga Instructor with Empowered Yoga in December 2016. The self care of others has become her passion and the sole purpose of her being.
The practice prepares you for life off the mat which is why I believe that yoga should be accessible to all. Through modifications and variations, my classes will always be a safe space for all levels and all ages to practice, play, cultivate self love and to just be. My mission is to empower you though self care and delicious body work, creating the necessary platform for healing, growth, and transformation.
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KRYSTAL PROUT
Initially Krystal pursued yoga as a physical practice but as she continued on her path she realized that practicing yoga had become so much more. It was her teacher’s subtle messages and quiet whisperings of the spiritual side of yoga and then the healing and inner strength she began to feel within herself that called her back over and over again. Yoga felt like home. Her heart had found its passion.
It was about two years into her yoga journey that people began to ask her if she was an instructor. She took that question as a tap on the shoulder from the Universe as to what the next step in her journey was. She completed my 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training through Yogalife Studios in April of 2018 and began teaching in Studio in October of 2018. She loves teaching Vinyasa flow. Though she will continue to learn and train as an instructor, she will always be a student of the practice.
She is grateful for the strong foundation in which that training provided, and the beautiful group of souls who took that journey with her.
She is passionate about sharing her love of Yoga and teaches with an authentic and fun approach. She is extremely dedicated to creating a nurturing and safe environment for students to support inward focus and exploration of the body, mind and spirit for yogis of all levels.
NICOLE OORT
BRAYANNA RETZLAFF
My yoga journey began like many others. I started attending hot yoga classes about 8 years ago mainly as a workout. As a previous dancer, I felt as though the poses and alignment was something that came natural. It wasn’t until I began a dedicated yoga practice that I realized that yoga is so much more than just the postures. I began to really understand everything that a yoga had to offer physically, mentally and emotionally. I fell in love with how personal a yoga practice can be. Instead of solely being lead by my ego, I lead my yoga practice by listening to what my body needs each day which varies so much. I have always felt a love caring for others which lead me into a career of nursing. Although I love my job, the long hours and shift work can be extremely mentally and physically draining. I needed something else to keep me grounded, which lead me to taking my 200 hr yoga teacher training with Empowered Yoga in the fall of 2016. My goal as an instructor is to guide you through a practice that allows you to play on you mat and step to your edge while still listening to your body. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my love of this practice with the Pure Yoga community!
IAN MACTAVISH
Ian’s yoga journey began back in 2015 shortly after pure yoga started. After getting his butt totally kicked in one of Irene Bobocels hot flow classes a light bulb went off. Shortly after he completed his first 200 hour Teacher Training @Yogalife studios in YEG 2016, then continued on to complete a 500 Hour Training in Ecuador @ Durgas Tiger School of Yoga, Tantra & Shamanism 2017 and another 200 hour training @World Peace Yoga School in Rishikesh, India 2018. He’s continued on after doing modules through Empowered Yoga including: yin level 1, applied biomechanics, the art of sequencing, anatomy of flow, trauma informed yoga, and somatic experiencing level 1. In 2019 he began a two year program with the contemplative psychotherapist Dr. Miles Neales that features a deep dive into Tibetan Buddhism and modern trauma theory and finishes in 2021. He is a voracious learner, and deep believer in what yoga can offer. Through his journey he’s overcome chronic hip pain that ended his martial arts career, and major depressive disorder. Currently he teaches part time at pure while working full time as a power engineer and is completing his undergrad in psychology through Athabasca University. His classes are known to be heavy in alignment and work in concert with modern yoga theory & biomechanics . He tries to keep his classes upbeat, challenging and fun! If you don’t see him on the schedule you’ll probably run into him in a hot flow sometime soon. His driving mantra is “Discipline is freedom & Community is freedom. Both discipline and community support and inform one another. We train hard, and do our work so we can become contributing members of society and simultaneously reap the benefits of the support and connection we all need and crave. Yoga is this: the union of personal responsibility and honoring the principles of interconnectivity and interbeing”
KAYLA PREVILLE
Yoga is not just a work-out; it is a work-in.
I've spent the last six years on my yoga journey. First, it was a way to make time for myself and recover from being a fierce mother of three. Then it became something that brought me down when I was feeling overwhelmed and filled me up when I was feeling defeated. After that, it became a way for me to learn about myself in ways I didn't even know I was capable of.
Becoming a certified Ashtanga yoga teacher began a chapter of my life that has brought the most joy, authenticity and love to not only myself but the people I love most. Since becoming certified, my passion has been to give these same gifts to anybody and every body that wishes to receive them.
I look forward to leading you through practice, whatever your reason for showing up on your mat.
Come and unleash your fire!
CHARLENE SMITH
MELANIE GIGGS
Power yoga is my jam!! I started a power practice after hurting my knee and I could not be happier. I practiced ashtanga for 8 years before my shift to hot yoga and within months I signed up for teacher training. Off I went to Sedona Az for an intense empowering week of Baptiste Power Yoga teacher training. Level 1 and Level 2, Art of Assisting and Advanced Art of Assisting all completed through Baptiste. Baron is my teacher but Paige Elenson is my mentor, she and Baron co-created the Africa Yoga Project and I was so amazed by the work this community did I knew I had to be a part of it. April 2017 I jetted off to Nairobi, Kenya to be on the Assisting team for their 200 hour teacher training and I was changed forever. AYP empowers marginalized youth in and around Africa changing lives one breath at a time.
My son, husband and two chihuahuas are my life, yoga is my passion. I love to be of service and share this wonderful practice of yoga.
Meghan Gillis
My yoga journey began in 2016 when I attended a hot yin class at a local studio. I had been dealing with postpartum depression and immediately felt a shift in my soul after that first yin class. I knew that yoga was something I needed in my life to support my mental health. As time went on, I continued to attend more and more classes and workshops. Starting with yin and then adding beginner flow, warm flow, hot flow and inversion workshops. In 2021 I decided I wanted to dig even deeper. I signed up for my 200 hour yoga teacher's training in Edmonton. I completed that session in July
2022. I am no stranger to pushing my physical body, as a national level swimmer in my younger years- I enjoy pushing myself physically with yoga, but more importantly, I feel it is so beneficial for mental health and I love sharing that experience with my students. When I'm not doing hot flow, I'm spending time with my husband John, my three kids Ella, Hanna and Johnny, and my orange cat, Fritz.
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