ABOUT

Hello Dear Ones,

My name is Stephanie, though some of you may know me as Tipsy Yogi. I am a fun-loving yogi with a passion for connecting with others.  Movement has always been a pillar of my life. It is a form of play, fun, self-expression, therapy, and medicine. Those elements have found their way into my teaching philosophy that you will experience with me.

As someone who is naturally more bendy, yoga seemed like an obvious choice for me. However, it wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I found my love for yoga. I attended my first official yoga class while in graduate school, and this wasn’t just any yoga class. No dear ones, this was a hot yoga Moksha Flow class. I will never forget this day. I walked into the room and immediately felt my skin grow dewy. I looked around the room, past the sea of 40+ bodies, to find an open space at the back. I unrolled my mat and landed. The experience was beautiful, vulnerable, awkward (keep in mind the room is 90+ degrees)… and somehow, I felt at home. I quickly developed a regular practice, attending 3-6 classes a week. I learnt more about myself in the first year of practicing yoga than I ever expected. It became very clear to me that I was being called to do this on a deep level. Upon completing my master’s degree in Human Kinetics, I enrolled in my 200-h Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, and the rest is history!

As a registered Kinesiologist,  I infuse my practice with thoughtful sequencing to assist you in and out of postures. My education, paired with my passion, shines through in my classes to provide a supportive environment for all bodies. 

In my early teaching career, I quickly realized that yoga was a powerful vehicle to hold space for many people who are working through much more than just asana or the physical postures. For me, yoga has become more about creating community, about creating opportunities for others to carve out time from the hustle and bustle of daily life and land on their mat.

BREATHE & BALANCE

It has been a long-time dream of mine to build a yoga business where all feel welcome. Breath and Balance Yoga classes hold space for you to show up as you are. I have always lived by the philosophy that anyone can practise yoga and gain positive benefits from it. Simply put — yoga is for everybody. 

My teaching style is rooted in self-expression and connection. It is about trusting your intuition and letting your body and mind guide you through your practice. I find myself leaning on my academic background in human behaviour and behaviour change and my knowledge of kinesiology in my teaching style — blending elements of mindfulness and movement through a sequence of pauses that encourage us to breathe deeply and connect. Thanks to my Kinesiology degree, I incorporate my knowledge of human movement to thoughtfully sequence my classes to safely help you move through postures, allowing both beginners and seasoned yogis to find comfortable options.

I am deeply passionate about all of the ways yoga and meditation can influence your life. They are powerful tools to help us see that we are in a constant state of change, always learning how to recalibrate so that we can live in balance. I do my best to show up authentically and vulnerably so that you feel safe to do the same. I teach from the heart, with the sole aim of encouraging others to fully love themselves as they are each day, connect with the present moment, and breathe deeply. 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Balance

For me, balance is a way of life. We are in a constant state of flux, riding along to life’s ebbs and flows daily. When we can connect to our authentic selves, we can find balance. This process requires us to come off autopilot and to feel inward, to feel a sense of peace and sense of home in our bodies and mind. Finding balance means showing up each day with an open mind and heart, and a readiness to connect.

Breath

Take a deep breath in right now. Notice the wave of calm that washes over you. Breathing deeply allows us to ground ourselves in the present moment. It allows us a moment to pause and reconnect with ourselves. Our breath is essential to daily life, but beyond that, it can serve as a tool to help us find ourselves along the way.

Community

Yoga has a magical way of bringing people together. It has a way of deepening our connection not just with ourselves but with others. Nothing gives me more joy than having people come together to move and breathe as one. What is even more amazing is how many local venues and spaces we have in the Bay of Quinte to connect and hold space as a community.

Empowerement

 Everyone starts from where they are, and each person has the capacity to learn and grow in a way that is best suited to them. Yoga provides the perfect platform for this self-work. My goal is to assist others in connecting with their inner light so they can shine a little brighter.