Click the links below to read the instructor bios.
studio owner and director
Jennifer is the owner and director of Moksha Yoga Danforth. Originally an actor and dancer, Jennifer started practicing yoga at age 16. However, it wasn't until 2005 that she knew she wanted to teach and share this incredible practice. Along the way she worked in theatre, film, and event production and spent time living overseas and traveling, Now she has truly come home to her role as teacher and director of this fantastic space. When not at the studio Jennifer can be found teaching and coaching communication skills in the corporate world. Always with a little breathing and yoga thrown in!
Jennifer believes in not just the physical benefits of yoga, but in the deep, loving spiritual tradition of the practice. She teaches from the heart, and strives to create a class atmosphere where everyone is welcome and leaves feeling inspired.
She feels lucky to have been able to study with some wonderful teachers along the way, including Todd Norian, Ann Greene, John Friend, Judith Lasater, Frank Jude Boccio, and Mark Whitwell. And of course the founders of Moksha Yoga, Ted Grand and Jessica Robertson!
In addition to Moksha, Jennifer teaches Yin, Restorative and pre-natal yoga. Jennifer is a registered Anusara-Inspired yoga teacher, and is currently studying to become an Ayurvedic Health Educator. She also practices Thai Yoga Massage.
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studio manager
Kelly is most likely one of the first people you will see as you enter the studio on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Her official position is studio manager but she is also a Moksha student and has been practicing for 4 years now. The strong, kind-hearted community and true love of yoga at this studio is what inspired her to pursue the role of manager here. Her background is in community health and wellness, and she loves the idea of community building and development. She is inspired by connecting with people and learning about what they are up to in life.
Kelly is also now a Moksha Yoga teacher! Look for her classes on the regular schedule now.
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teacher
Celeste was originally introduced to yoga when her mother started teaching and practicing in the early
90’s. It wasn’t until Celeste graduated from university that she would rediscover the practice
and embark on this life changing journey. Celeste studied drama in school, so she loves expressing herself
creatively, thrives off public energy and really digs when people get in a room and share something powerful
together. Celeste’s second home is this studio. She loves the role of teacher, because it lets her
watch students grow, expand and blossom through their practice…it
also gives her a venue to show off her freakish talent for remembering names. When Celeste is not teaching,
she can probably be found teaching a first aid class, playing her guitar, busy studying up on some Traditional
Yoga Studies through YREC, or reading a really great book.
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 Founder of Moksha Yoga, Teacher
Ted Grand created the Moksha yoga sequence of postures. In creating the series he drew upon his thirteen years of yoga experience and more than one thousand hours of training in yoga therapy, yoga teaching, and traditional yoga. Approaching this task with patience and tireless research, he modified and perfected the sequence based on the opinions of a wide range of experts and peers in the yoga community. Ted is co-owner of Moksha Yoga Montreal and Moksha Yoga Halifax and is co-founder of Yaletown Yoga in Vancouver, Moksha Yoga Uptown and Moksha Yoga Danforth in Toronto. He has studied teacher training programs under Bikram Choudhury in Los Angeles, Acharya Yoganand Karandikar in Pune, India and with Georg Feuerstein at the Yoga Research and Education Centre in San Francisco.
He has also been fortunate to study teacher training with Janice Clarfield (pre-natal yoga), yoga philosophy with Rod Stryker, Anusara Yoga with John Friend, Iyengar Yoga with Patricia Walden, and Restorative Yoga with Judith Hanson Lasater. Ted feels an immense amount of gratitude to his teachers with every class he teaches and participates in. He works to support beginners as well as more experienced students with finding a path to peace through their yoga. His love of yoga is infectious and can be felt in each and every class he teaches. Ted is also a proud husband and father, an organic farmer, and an environmental/social activist.
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Founder of Moksha Yoga, Teacher
Jessica is a teacher at heart. She has taught everything from flute and recorder to canoeing. After completing a degree in Humanistic Studies at McGill she lived in Panama conducting workshops on Inclusive Education and human rights for people with disabilities. She then taught English at Tokyo Seitoku University in Japan and privately in Salamanca, Spain.
Jessica has had a longstanding interest in yoga and has been honoured to practice under the tutelage of teachings of Baba Hari Das for many years.
Jessica is a certified Bikram Yoga Instructor and a Sivananda Yoga Instructor. She is devoted to and passionate about ongoing study.
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Teacher
Michelle began her yoga journey when her first class, led by Ted Grand – founder of Moksha Yoga, left her feeling both exhausted and exhilarated. Her practice took on a greater significance when she realized the changes on the mat were reflected by changes off the mat. Since becoming a teacher, Michelle has realized that her students have provided her with as much insight as she hopes to pass onto them, and for this she is profoundly grateful to her students for allowing her to become a part of their burgeoning journeys.
Michelle practices yoga because it allows reflection and expression of joy and it is through yoga that the recognition of her spirituality has grown.
Michelle is a senior instructor with over six years of hot yoga teaching experience, originally Bikram and then Moksha, as well as continuing development which has gained her Anusara-Inspired status. Michelle is grateful to her many teachers that have led the way.
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Teacher
Stephanie has been a hairstylist for the past thirty years, using cardio and weight training to keep fit. She then added yoga to her routine over six years ago to bring a sense of balance to her life. Enjoying yoga and all of its benefits, she sought different forms of yoga until some friends introduced her to hot yoga. She began a daily practice, and after finding better health and improved posture, she decided to train as a teacher. Stephanie trained under Bikram and his senior teachers in Los Angeles and received her certificate in November of 2003. She is dedicated to yoga and intends to continue studying so that she can bring a wealth of knowledge to her class and share this with fellow yoga practitioners.
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Teacher
Daniel tried his first hot yoga class in 2003 and could not believe how great he felt. There's nothing like standing in a room full of strangers, wearing practically nothing, sweating like a pig and making funny breathing sounds in front of a full-length wall mirror! It just makes you feel good about yourself! Daniel began pushing himself to see how far he could go and learned as much as he could about yoga and most importantly, himself. Becoming a Moksha Yoga Teacher was a natural extension of this process for him.
Daniel teaches as he lives: openly, honestly and willing to change and grow into something more. He takes that same perseverance and enthusiasm into the practice room. He encourages his students to challenge themselves and their perceptions of where they are and where they can be.
"With God's help today, I do not require the attention and approval of others, in order
to be at peace with myself."
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Teacher
Peter credits his consistent yoga practice with saving his life and is deeply grateful to all his teachers and the Moksha community for their encouragement and support. It is with the most enthusiasm that he shares the transformational power of yoga.
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Teacher
“Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.” ~Buddha
Kosu has been teaching Moksha Yoga since 2004, and Yin Yoga since 2006. The recipient of the “Quiet Buddha” award from her Moksha training, Kosu integrates the practices of mindfulness and loving kindness into all aspects of her yoga practice. During the week, Kosu also works as a multifaith chaplain at a chronic care hospital. In her off hours, she watches documentaries and plays cribbage with her partner, Mel, and 12-year-old daughter, Cleo. She is a recent breast cancer survivor.
Teaching mentors include: Ted Grand, Jessica Robertson, Erich Shiffman, Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers and Michael Stone.
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 Teacher
A member of the Moksha Yoga Danforth community since September of 2002, Jessica Lemon has been balancing life as a student and a teacher since receiving her Moksha Yoga certification in 2004. She studies at the University of Toronto and last year completed a year abroad in France where she studied French literature and taught both Yoga and English in the North Western region of Nantes.
Love of travel and self-discovery first led Jessica to hot yoga at the age of 18 when she moved to Vancouver to pursue acting. Since then, she has lived and worked in Montreal, Toronto, and London Ontario using her enthusiasm and talent for communication to inspire both French and English communities to explore methods of healing and health through yoga.
It is Jessica’s goal as a teacher and student to integrate the desire for growth and evolution with love and compassion. She believes it is through this balance that we will heal the world.
An understanding heart (is) everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl Jung
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Teacher
Following more than two decades in varying corporate administrative positions within the winemaking industry, Danny's growing penchant for wellness and physical conditioning eventually lead him to pursue a career in health and fitness. Shortly before attaining certifications in fitness assessment and personal training, Danny was introduced to yoga while traveling abroad on the island of Kauai. This initial introduction to Hatha yoga piqued Danny's interest. However, it wasn't until shortly afterwards, upon his return to Canada, while attending his first Hot Yoga class that Danny experienced a truly cathartic revelation. From the outset, it was clearly evident that the awareness and inter-connectivity that yoga cultivates was an ideal complement to the rigors of conventional fitness.
In the summer of 2004, Danny registered and subsequently graduated from the inaugural Moksha Teacher Training certification program consisting of over 800 hours of study. Danny has since studied with many highly accredited teachers including David Life, Paul Grilley, Judith Lasater, Baron Baptiste and John Friend. Danny's love and passion for yoga grows with every passing day. Danny credits his teachers, students and family for helping him to attain a greater understanding and appreciation of connection, compassion and awareness.
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Teacher
Barbara attended her first yoga class at the age of 3; she’s been hooked ever since. Taking her first hot yoga class in 2003, she found herself simultaneously challenged and comforted by the heat, the environmental awareness, and the knowledge and expertise of the teachers that infuses the Moksha Yoga Danforth studio. This led her to take the teacher training in the summer of 2006. Extremely grateful to join the MYD team, Barbara is continually amazed at
the power of yoga to transform people’s lives. Barbara is also a professional dance artist, she dances, choreographs, improvises co-creates short dance films and has been a member of Dancetheatre David Earle since 1997. She has also trained in alternative dance techniques including Skinner Releasing Technique and Authentic Movement.
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Teacher
Jonny Belinko has his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Environmental Sciences (Trent University) and has been studying yoga for the past number of years quite intensively. He spent most of 2005 and 2006 in Taiwan at Space Yoga Studio where he teaught and studied yoga full-time. Jonny is a Certificated Moksha Yoga Teacher (2005) and has a Certificate of completion in Ashtanga Yoga teacher’s training program from David Swenson (2006). Jonny is a creative, energetic, enthusiastic, highly motivated individual who loves laughing and having fun. He enjoys teaching with a lot of Energy and tries to be very aware and conscious of his own energy. Jonny feels strongly connected to the word "Balance", which carries him throughout his Asana practice, his teaching, as well as his day-to-day life. While he finds a great deal of pleasure in living a balanced lifestyle, he savors enjoyment in simply walking and spending time by the ocean.
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Teacher
Aura was first introduced to Ashtanga yoga in 1996. It was part of her movement class in the theatre and dance program where she received her Bachelor in Fine Arts. Her love for hot yoga started with Bikram, introduced to her in 2002, which then led her to Moksha and she’s been hooked ever since. Aura carries lightheartedness in her teachings but at the same time challenges each individual to go to their edge. Her training in dance and physical theatre supports her teachings by honing in to proper alignment and use of breath. She has an eye and the touch to support a posture whether it’s for an advance student or your very first class!
Teacher
 Michelle Doyle is an entrepreneur, athlete, world traveller, writer and soul searcher.
After travelling to over 20 countries, Michelle completed her education in International Business and Marketing in Budapest, Hungary. A few years later she was the National Manager of Marketing and Branding for a multi-million dollar corporation. Her transition to becoming a yoga teacher started the day she randomly decided to fulfill a decade long dream of visiting India. Yoga completely transformed her life physically and professionally. She loves to use her experience, both on and off the yoga mat, as a base to teach and guide others on their own yogic journeys.
Michelle takes an enthusiastic, motivational approach to teaching and believes that there’s no limit to what you can learn through your yoga practice. She has had the honour of learning from some amazing teachers in India, as well as here in Canada: Amma, Ted Grand, Jessica Robertson, Wade Imre Morissette, Francesco Jaya, Frank Jude Boccio, Michael Stone, Jeanine Woodall and Jennifer Taillefer just to name a few…and the list is continuously growing!
“As a teacher, the words of a wise yogi I met in India (who had been teaching for over 50 years) constantly replay in my mind. He said that the minute he stopped being a student, he was no longer qualified to teach. Thus, I am on a continuous journey to learn and experience as much as I can. The more I learn, the more I can share with my students.”
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