Faculty

Lisa Greenbaum

E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, YACEP + FOUNDER SYC

TORONTO, ON

Lisa has a strong passion for fitness, yoga and movement. She has worked with countless individuals, including her own personal practice, using Yoga based practices to release stored trauma from the body, finding ease from chronic pain and tension and a deeper connection to Self. Lisa spent 8 years as Director of an International Yoga School before setting out on her own with the mission to honour Yogic culture, and once again bring Yoga philosophy and meditation forward as an imperative part of our Yoga practice and teachings. She is an International presenter and author and has devoted her entire career to making a difference inside the Yoga and Wellness Industry. Winner of multiple awards including the Steve Block Vendor of the year for canfitpro in 2013 and Canadian presenter of the year in 2018. She’s been included in the top 100 health and fitness influencers in Canada from 2017-2021. A Global Ambassador for Women in Fitness Association, co-founder and mentor for the WIFA Writers Academy and sits on the editorial board for Optimyz magazine. You can find her articles on Yoga and mindfulness in canfitpro and Optimyz magazines.

Tracy Glennon

E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, YACEP

OTTAWA, ON

Tracy began her yoga journey in Ottawa over 25 years ago while seeking a softer side to movement to counter her athletic endeavors. She certified first as an Ashtanga instructor with David Swensen and studied Power yoga with Beryl Bender Birch. Not long after she discovered both Yin and Restorative yoga as a wonderful counter-balance to these practices. She has been teaching 200 & 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher Trainings for the last 8 years. Tracy is passionate about introducing yoga as a therapeutic tool to athletes as a team yoga instructor for professional football and soccer teams. Currently she provides in studio classes, one on one therapy and group sessions and works in the corporate community providing meditation and mindfulness workshops. As a Yoga Therapist her focus has been on working with clients with traumatic brain injuries from motor vehicle accidents as well as patients living with Parkinson’s, POTS, addictions and trauma. Tracy feels very fortunate to travel presenting at fitness/yoga conferences and retreats sharing her passion for yoga and teaching. The countless mentors, peers and students she has met make her heart sing! You can connect with her on Instagram @dropyoga.ca or @namaste.tracy for upcoming events or just to chat about all things yoga!

Tracy Jennings-Hill

E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, YACEP

ATLANTA, GA

Tracy found her yoga practice over 25 years ago, as a way to heal after her husband was killed while on active duty.  Her discovery came organically as she was searching for happiness without medications or stimulants.  Yoga helped her begin to rebuild her life, and as she was retiring from the US Air Force she continued to practice and eventually become certified to teach in 2001. Tracy spent many years as a Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and Studio Manager with Lifetime Athletic, moving on to opening her own studio – LiveURYoga in 2017. In addition she has spent 15 years as a Yoga Teacher Trainer, led Yoga retreats and trainings all over the world and is the Ayurveda Program Manager for Sattva Yoga Academy. Over the years her teaching, practice, and mentoring have transformed, due to her extensive travels to Rishikesh, India, the birth place of Yoga. Her focus, vision and mission is about providing a platform for transformation, empowerment, and growth meeting each person where they are but more importantly giving them the tools to flourish. Yoga can connect with her on Instagram @tracyofliveuryoga

Nicky Nock

STOUFFVILLE, ON

Teaching Yoga Since 2016

Current Designation – 200-hr RYT, canfitpro PRO Trainer PTS + CPR

Specialties – Yoga and sequencing.

Other Loves and Passions – My biggest passion is my own business, The Nock Academy, a Yoga and fitness studio based in Stouffville and online. I am proud to be a woman owned, small business. I also love going out for breakfast with my family then walking our local trails.

I practice Yoga to honour my body and mind. It gives me time to myself to reflect and pause. Being an entrepreneur, Mum, and just doing this thing called life can be hectic. Practicing self-care is something that I must do to show up being the best version of myself and set an example for my daughter.

Andrew Nickerson

OPERATIONS + STUDENT SERVICES

A versatile, loyal and trustworthy individual with a passion for customer service and building long standing client relationships. I have worked in client focused environments throughout my career, from retail management to the Yoga and fitness industry. I love being a part of your Yoga journeys, and helping you carve out the right path for you.

Yoga, specifically meditation, helps ground me. It helps me focus on the here and now, while helping me be more introspective.

Reach out to Andrew directly: [email protected]

Dr. Shyam Ranganathan

MA South Asian Studies, MA and PhD Philosophy

Dr. Shyam Ranganathan is a field-changing researcher, scholar, author, and teacher of philosophy, and an expert in the neglected traditions of Indian moral philosophy, which covers practical questions of how to live, what to aim for, and what we should value—including Yoga. Dr. Ranganathan is a trained scholar and researcher of philosophy and is author, editor and translator of over 50 peer reviewed, scholarly works. A specialist in translation, having written his PhD dissertation on the topic of how we can understand texts without projecting our beliefs onto them, Dr. Ranganathan translated Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra (Penguin 2008). After over 20000 teaching hours and 3000 students, in 2019, Dr. Ranganathan founded Yoga Philosophy (YACEP and CYA-RYSGOLD), a scholar practitioner initiative, to bring anti-colonial, anti-Eurocentric, research based knowledge about Yoga and Philosophy to practitioners. Shyam is a E-RYT-500 and CYA-RYT Gold. He is a member of the Department of Philosophy, and York Center for Asian Research, York University, Toronto. https://yogaphilosophy.com

Drew Hume

BSc Human Biology, Founder and Director, Navina Thai Yoga Therapy

Part of my work is aimed at educating people on human biology and the physical forms of Thai Massage and another, larger dream of mine is to ensure that as a culture, we become more touch-literate. 

I hope to dissolve the culturally ingrained habits that have been spread out of the fear of touch. Touch-aversion goes against our deepest biological needs and so it continues to take us further and further out of connection. I’m here to share education and teach skills in compassionate touch so that we can return to a far healthier state, and a far more interconnected community. https://navina.ca

Carolyn Ussher

BA, BSW, MSW, RSW, 200-hr YTT in progress

Carolyn is a Social Worker with over 30 years experience primarily in the child welfare sector as a senior leader, and more recently in the education sector.  She also works as a therapist at Aware Counselling and Therapy located in Uxbridge, Ontario.  Carolyn’s therapeutic and leadership approach is person centred, trauma informed, and is focused on anti-oppressive and identity affirming practices.  She is trained in a variety of evidence based, therapeutic approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Based Practices, Body-Oriented Trauma Counselling, and Motivational Interviewing. The importance of movement based practices and the mind-body connection is also central to the work that Carolyn promotes; yoga and the benefits it offers are yet another way to support people in their journey to wellness.