Shakti Yoga Studio

Group Location
286 Torbay Road
Coaker's Meadow Plaza

Contact Info
Bobby Bessey
(709) 722-YOGA (9642)
website: http://www.shaktiyogastudio.ca
email: info@shaktiyogastudio.ca

History

Origins of the group: Shakti Yoga was started here approximately 4 years ago by Bobby Bessey. Bobby decided to offer yoga classes after taking a few classes herself. She felt really balanced afterwards and so decided to teach yoga after studying yoga in Japan (filtered through Zen philosophy) and attending teacher's training in India for six months. She noticed the lack of yoga presence in St. John's and began to offer classes here. When she became pregnant, her classes evolved into prenatal and mom and baby yoga. She finds that the practice of yoga becomes relevant for whatever stage of life you are presently in.

Highlights of group's history: Bobby and her business partner Meaghan Hutchings are currently opening a larger yoga studio. The class began in a home studio that could accommodate approximately 10 students. Now, with the opening of Shakti Yoga Studio on Torbay Road, they can now accommodate 25-30 people.

Present Goals of the group: To expand the variety of yoga classes offered and to encourage others to make yoga a part of their lives.

Life in St. John's/in NL: On this subject Bobby says "You have to look for religious/cultural differences here in St. John's. It is a small city so everyone knows where everything is. However, there is not a lot of multi-cultural thinking. We are getting more and more immigration and as a result of this the schools are doing a good job promoting religious/cultural diversity. We are undergoing a gradual change that is starting with the children."

"For a small city with not much international travel, St. John's has a diverse selection of restaurants featuring different ethnic cuisines and there are a variety of multi-cultural fairs. Most importantly, the people here are genuinely interested. It is our hope that St. John's will make lots of multi-cultural progress in the next ten years due to the advancement of the global village."

Structure

Membership: Classes are open to the general public.

Leaders and contacts: The Shakti Yoga studio is run by Bobby Bessey and Meghan Hutchings. They can be contacted via the email and telephone number listed above.

Facilities: The new studio, located at 286 Torbay Road can accommodate 25-30 students. The previous location of the classes, a home studio, could only accommodate 10 students.

Activities

Information: The primary method to obtain information about Shakti Yoga Studio is through the website. There is also an informal e-mailing list. In the future, they hope to have pamphlets available as well.

Schedule of Events: Classes are held in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings. There are 2-4 classes offered on a daily basis, with the exception of Sundays when the studio is closed. There are several varieties of classes offered, such as classes for seniors, prenatal classes, mom and baby classes, and Hatha yoga. A complete schedule, including dates, times and class fees, can be found on the Shakti Yoga website listed above.