200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Faculty
Michele Barnes - Director, 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training
E-RYT500; YACEP
Michele is a certified yoga teacher registered with Yoga Alliance. She has received over 1000 hours in additional training in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Kripalu YogaDance, Pre/Postnatal Yoga; Restorative Yoga and Yoga for Seniors.
Michele has been practicing yoga since 1999 and teaching yoga and meditation since 2003. She began assisting in the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) in 2004 at the previous Lotus Centre for Yoga & Health studio in London, Ontario and became the Director of Yoga at The Lotus Centre in June 2008. She continues to offer 200 Hour YTT in partnership with Benders Yoga in London, Ontario.
Michele’s passion is about living authentically and honouring the innate design and mechanics of the human body. She invites students and teachers alike to recognize what yoga postures and practices support this design, how to practice them safely and to avoid poses that may cause harm. Above all, Michele is passionate about empowering women to embrace their innate value and inner authority and helping people of all genders to create harmony and balance, both within and without.
Leslie Heisz - Anatomy and Meditation
RYT500
In Leslie's life BY (Before Yoga), she was a self-professed gym rat and avid runner. However, those two things didn’t seem to help with her chronic stress, anxiety and depression. When her doctor suggested yoga, it didn’t take too long for her to realize that this was going to become a major part of her life! Leslie took her initial 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2009-10 and launched Benders Yoga not quite two years later. She completed her 500 Hour certification with Deva Tree in 2020.
Leslie's general philosophy has always been “yoga for all”. Coupled with her love of anatomy she is passionate about helping others understand how bodies work and how to best teach different bodies, to truly make yoga accessible for all.
More recently, Leslie has come to understand the incredible power of meditation. She was never one to be able to sit still very long (even now – if she's sitting, she's knitting). Her meditation practice was born out of necessity, helping her through periods of pain and disability and alleviating many of her health issues. Her yoga journey continues. She looks forward to sharing yours.
RYT500
In Leslie's life BY (Before Yoga), she was a self-professed gym rat and avid runner. However, those two things didn’t seem to help with her chronic stress, anxiety and depression. When her doctor suggested yoga, it didn’t take too long for her to realize that this was going to become a major part of her life! Leslie took her initial 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2009-10 and launched Benders Yoga not quite two years later. She completed her 500 Hour certification with Deva Tree in 2020.
Leslie's general philosophy has always been “yoga for all”. Coupled with her love of anatomy she is passionate about helping others understand how bodies work and how to best teach different bodies, to truly make yoga accessible for all.
More recently, Leslie has come to understand the incredible power of meditation. She was never one to be able to sit still very long (even now – if she's sitting, she's knitting). Her meditation practice was born out of necessity, helping her through periods of pain and disability and alleviating many of her health issues. Her yoga journey continues. She looks forward to sharing yours.