meet your teachers
Joy Morrell: Studio Director, Training Lead
Joy’s warmth & candour encourages students to their personal best.
Seeking the most productive experience for every student, Joy emphasizes a deepened relationship between mind & breath, and the tremendous benefits this brings.
Expect a strong focus on functional anatomy in Joy’s classes, which combine deep stretch, powerful strengthening exercises & focused breath work.
Guiding students to tap into their full potential both on and off the mat, Joy teaches her wildly popular Rebalancing classes three times a week. She puts great ‘technique spin’ into her equally popular ‘Infrared Warm Flow’ classes in Shanti’s Infrared Studio downstairs. Catch a class with her whenever you can!
Fostering a strong sense of community has been a tremendous delight for Joy, as she shares ‘all that is Shanti Yoga’ over her 20 years as Studio Owner & Director.
Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:00am ‘Rebalancing Yoga’
Mondays, Wednesdays & Friday 8:30am ‘Infrared Warm Flow’
chris Shewchuk
Sarah Story: senior staff, 200 Hour & 500 Hour training instructor, workshop lead
A strong, seasoned Yoga teacher. Expect to gain stamina & balance in Sarah’s fitness style Yoga classes….keys to progressing any Yoga practice. Her technical skill is matched by her lovely personality. Students feel welcomed & encouraged from the moment they arrive, right through class.
Graduating from our esteemed 200 Hour Teachers course 13 years ago, she proceeded through our 500 Hour Modular Training program, between juggling an amazing career as a Graphic Designer/Photographer and raising two amazing kids with her partner Dave.
Sarah moved to BC from Australia in 2013. She travels back to Oz to visit, but she’s a true Kootenay girl with a love of winter sports, summer sports and Yoga to balance it all.
A veteran instructor with great diversity, our Auzzie girl teaches fantastic Power Yoga & Sculpt, as well as soulful Yin classes. She is a Training & Workshop lead here at Shanti.
Monday evenings ‘Firelight Yin’ 7:00 - 8:15 pm in our spacious upstairs studio… by candlelight and Firelight
Thursday evenings ‘Power Yoga’ 5:30 - 6:45 pm Infrared heat
MARC RAMIS: senior staff, 200 Hour Training Instructor, workshop lead
Kind & thoughtful, with an outstanding sense of humour, Marc is driven to provide the best possible results for every student, every class. A great role model, he’s an exceptional Teacher and his classes produce results.
His career in the Fitness industry has given him an in depth understanding of exercise for health & performance. He plays an instrumental role in developing fellow Personal & Group Fitness Trainers & Coaches, improving their practical skills in an extremely competitive field.
Moving to Canada from England in 2013, Marc began a Yoga Practice to gain flexibility. Yoga showed him movement flaws & weaknesses in a way a traditional gym environment never could. He credits Yoga for helping him heal physical injuries, provide comfort & mental clarity, and insists Yoga has humbled him many times!
As a person who places a high value on physical strength and aesthetics, Yoga has proven invaluable in his quest to be well-balanced. When not relaxing and enjoying delicious food, Marc appreciates spending time in nature, hiking, paddle-boarding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. He’s grateful to live & work in beautiful Nelson, and we’re delighted to have him on Staff here at Shanti.
Classes with Marc:
‘Yoga Sculpt’ Mondays & Fridays 5:30 pm Infrared Heat
Lead instructor in our ‘Strengthen & Center’ Workshops, and our 200 Hour Teacher Trainings in Spring & Fall
jana roemer: senior staff
A vastly experienced teacher, we’re thrilled to have Jana Roemer land here in Nelson after living an extraordinary life far & wide. Her teaching is a delight, her playlists are bang on, and her voice is silky and encouraging.
A strong, Alignment Based Instructor, expect seamless sequencing & technical cueing in her classes.
We’re extremely fortunate Jana and her family have settled here, as we welcome her onto Senior Staff at Shanti.
Join Jana as often as you can, and watch your Practice bloom.
Classes with Jana:
Tuesday & Thursday mornings: 8:45 - 10:00 ‘Infrared Flow’
Tuesday evenings 5:30 - 7:00 ‘Flow & Nidra’
Thursday evenings: 7:00 - 8:15 Firelight Yin…..upstairs in the warm, beautifully lit ‘Great Room’….practice Yin by firelight
Sunday afternoons 4:00 - 5:15 ‘Flow & Stretch’ Infrared
ali wong
Ali has taught Yoga across Canada, in China, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka and Bali. Describing herself as an ‘effervescent nomad’, Ali is truly a global citizen. Wildly accomplished, she remains humble & kind & devoted to the greatest good.
A graduate of Brown University, where she played competitive collegiate Hockey, Ali teaches Yoga with enthusiasm and superb technical skill. Her sequences are imaginative & exciting, and her knowledge of joint alignment and bio mechanics produces a deeply enriching practice.
Students flow and harmonize with body, mind & breath in the supportive & accessible environment Ali creates with her playful poise and spectacular personality.
We are delighted to have her on staff here at Shanti.
Watch for Ali’s return following her travels
MONIQUE GOTTLIEB
Monique has practiced yoga for 20 years to complement her active lifestyle, build strength, recover from sports injuries, and connect more deeply with herself. She graduated with Honours from Shanti’s Teacher Training program, deepening her long-standing love of Yoga & her connection to mindful movement.
Her classes are flowing & energetic, emphasizing strength, moving with intention & alignment, and blending presence, playfulness & powerful movement to create an experience both grounding & expansive.
Outside the studio, Monique develops brand strategy & works in graphic design, helping businesses align with purpose. Whether through movement or creative work, she’s passionate about helping people reconnect to themselves, their bodies, and their inner spark.
Classes with Monique are currently on pause, as she prepares to welcome her first baby into the world
Avalon funk
An accomplished dancer, Avalon embodies grace, balance & strength. Encouraging an approach to Yoga with enthusiasm & lightness, students discover ease in even the most advanced poses & transitions…and with that, the arrival of effortlessness in the Practice.
She holds multiple Advanced Degrees from ISSA as a Personal Trainer, degrees in Nutrition for Athletes, and multiple 200 & 500 Hour Yoga Training Certifications. Avalon has taught Yoga full time for 16 years, logged 45,000 hours teaching classes & 12,000 hours as a Lead Teacher Training Instructor.
Born & raised on the Island of Kauai, she teaches Yoga & Pilates at her beautiful Studio thrivepilateskauai.com in Kilauea on Kauai’s North Shore.
Traveling to Nelson in October each year to contribute to our Fall Teacher Training Programs, she treat students here to to her fitness based Yoga Sculpt & Barre Intensives, as well as Vinyasa Master classes.
Avalon offers an amazing Online ‘Group Fitness Teacher Training’
Tuition: $180 USD
Graduates can teach ‘Sculpt, HIIT & Mat Pilates and Barre’ classes
To Register, go to thrivepilateskauai.com
Sharon Pol
25 years as a Paramedic with BC Emergency Health Services, helping others has always been in front. Continuing her career as a Paramedic, Sharon has added her love of teaching Yoga to the long list of things she does for others.
Sharon was born & raised in Nelson, and has raised her kids here too….truly a Kootenay girl with a Heart of gold.
Her personal practice is stunning and the warmth with which she shares Yoga with students is lovely.
Sharon’s teaching style is technical, aligned, and her fluid, powerful Practice is inspiring.
“Ignite the Core’ Workshop Series: she co-teaches these progressive, fun Workshops & contributes her teaching during our 200 Hour YTT every Spring.
