About Helen Duggan

Helen’s Personal mission statement:

Helen has been teaching Hatha Yoga classes on Vancouver Island for over 17 years and training successful Yoga Teachers since 1998. She holds Yoga classes and Yoga Teacher Training (in two levels by class attendance or home study), Summer Yoga Teacher Intensives, Pilates for Beginners and her own ASAP 7 Week Fitness (a comprehensive fitness programs in three levels). She also offers private yoga and fitness sessions for those seeking one-on-one work. Her meditation programs and Saturday morning workshops are held in her private Lantzville Yoga and Fitness Studio. She has been teaching a variety of self-esteem and professional development workshops for over 10 years. Her training and working background is well grounded in the Yoga, fitness and health.

Helen’s passion for health and fitness began in 1970 when she was introduced to Hatha Yoga by a friend through home study. Since then she has studied Yoga under many teachers; Kareen Zebroff, Sandra Sammartino, Swami Shyam Acharya and she has been deeply influenced by the works of Richard Hittleman, Indra Devi, Rammurti Mishra, Desikachar, BKS Iyengar and Swamis Sivananda Radha, Vishnudevananda, and Sivananda. She has studied and taught Power Yoga from the Beryl Bender Birch and Baron Baptiste styles and blends the focused discipline of Hot Yoga with Power Yoga in some of her more advanced yoga classes. Her training is Sivananda based and her classes are gentle and heart-centered.

As well as teaching through Malaspina College, Helen teaches Yoga through recreation centers and on Crystal Cruises.

For seven years Helen has studied and taught Pilates programs from the Stott and Windsor traditions. She has taught and studied fitness skills in aerobic fitness & strength through programs at the YWCA, Langara College and University of British Columbia in Vancouver, working with fitness programs for staff and students on both campuses.

Helen’s health column “Feeling Good”, her fitness articles, her comprehensive study of stretch, strength training, aerobic activity, and programs of prevention in osteoporosis & back pain insure there are added margins of safety and awareness in all of her programs. Helen’s classes are comfortable and noncompetitive. Her students and student teachers are encouraged to explore Yoga, and all levels of fitness and well-being, from a physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual perspective. Students are encouraged to follow their own path, being sensitive to the dictates of their own inner wisdom. Helen’s approach to yoga and fitness is gentle, nurturing, non-intrusive and supportive. She is currently working on several Yoga related publications and her audio recordings can be ordered by mail. She teaches a wide range of self-improvement, self-esteem and professional self-development workshops.

Contact Us: We’d love to hear from you! Email us or contact us by phone or fax. Let us know how you are following your yoga path. A personal note from Helen:

I have been most deeply influenced by those who teach humbly with a smile in their eyes and joy in their hearts. My eternal thanks to Indra Devi, Vanda Scaravelli, Swamis Radha, Sivananda, Vishnudevananda, Rammurti Mishra, Desikachar, Erich Schiffmann, Yogi Hari Mata, Kareen Zebroff and Donna Farhi. They have touched me deeply with their magnificent example, their diligence and their sincere commitment to making this world a better place through a compassionate and joy filled yoga practice.

Helen SJ Duggan