After Kathryn Downton founded Lifesong Yoga, Fredericton s first yoga and wellness centre, and spent years teaching classes, she felt a change was needed. Now she teaches one-on-one classes from her private studio on the Nashwaak River and is also experienced in prenatal yoga. She recently spoke to reporter Molly Cormier about the ancient traditions of yoga, her views on running a yoga studio in a city like Fredericton, and the rewards she has received from teaching her students. *** Q: If you weren t doing this what would be your chosen career? A: So far, Lifesong Yoga just keeps evolving. Ten years ago I was teaching pretty standard yoga classes. Then I opened Fredericton s first yoga and wellness centre in order to be able to work with an interdisciplinary holistic team on a larger scale. Then, when our lease was pulled, it was an opportunity to move Lifesong home. I have a beautiful retreat space on the Nashwaak. This year I became a full-time social work student at St. Thomas University. I realized I wanted to be able to work more within institutionalized settings, especially in palliative care/hospice work. It s not like I ve had a traditional career plan. I think about this kind of evolution as responding to "call", or living on purpose. If nothing else, it keeps things interesting. *** Q: Tell me about what brought you to the world of yoga and holistic healing? A: I got really sick. Throughout my 20s, I was strong and flexible and tried many different traditions of postural practice. Nothing really stuck. Strangely enough, my work at that time took me twice to Nepal and India, and while I was working on literacy issues with local teachers, I was soaking in these ancient knowledge systems without even knowing it. It s too bad that in the West, yoga has become so identified with only the physical postures. Its roots, and its potential for us Westerners, lie in its holistic wisdom. It s meant to be a whole life philosophy. The physical postures, it s true, are absolutely necessary to maintain health throughout our lives regardless of our life stage. The ancients saw them as essential daily hygiene. In my early 30s, I got really sick. What you get in most yoga classes would not have helped me at that time. I could not have done it. But I knew because of my other exposure there was something else. I was lucky enough to be living in Québec where the tradition I now teach, Viniyoga, is well-established. It s sometimes referred to as stage and age-appropriate yoga. Or now you ll see words like restorative, or contemplative. They are all ways of saying it s more than just postures. I was told it would be 12 pills a day for me for life, with serious side effects as "normal." At 32, that doesn t sound like much of the future. I began to study and practice seriously and as I got better and learned more, I began to teach. *** Q: Is it difficult to run a yoga studio or complementary wellness practice in Fredericton? A: Yes and no. On a beautiful sunny day, it s me and the retired folks out on the Nashwaak walking trail during business hours because I have that flexibility. But financially, it can be frustrating.
Lifesong Yoga is Fredericton-based company (New Brunswick, Canada) with a phone number 5064552444. Our data show that the company is located at the address: Lifesong Yoga And Wellness Centre 73 York St. The company has a web site: www.lifesongyoga.com.
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