Teachers

	Kamala (Carla) WilkieKamala started yoga to rehabilitate from a car accident in 2000 and has enjoyed a daily practice ever since.  She began teaching in 2002 and graduated from the South Okanagan Yoga Academy’s 2 year teacher training program in 2003 with a specialty in Okido Yoga and later an IYTA specialty in Yoga for Cyclists. Her beginnings in yoga are rooted in a three year mentorship in Yoga Therapy with Dale McLean. She studied Ashtanga under Pattabhi Jois (founder) in India as well as completed teacher trainings with Tim Miller, Erich Schiffman and Chris Chavez .  She is the director of Purple Lotus Yoga where she teaches various styles and holds 200hr and 500hr yoga teacher trainings through SOYA as an ERYT-500 registered instructor with Yoga Alliance (over 1600 hours of teaching experience). She has completed two silent meditation retreats and has authored and self published Poems From a Path and Totality.
	Neil PearsonNeil offers therapeutic yoga classes for people with chronic pain, one-on-one yoga therapy, and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy at Purple Lotus Yoga. He works as a physiotherapist, yoga therapist and educator. His focus is providing effective chronic pain management, through therapeutic yoga, physiotherapy and education. Neil travels through Canada and internationally educating yoga teachers, health care professionals, the public and insurance companies about pain management and current scientific understanding of pain. He is a Clinical Faculty member at UBC, consultant to OrionHealth Pain Clinics and is the founding Chair of the Pain Science Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. Neil has authored a pain management education book for health care professionals, and developed pain management resources including audio CDs (to decrease pain through breathing and body awareness techniques) and an educational DVD for people in pain.For more on Neil, visit www.lifeisnow.ca.
	Lorna McGillLorna is a graduate of the Shioki Yoga Teacher training as well as the South Okanagan Yoga Academy (SOYA). She has been teaching yoga classes since 2001 specializing in Yoga for Runners, Yoga for Abs, and most recently Ashtanga Level 1. She has participated in Ashtanga yoga workshops with David Swenson and well as renown Canadian Ashtanga yogis, Mark and Joanne Darby. Inspirations include all the wonderful yoga teachers (past and present) in addition to learning from the greatest teachers of all, the students!
	Tasha ScottTasha Scott discovered Ashtanga yoga in 1997 and fully immersed herself onto the yoga path. Tash practiced yoga before, during and after both of her pregnancies and truly believes that yoga helped create beautiful, easy, wonderful births (and children!) Tash enjoys taking diverse workshops and has had the honor of studying Restorative Yoga with Dariel Vogel and Susan Morrison. She is a graduate of the (SOYA) South Okanagan Yoga Association’s 2 year program with a specialty in prenatal yoga and is certified with IYTA (International Yoga Teacher’s Association). She is a registered yoga teacher (RYT-500) with Yoga Alliance and BCYA. She is certified in pre natal yoga through prenatal yoga guru Janice Clairfield.
	Tammy SempleTammy has been lingering around the yogic path for almost 16 years. It wasn’t until 2000 that she actually jumped on it! Since that day she has steadily become more passionate and dedicated to the practice of yoga. This continuous quest has greatly complimented her dedication to living life naturally and fully. She believes that we can all attain better health and greater happiness by utilizing the power within to heal and illuminate our true selves. With love and support of her incredible family, Tammy looks forward to and enjoys her journey everyday.Tammy is certified through Yoga Alliance as an RYT-200.
	Kassandra MorrisonKassandra began her yoga practice in 1996 with Iyengar yoga and has since studied Okido, Kundalini, Flow, Ashtanga, Kriya, and Yin yoga. She is a certified Shioki Yoga therapist and has been teaching yoga since 2002. Her teachings are a fusion of the various styles and systems of yoga she has studied. Her classes combine dynamic exercises for joint health and immunity with static poses for strength and flexibility. In addition to yoga, Kassandra spends a lot of time in meditation and has been fortunate enough to participate in three separate long term meditation retreats. She was recently initiated as Swami Kripananda in the Bhairava lineage of Rishikesh.
	Shauna SprulesShauna is excited to be sharing prenatal and postnatal yoga through Purple Lotus. She was brought to yoga as a young teen by her own mother and has continued to embrace and learn from yoga since. The path of teaching began in 2002 after completing certification with the Saltspring Island Centre of Yoga under the teachings of Baba Hari Dass. Upon moving to the Okanagan she was fortunate to continue training with the South Okanagan Yoga Association. She has completed specialized certifications in prenatal and restorative yoga and has been trained as a birth doula. Shauna is always inspired by the power of pregnancy and birth and sees that yoga can bring strength, confidence and calm to both expecting and postpartum women.

Ray Carpenter

Life is a blessing…Love it like so! Ray was led to the Yogic path after years of spiritual soul-searching and is passionate about sharing the light of Yoga with others. As a true devotee of the belief that Yoga asana (poses) and Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of love) enriches one’s personal and family life, and thus, the world as a whole, Ray is dedicated to helping to integrate the riches of yoga into the lives of her community, in particular Prenatal women and new mothers and tots. The Purple Lotus community and Yoga community of Penticton offers a beautiful support network for new (and old!) families, and she feel’s blessed to be a continual part of it. Ray is a recent graduate of the SOYA (South Okanagan Yoga Academy), and Hatha Yoga, Postnatal Yoga, and family-integrated Yoga are where Ray’s heart lies.