ABOUT
Nicole Leona
Nicole is a E-RYT 500 yoga teacher whose teaching is inspired by the people who come to her class. She gets her inspiration from her students and their needs as she watches them flow through the movements. She believes that the best way to learn is to observe and to teach. You need to watch and respond to the needs of those who you teach, but you also need to be able to learn what works and what does not as you teach.
Nicole started doing yoga when she lived in Seoul S. Korea teaching English. She was looking for a new way to get into a physical practice and a yoga studio had just opened up down the street. With a background in dance and gymnastics, yoga felt like she had finally found a home. It was the comfort of moving the body in a familiar way with new challenges of breath and new movements that really made her fall in love. When she moved back to Canada, she made Calgary her home and continued her English teaching career, but also started practicing different styles of yoga.
She had the opportunity to take her 200 hour teacher training with Alberta Hot Yoga teacher training giving her a training that is specific to teaching hot yoga. She then went on to teach a variety of public classes and started thinking that she wanted to do more. Teaching is her passion, whether she was teaching English to international students or teaching people how to teach English as a trainer, she thought this was the perfect option for her to transition her two teaching passions. So she decided to take her 300 hour teacher training to give her the training that she needed to become a Yoga Teacher Trainer. She is now a E- RYT 500 hr ( Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance. She is also a continuing education provider (YACEP).
Nicole enjoys teaching a strong Power Flow, Vinyasa Flow, Yoga and Pilates, and has fallen in love with teaching a comforting and supportive Deep Stretch Restorative class with fun modern playlists to reflect the atmosphere of the class. She aims to provide a safe space for all levels and abilities where people can try things that they never knew they could, but also a place where they can take some time to focus within and leave the distractions and stress of life outside.
Nicole believes in creating community with yoga and has the ability to bring students together in a way that is comforting and supportive. With a background in studying psychology, Nicole also understands how yoga can support our physical and mental health in many ways. She believes the lessons in yoga philosophy have supported her to get through difficult situations in a way that she couldn’t have done without it.