Meet Shireen!
Name: Shireen Mansouri
Hometown: Originally Toronto, but have lived in Yellowknife for 20 years (longer than anywhere else).
How long have you been practicing yoga? Four years - I started at Taiga in the summer of 2012.
Favourite class offered at Taiga: My favourite class changes every few months. My current favourite is Bronwyn’s Saturday AM Power class- it is pushing my boundaries in a style that I love.
What is your favourite yoga posture and why?
My favourite posture is Pigeon. To me it symbolizes surrendering but with strength and control. It makes me think of the Buddhist line “my actions are my only true belongings” and that one needs to surrender control of the external world but can always choose our actions and reactions to that world.
Shireen in Pigeon.
Tell us a bit about your yoga journey.
I used to be a cardio junkie. In 2012 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer I realized that I would need to change my activities during treatment So a week after my first chemo I walked into Taiga, Judy helped me chose which classes would be right for me. Through that whole year of treatment there was always a class I could attend with instructors that were so supportive, Yoga has offered a wonderful way to recover and build my strength mentally and physically It has also connected me to fantastic people and opportunities. While attending a class in San Francisco I connected with a course in Contemplative Caregiving though the Zen Centre which was transformative. Practicing meditation as well has deepened my understanding and appreciation of Yoga.
What keeps you coming back to Taiga?
Through my treatment and afterwards I tried a lot of different studios in the south. Non of them have ever matched the warmth, and welcome and consistently great instructors that Taiga has. I feel like Taiga is truly my “yoga home".
What words of wisdom do you have for the Taiga community?
The quote that sticks with me the most was from the first class that I ever attended with Anne Marie- while instructing us to practice within our limits she said “If all you do the whole class is child’s pose, you have done yoga” That has stayed with me. I will never get my foot behind my head and I still tip over in tree every time, but it does not mean that I can’t do yoga!