A chat with Chantal O'Sullivan

We’re excited to be starting the Power Walk for Dress for Success 2012 with a yoga class taught by yoga guru Chantal O’Sullivan, owner of Shanti Yoga in Tsawwassen and Oakridge lululemon athletica Ambassador. 

We asked her a few questions to try to pick her brain about everything from yoga to yummy eats.  Here’s what we learned:

Dress for Success:  Why do you love yoga?  

Chantal:  I love how it makes me feel. Every single time I practice, I discover something new about myself, my body and my mind. I think we're all naturally happy as people, but sometimes life can bog us down. Yoga helps us to peel away the layers, and shine. This is why l love teaching and feel so grateful to get to share yoga daily.

DFS:  Do you have any tips for new students, or people who haven't tried yoga?

C:  Go slowly and ask questions. Don't suffer or try to work through pain. Yoga is for everyone, it's not just for the bendy, pretzel people. Find a studio near you, then pop in and start asking questions. You won't regret it. 

DFS:  Do you have any recommended yoga resources to share? 

C:  There are so many different ways to engage with yoga that most people don’t know about!

If you already practice yoga and have a good grasp of alignment, it's great to look at some online yoga options. For instance, I teach classes for www.yogo.tv, where people can subscribe monthly and practice at home.

Secondly, my yoga studio, Shanti Yoga, offers retreats for all levels on Galiano Island and in Tofino. These are great ways to deepen your practice and have fun. If you go to www.shantiyogabc.com, details for November getaways can be found in the “retreats” section.

Also, many studios in and around Vancouver bring in master teachers from around the world and share workshops — Semperviva in Vancouver does a great job with this.

As far as books, there are so many great ones out there!  Good ones to start with are Meditations from the Mat by teacher Rolf Gates, as well as The Eight Human Talents by Gurmukh.