Founder and Teacher 

Heather Morton is part of a select group of people certified in the AtmaVikasa Yoga system. Heather is the first Canadian teacher to be certified both in the primary and secondary series of AtmaVikasa. She received her certification direclty under Yogacharya V. Venkatesha in Mysore, India. Having made 13 conseutive trips to India she has spent over 2 years in India. Her studies include training in Hatha-yoga, pranayama, meditation, yoga theory, Sanskrit and backbending.  

Both Heather's practice and teaching are an evolution not a well constructed design within the traditional systems of Sivananda-yoga, Ashtanga and AtmaVikasa. She completed several teacher training programs in the United States, Canada and India while living at ashrams; learning 'how' to wash the dishes and water the flowers. Her first trip to India was made in 1999; a journey that became an annual pilgrimage for 2-3 month durations.

Heather is a teacher and educator of yoga. With a M.Ed. (Masters of Education) including a thesis on Yoga in the Indian educational system, a B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education, Honors) and a B.F.A. (Bachelor in Theatre Performance), her passion for learning speaks for itself. Her work is inspired by Yogacharya Venkatesha as she remains a constant student of yoga. Heather is also initiated within the Himalayan Tradition of meditation. Her practice involves silent retreats at the ashram in Rishikesh, Northern India. 

In 2000, Heather trained under Ashtanga Guru, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore. She had the rare  privilege of learning the primary series of directly from him. During this same year she met Yogacharya V. Venkatesha, the founder of the AtmaVikasa center in India and a champion of backbending. Yogacharya became her primary teacher and from 2000 to the present she has been personally trained by him becoming one of his senior students. Upon each return trip from India, she developed a real self-practice by practising alone and committing herself to the study, practice and teaching of AtmaVikasa. She has since inspired others to practice by producing a DVD on backbending as well as Stilling the Mind, a 2-part CD for relaxation and meditation. Freedom of the Body: the primary elements of the back is the bedrock to the practice on yoga backbending and was released in September 2011.

Heather's teaching approach stems from the tradition in which she learned yoga. Her teachers have been Indian Masters with whom she developed a close and personal relationship. Having lived and worked in South Korea for 2 years as an English instructor, Heather's teaching career began in Asia. With over 16 years of experience, she has brought yoga into a multitude of places and to a variety of people. These have included teaching yoga in community centers, nursing home, hospitals, the corporate world as well as public and private schools. She has also taught yoga to seniors and people with special needs.

In 1997, Heather founded The Yoga Way; a yoga school in Toronto for structured programs. From 1997 to 1999, she worked with a medical doctor and physiotherapist in a rehabilitation clinic using yoga as a part of a treatment plan for injuries. In 2005, Heather completed her post-graduate work in the educational system. Her field research and writing was a 2-year ethnographic study in Mysore, India. Her thesis paper,  Yoga as a Curriculum Subject: the Teaching and Learning of Yoga in a South Indian School has been an invaluable reference by graduate students, teachers and fellow educators. As a guest speaker, she has presented her work in Ontario Universities and private schools. She is a member of the OCT (Ontario College of Teachers).

Loka Samastaha Sukhino Bhavantu ~ May all beings be well and peaceful

(2011 - 2001) Ontario College of Teachers (OCT)
(2005) AtmaVikasa Secondary Series, Mysore, South India
(2002) AtmaVikasa Primary Series, Mysore, South India
(1999) Sivananda Sadhana Intensive, Ney-yar Dam, South India
(1997) Sivananda Advanced Teacher Training, Val Morin, Quebec, Canada
(1997) Sivananda Teacher Training, Grass Valley, California, United States

(2011) The Living Wellness Kitchen, Toronto, Ontario

(2009) Greenwood College, Toronto, Ontario

(2009) SYTAR, Symposium on Yoga Therapy, LA, California

(2007, 2005) Holistic Learning, Univerisity of Toronto, (O.I.S.E.)

(2006) Engaging Social Justice, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec

(2005) Post-Graduate Conference, York University, North York, Ontario  

(2003) Minute-Maid Corporation, Head Office, Toronto, Canada              

(1999 - 1997) Benefit Now Rehabilitation Clinic, Toronto, Ontario 

Published Work & Blogs

Yoga Comes to School, (2009, Volume 19, Issue 2), The Newsletter for the Holistic Learning & Spirituality
in Education Network of ASCD, O.I.S.E., University of Toronto.

Ethnographic Research on Yoga as a Mandatory Subject in School, (2009, Supplement, Abstract 27),
The International Journal of Yoga Therapy, International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Yoga as a Curriculum Subject: Teaching and Learning of Yoga in a South India School, (2005, Faculty
of Graduate Studies), Libraries or Library and Archives Canada, York Unversity.

H's Blog: Heather's Blog of Yoga & Travel.        

i-bend blog: General writing on becoming bendy.         

AtmaVikasa Centre of Yogic Sciences, Mysore, South India
AYRI (Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute), Mysore, South India
Sadhana Mandir, Rishikesh, North India
Mysore Mandala Shala, Mysore, South India.
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers (Gangotri, Trivadrum), India
Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, South India

Teaching Experiences ~ Pro-bono

2006 The Yoga Conference, TO Metro Convention Centre
William Olser Centre (Etobicoke General Hospital)
Baycrest Geriatric Hospital, Toronto
The Riverdale Hospital, Toronto
WoodGreen Community Centre, Toronto
Montcrest Private School, Toronto
Winchester Public School, Toronto
Sommerville Manor School, Mississauga