Heather Morton was born in Toronto. Her background in yoga started with no prior training and a casual class at the age of 22. Today, she is part of a select group of people who have been certified in the system of AtmaVikasa yoga, a classical system of hatha-yoga. Heather is the first Western practitioner to be certified at both the 1st and 2nd series of AtmaVikasa. After completing yoga programs at ashrams in the United States and Canada, Heather made her first trip to India; a journey that would later become an annual pilgrimage to study under her teachers for 2 to 3 month durations. Starting with Sivananda-yoga, her practice evolved to Ashtanga and to back bending. In 2000, Heather studied under Ashtanga Guru, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. During that same year she met her primary teacher Yogacharya V. Venkatesha, the creator of the AtmaVikasa system and a renowned champion in back bending. Having made 11 extended trips to India to study yoga, Sanskrit and meditation, she became an advanced practitioner and an excellent teacher. Her academic education includes a Fine Arts degree in Theatre Performance, a Bachelor of Education and a Master’s of Education. Her thesis work was a study on yoga in the Indian school system. Upon her return from each trip to India, she developed a real self-practice by practising alone and committed herself to the study and teaching of AtmaVikasa yoga. She has since inspired many other students to practice by passing the tradition on. Heather's approach to teaching yoga is traditional, with insights gained from her education and life experiences. She began teaching yoga in South Korea where she worked as an English teacher for 2 years. While in India Heather continues to teach English to school children. With 15 years of teaching experience, Heather has brought yoga to community centers, hospitals, nursing homes, the corporate world and education. She has also been an active volunteer by teaching yoga to seniors and the disabled. In 1997, she founded the school and developed the programs based on a vision to teach yoga in smaller and progressive classes. From 1997 to 1999, Heather also worked in a rehabilitation center teaching yoga as part of a rehabilitation plan for injuries with a medical doctor and physiotherapist. In 2005, Heather completed her post-graduate work on yoga in the educational system. Her field research was an ethnographic study, which extended over a 2-year period in Mysore, India. Her thesis entitled Yoga as a Curriculum Subject: The Teaching and Learning of Yoga in a South Indian School has been a resource used by grad students, teachers and educators interested in conducting further research in this area. As a speaker, she has shared her work in interactive seminars both in Ontario Universities and private schools. She is a member of the IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) and OCT (Ontario College of Teachers). Prior to yoga Heather had started a promising career as a model and actress. Feeling estranged from the world of actors and models, Heather changed the direction of her life by moving to South Korea. While living in Korea she travelled alone to China, Japan, Hong Kong, The Philippines and throughout Korea, including making it several times to Hawaii. More recently, Heather produced a DVD on the advanced practice of back bending. She is currently working on other DVD's and a book to share her knowledge, insights and experiences about this path. |
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Certifications |
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| (2005) Atmavikasa Second 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 |
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Lectures & Presentations |
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(2009) Greenwood College, Toronto, Ontario |
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Study & Training |
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Atmavikasa Center of Yogic Sciences, Mysore, South India |
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Teaching |
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Benefit Now Rehabilitation Centre, Toronto |
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