Charlene Spiessman
As the owner of Mantra Yoga Studio, located in the Town of Thornbury, Charlene is passionate about yoga. She believes that everyone can enjoy the health benefits and joy that yoga brings to life. Under her guidance, the goal of the studio is to nurture and build an active, supportive and inclusive community that offer a wide range of classes for all abilities.
Charlene’s 23 year career as a healer began at The University Of Western Ontario where she graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts, and then went to Sutherland-Chan earning a Diploma of Massage Therapy.
Practicing massage therapy gives Charlene a strong anatomy background that informs her yoga practice and teaching, allowing her to offers detailed cues, that maximize the importance of alignment and healthy biomechanics.
Charlene’s yoga teaching is supported by a Yoga Teaching Training certificate as well as being a certified SUP-Yoga instructor that takes yoga onto the water, which bring's another natural element into this serene practice.
Jeremy Down
Jeremy has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 20 years and teaching for 7 years.
He studied with Bibi Hahn in Toronto and Jenna Arpita-Shea in Nelson BC.
Jeremy brings a deep focus on the breath to his classes, training students in concentration, using attentive breath to lead the practice. As a surfer, mtn.biker and avid backcountry skier, his knowledge of body mechanics and strength training support the teaching, building resilience and longevity.
Nav Vaswani
Nav moved north to The Blue Mountains in 2023 and immediately embraced the region’s vibrant movement community. Home is many different things to different people, and to Nav, home's become his yoga mat: it's where he feels most grounded, most at peace, and most himself. To take a yoga class with Nav is to truly enjoy any and all movement our bodies allow us to explore, and to truly unite with your breath. Off the mat, Nav loves to chase the sun, is an avid reader (and fan of the Collingwood Public Library), and hopes to one day live off the land with no access to a mobile device.
Tara
Tara is a registered 500 hour yoga instructor with the CanadianYoga Alliance. Her teachings include yin, restorative, hatha, vinyasa & trauma infused yoga, in addition to being educated in breathwork & guided meditation. Additionally, Tara is a level 2 reiki practitioner and focuses her work on chakra-based healing. Yoga and wellness are passions that she is always thrilled to share with others.
All of her modalities encompass her lens that movement is life and life is movement. Be it beginners or advanced yoga students, Tara welcomes all!"