About
"We believe that healing and staying healthy and happy is not as hard as it sometimes seems, if we know what to do, and we want to help you feel the same."
Meet Veronica & Chris
Co-founders of Our Little Yogashala
Hi, namaste and welcome! Thank you for considering Our Little Yogashala in your pursuit of health and happiness. We know finding a teacher with the right energy and approach is important, and we are honoured to share a little about ourselves to help inform your decision.
Veronica Badali 500h YT, BSc.
I'm a 500-hour certified yoga teacher, with additional learning in sound healing, therapeutic rolling techniques for self-myofascial release, mindfulness, physical science, and psychology (BSc.).
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The self-care practices I teach will give you the tools to improve your health and wellbeing from within. It requires effort and discipline, but we can laugh and complain on the way and ultimately it is quite liberating to be the source and director of your wellness.
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I believe in meeting everyone where they are, and in everyone's potential to flourish. So don't worry if you want to practice yoga but you aren't flexible, or you want to meditate but your mind is hyper-active. Please dismiss your self-doubts and show up just the way you are, because I make self-care accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
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Each session I will check in with how you are doing and provide the balance between challenge and ease you need on that day. It's important to me to create a positive and compassionate environment where you feel supported in your efforts and comfortable to try new things and push your 'limits'.
Ultimately, I teach with a therapeutic intention. So if you leave a session feeling better than when you arrived, and especially if that feeling becomes a stable source of wellbeing in your life, then I consider my job well done!
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I am a perpetual student of holistic healing and I look forward to sharing new and more efficient methods of promoting wellbeing with you as I continue to learn.
Chris Baldock 500h YT, BSc.
Hi and Namaste :) I'm a 500-hour certified yoga teacher, and a certified tai chi instructor and sound healer, with additional learning in therapeutic rolling techniques for self-myofascial release, mindfulness, physical science, and psychology (BSc.).
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I have a passion to learn and teach efficient practices for healing and advancing the body, mind, and soul. I believe that removing affliction means finding happiness.
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I am an active person and I love sports like cycling, rock climbing, tennis, golf, and martial arts. Through many years of playing the sports I love while studying, working, and putting my body and mind under stress, I learned that self-care is hugely important, and often overlooked.
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I believe from experience that awareness and clarity are keys to motivate positive change and empowerment. Through my teaching, I aim to raise awareness about the body and mind's processes and the connectivity of the body's systems, and communicate with clarity how to make efficient, lasting positive change. My insights come from study, research, and experience in yoga, psychology, and martial arts, with focus on anatomy and physiology.
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I am relaxed, kind, very open, and like to make people laugh. I always want to help you feel comfortable and positive as we work to achieve your goals during our sessions. I believe that healing and staying healthy and happy is not as hard as it sometimes seems, if we know what to do, and I want to help others feel the same.
Our Yoga Teacher Training
We completed our 500-hour yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, India where we had the privilege to learn from several proficient yogis and yogic scholars at the Association for Yoga and Meditation (RYS) ashram. The diverse educational backgrounds of our teachers presented us with an immersive education in multi-style yoga. Asana (yogic postures) lessons focused on Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Restorative styles, but also included Kundalini and Sivananda styles. In addition to asana instruction, we delved into yogic philosophy, anatomy, teaching and sequencing methodology, meditation, pranayama, mantra, karma yoga, and shatkarma (hatha cleansing practices).
We left Rishikesh with more than accumulated pieces of information. Living in Rishikesh, the yogic capital of the world, combined with our teachers' careful instruction, role modelling, and dedication to deep learning, culminated in an embodied understanding of yoga that we now carry with us in all aspects of our lives. We give great thanks to our teachers, including our fellow students, for the personal growth they have inspired in us, and it is our dearest hope to share the physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing we received with anyone who wants to learn.
We are proud to announce that the Association for Yoga and Meditation received a well deserved award:
"Best Yoga Training Institute of the Year" from the Global Excellence Awards 2019!
Our Story
Chris and Veronica envisioned Our Little Yogashala during their yoga teacher training 2 years ago, but its beginnings stretch much farther back. Growing up they had a strong interest in physical health, sports and nutrition. But Veronica struggled with anxiety and mood regulation, and Chris wrestled with anxiety, OCD and chronic headaches.
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In university they dedicated themselves to studying psychology to understand their minds and learn methods for promoting mental peace and clarity. Their studies of Western psychology provided many insights and a firm foundation for understanding and applying the scientific method. Exploring Buddhist psychology and yoga introduced them to ancient Eastern philosophies and the science of self-study .
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Chris and Veronica graduated university with honours and a passion to find a career where they could apply their studies to support people's health. But the sedentary and stressful life as undergraduate students made it clear that mental health and physical health are inseparable elements of wellbeing. That's when their casual enjoyment of yoga turned into a lifelong passion, because practicing yoga provided a consistent source of both mental and physical healing that they enjoyed, and had a positive ripple effect in their relationships and at work.
Eventually they quit their jobs and travelled to India to learn traditional yoga (which includes much more than the physical exercise we focus on in the West) from the source. The 500-hour yoga teacher training gave them a wealth of knowledge to bring home, but also provided insight into the uniqueness of everyone's physical and mental state and the unparalleled therapeutic power of yoga if a teacher really knows a student and works with them directly.
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Since returning, Chris and Veronica spent two years developing an approach to teaching self-care that is inclusive of all types of people, efficient and holistic. Our Little Yogashala is our commitment to supporting ourselves and others to live inspired lives filled with wellbeing, love, growth and support.
Our Little Dream
Our Little Dream
to provide holistic healing to anyone who seeks it, by teaching powerful self-care practices with compassion and insight derived from a personal connection with each student
