Lisa Gaglione

Hi there! My name is Lisa and I’m on a journey as well. I am a Registered Nurse, mother, wife, and Yoga teacher. I have been practicing yoga for nine years since my first pregnancy. It has truly been life changing.

I did my yoga teacher training in Edmonton in December of 2017 at the Higher Love Yoga Academy (HLYA) with Sara Cueva. Prior to that, I practiced several disciplines including Moksha yoga, Sattva yoga and other hatha based practices throughout the city. Learning of Sara’s teacher training at HLYA encouraged me to sign up and follow a passion of mine. The yoga training dives so much deeper into the philosophy behind yoga and why it has survived the tests of time through thousands of years. Yoga means to unite or to yoke the mind and body with a higher entity. Yoga is a way of living and it draws much of its philosophy and history from Hinduism and Buddhism; although it is not a religion. These ancient religions gifted the yogi with practices, ideals and techniques to quiet the mind and explore the body.

Every one of us deals with stressors in a different way. For me it was intense anger, irritability, inability to sleep, nightmares and flashbacks. I was diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety several years ago after I finally decided that I should seek help. I was going through life but not living it. My days were like a roller coaster; for a few days it would be pretty good and then I would plummet into a depression that would force me to crawl out of bed in the mornings. I engaged with no one but my husband and children and even then I felt like a monster and didn’t measure up to be a good mother.

Several things have worked for me throughout the years. Psychological counselling, medication and yoga have helped me maintain an even keel through life’s ups and downs. Working on me is the hardest thing I’m doing in my life. It is a journey, an effort, and a constant learning experience. Yoga is now used in many trauma centers as an additional tool to help people who suffer from PTSD and there have been excellent results to date. Please let me share some of the tools and techniques that I use to relax, to turn off the flight or fight response, and help me deal with life’s stressors.

Light and Love
Namaste

Lisa Gaglione
RYT 200, Yogafit for Warriors (100h in progress), RN, BScN, BScF

Paula Schraeder

Hello, my name is Paula and I am a mother of two wonderful boys, a registered social worker and a yoga teacher.

I was first introduced to yoga six years ago by a good friend. It was at a time when I was suffering from a debilitating mood disorder and anxiety that left me hospitalized on several occasions. I believe it has been my ongoing yoga practice along with medication and therapy that has allowed me to come out of my most difficult of days.

Yoga has taught me so much about myself and is a major tool I use to manage my mental illness. I knew from a very early time in my yoga journey that I wanted to share this gift with others.

In January 2019 I started my yoga teacher training with Higher Love Yoga Academy and was taught by Sara Cueva. The course taught me, among many things, the wonderful rich history of yoga that has deepened my practice.

Yoga means to yoke or unit the body and mind with a higher entity. Yoga is a way of living and many of the teachings help bring techniques and strategies to bring peace and health to not only the body but mind as well. I am constantly learning and exploring my yoga practice and I am currently working on obtaining my Children’s Registered Yoga Teacher certification. I enjoy Hatha and restorative based practices and continue exploring more disciplines.

My hope is to foster a safe and caring space for students to explore, through yoga, tools and techniques to quiet the mind and relax the body. The tools shared in class will allow students to explore through breath and body awareness ways to turn off the fight or flight response.

These techniques have been very helpful on my own journey and I look forward to sharing with others my love for this beautiful practice.

From my heart to yours,
Namaste

Paula Schraeder RSW
RYT 200, Registered Social Worker