a:3:{s:7:"widgets";a:2:{i:0;a:4:{s:5:"title";s:13:"﻿My Journey";s:4:"text";s:4543:"<strong>Growing up﻿</strong>
I have always been active. Growing up in Victoriaville, Quebec, I watched aerobics videos, then performed the choreography for my family. In elementary school I tried to outrun the boys and took part in every type of game. In high school, I became a competitive swimmer and kickboxer. At age 19, I was badly injured in a car accident. I suffered a broken femur, cracked ribs and emotional shock. It was a major turning point in my life. My road to recovery created a deeper appreciation for holistic healing as I learned to overcome my injuries through healthy lifestyle choices and fitness. One holistic therapy led to another:  herbal medicine, bellydance, therapeutic bodywork, organic farming, and, weight training, to name just a few. A tragic accident became a blessing in disguise, inspiring me toward this path of fitness and wellness. ﻿
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<strong>My yoga path</strong>
At age 21, I moved to BC to study organic farming and improve my English. In the first year, after moving to Nanaimo, I was in two more major accidents and began to wonder if I had bad karma. I had to heal my body and spirit again, this time by attending a yoga teacher-training course in Thailand at the Chakra Yoga School. I practiced daily asana, mantra, breath exercises... Since then, I have discovered many styles and studied with different teachers. I also attended three, 10-day Vipassana retreats, twice in Merritt, BC (in 2003 & 2010) and once in Sutton, Quebec (in 2006).

<strong>Circus Arts﻿</strong>
In 2002, I was mesmerized by Poi Pixies fire-spinning show in Nanaimo and it inspire me to learn how to spin fire poi. Upon a visit in Nelson, I took a hula-hoop workshop and found another passion. Shortly thereafter, my friend Jonathan told me I could learn to juggle clubs in just one hour. Of course I couldn't juggle, but I could pass a club.  I worked on these skills until I felt comfortable enough to perform. I joined the circus/fire spinning group called Ignited Passion Troup and we performed mainly on Vancouver Island. When I moved to Gaspé in 2005, I was thrilled to be able to build on my circus skills by enrolling in the circus school program, Cirque de Gaspé.  I explored a lot of different activities during that year: trampoline, acrobatics, tumbling, aerial dance, partner acrobatics, parcours, dance, clowning: it was all so much fun!  I participated in a summer tour around Gaspésie with the school troup. We had a fire show, some roaming and miming acts and I am so grateful that I connected with so many amazing people through circus arts.
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<strong>Weight Training Room Coordinator ​</strong>
﻿From 2005  for five years I worked at the CÉgep de Gaspé as a weight room coordinator. My employers generously sent me to numerous training courses and workshops, including the Can Fit Pro conventions in Montreal and Toronto.  Taking advantage of my summers off,  I continued my adventurous lifestyle by going to dance training, yoga retreats, bicycle tours in BC, and volunteering at Kalani, a holistic center on the Big Island of Hawaii.
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<strong>Dance​</strong>
Across my journeys, I have explored many styles of dance: salsa, bellydance, Bollywood, Polynesian, African, Flamenco, modern, capoeira, and samba. I’ve attended various belly dance retreat and studied Cuban style salsa in Cuba. I am so grateful for all the beautiful and generous teachers I met along the way: Nathalie Lebel, Caroline Labrie, Brigitte Morin, Nour’A’Shem, Hadia, Taiya, Ramona, Lynette, Genya, Carl Chapman, Lucie & Luc Davignon, to name just a few of the people who touched me deeply. I received three grants from Conseil des Arts et Cultures de la Gaspésie; 2006 New York style salsa with Carl Chapman at Studio Buena Vista in Quebec, 2008 professional belly dance training with Hadia in Nova Scotia, 2009 weeklong intensive bellydance training with Amelia Levesque in Montreal. 
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<strong>Since my return to BC​</strong>
I returned to BC in the summer of 2010, excited to begin the next phase of my life. Motherhood became my next great adventure.  The following spring, I gave birth to our son, Elohw Main, after maintening an active and healthy pregnancy. ​During the winter of 2012, my partner Jony, my son Elohw completed a 7 weeks internship at Bellyacres; an artistic community and circus school in Hawaii. I've gave birth to our second son, Sunny Oak, in 2013. Since march 2014 we been living at Pacific Garden Cohousing in Nanaimo, BC.";s:6:"filter";b:1;s:11:"panels_info";a:6:{s:5:"class";s:14:"WP_Widget_Text";s:3:"raw";b:0;s:4:"grid";i:0;s:4:"cell";i:0;s:2:"id";i:0;s:5:"style";a:1:{s:18:"background_display";s:4:"tile";}}}i:1;a:13:{s:5:"image";i:30;s:14:"image_fallback";s:0:"";s:4:"size";s:4:"full";s:5:"align";s:7:"default";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:14:"title_position";s:6:"hidden";s:3:"alt";s:0:"";s:3:"url";s:0:"";s:5:"bound";b:1;s:12:"_sow_form_id";s:13:"56c7d18150958";s:10:"new_window";b:0;s:10:"full_width";b:0;s:11:"panels_info";a:6:{s:5:"class";s:30:"SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget";s:3:"raw";b:0;s:4:"grid";i:0;s:4:"cell";i:1;s:2:"id";i:1;s:5:"style";a:1:{s:18:"background_display";s:4:"tile";}}}}s:5:"grids";a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:5:"cells";i:2;s:5:"style";a:3:{s:13:"bottom_border";s:7:"#61bc46";s:23:"background_image_repeat";s:0:"";s:9:"no_margin";s:0:"";}}}s:10:"grid_cells";a:2:{i:0;a:2:{s:4:"grid";i:0;s:6:"weight";d:0.73136818687399995919662387677817605435848236083984375;}i:1;a:2:{s:4:"grid";i:0;s:6:"weight";d:0.268631813125999985292224891963996924459934234619140625;}}}