Toronto Yoga Leaders: Matthew Remski

In this interview, Matthew describes the purpose of Yoga Festival Toronto -- to communicate that yoga is not a product but a process, that it cannot be branded and sold but must be internally developed and shared, that the resources of freedom are both communal and transcendent, and that great food, well-timed in the day, is a definite pillar of any yogic learning. At the end he does a bit of waxing on the starting point of self-awareness.

Matthew has studied asana primarily under the inspiration of Kim Schwartz, whose unique skill is in grounding the experience of the subtle body in structural integrity. Here in town, he loves to learn with Susan Richardson and Ron Reid. His training in meditation first came through the Geluk lineage of the Tibetan Buddhist system. He is a certified Yoga Therapist, published novelist, and an Ayurvedic Health Educator (Advanced Level) through RMIYA and the American Institute of Vedic Studies.

Along with his wife, Dennison Smith, he is co-owner of Renaissance Yoga and Ayurveda, in Cabbagetown, Toronto, where he practices Ayurvedic consultation and Yoga Therapy, and directs Canada's only Ayurvedic Health Educator Certification Programme.