I am a 31 year-old born and raised in Calgary, AB. From a young age I was drawn to sports and dance. To counter balance this passion; I found yoga to be essential in my life for rest + restoration. I have been practicing yoga for ten years but it wasn’t until the last few years I dived deeper. It is my passion for yoga that led me to open my own small business doing what I love!

In 2019, I embarked on a 200HR RYT journey. A strong believer in everyone can do yoga, connecting mind, body and breath in every practice. The last 10 years I have traveled and lived in many different places and I now call Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario home.

Lover of yoga, the outdoors, coffee, spontaneous adventure and sour keys!

I decided to leave the traditional way of life and embarked on teaching full-time; in January BeYou was born!

BeYou started as a Mobile Yoga business. Bringing yoga to your home, workplace, unique places and spaces. I am excited to share with you that we now have a physical location!

“If you can breathe, you can do yoga!”

BeWell, BeKind, BeYou,

Mariam

**“Like an oak tree, it grows slowly, but surely at its own rate'“**

Hi! My name is Michelle!

There are some things I love to do with passion: Yoga (of course), cooking, entertaining – creating really.

I am educated in Fine Arts and I still paint from time to time. I also have a long work history intertwined with customer service, international logistics, managing cars, trucks, trains, planes, people, and products. Life was busy! About 15 years ago, after just a few yoga classes, I was hooked, the biggest impact being savasana.

I remarried and moved to the beautiful north 6 years ago. Now at 51 years old, a mother of two amazing young men, I may have started a little later than most but do not underestimate my desire.

With a determined intention of sharing the benefits of yoga I started Of the Oaks Yoga after completing my RYT200 in June of 2020 and registered with Yoga Alliance.

I chose the name Of the Oaks for a couple reasons. I love the symbolism of oak trees, and it is also the meaning of my married last name, Deschenes. These are some additional qualities I love about oak trees:

The tree of life
A symbol of strength and morale, resistance, and knowledge
The oak is considered a cosmic storehouse of wisdom embodied in its towering strength
The Celts held the oak in high regard, it stands as a firm reminder that humankind has the ability to overcome all odds as well as tremendous capacity for kindness, even to strangers whose path we cross

Yoga helps you build strength, from within. It gives you the tools to recognize tension you are holding, and ways to release it.

I honestly believe yoga is for every body, whether you can bend like a pretzel or struggle to touch your toes. Everyone is welcome, and I encourage students to personalize their yoga by listening to what your body needs. Our body is our house that we are given for our whole life, and we need to be proud of our house regardless of what we think our limits may be. There is something to learn in every pose, and I am passionate about helping students find that. Classes are fun and relaxed, descriptive, and self-challenging, and of course savasana with guided meditation is my favourite part to give to you.

As a lifelong student of yoga, I continue training, and learning to help us all get the best benefits in a healthy way.

As we grow older, we want to be ready to adapt and bend – this is why we do yoga. I look forward to working with you and learning together.