Our instructors

The Akasha Team

Julie Comeau

Studio Owner

Regina Levy

Studio Manager

Marie Alexiou

Receptionist

Meet our yoga instructors

Alexandra Negru
Alexandra Negru
Prenatal, Postnatal , LYT Yoga

With over 10 years experience in hospitality management, Alex took a leap of faith in 2017 and made yoga her career. She never looked back. She aims to help her students move better to feel better, on and off the mat. Alex has completed over 500H of training with her teachers Lara Heimann (LYT® Yoga), Cecily Milne (Yoga Detour®), Mat Phippen and Kate Gillespie (The Yoga Method®) and Deb Flashenberg (Prenatal Yoga Center). She is a lifelong learner, always diving deeper and refining her skills. She is one of three certified LYT® method yoga teachers in Quebec. She uses her knowledge to make yoga accessible to all; expect her classes to be strong, fluid and playfully sequenced. She often integrates functional movements and strength exercises while focusing on the core - unless she teaches pregnant folx! Alex also specializes in pre & post natal yoga, and is a certified active labor support doula. After the birth of her son in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, she could no longer ignore the call of supporting mothers in a more personal, all encompassing way. She knows what movements and techniques really make it in the birth room, so she integrates them in her classes. Her passion for childbirth and the perinatal period is carried over in all her offerings. She supports everyone's motherhood journey from the heart; yoga is just the entry portal. She wants everyone to feel prepared and empowered for labor, delivery and motherhood through an open exploration of mind, body and spirit. Through asanas, education, and recovery, Alex wants mamas to know they're never alone. Alex is a firm believer that movement is medicine in all aspects of life, be it on the day to day, during pregnancy, birth or on the forever postpartum journey. Her goal: foster community and make everyone realize their limitless potential!

Amanda Chicoine
Amanda Chicoine
Vinyasa

Amanda discovered yoga in 2010 when she was transitioning out of a full-time professional dance career. Now a certified Hatha yoga instructor focusing on functional movement and mobility, Amanda believes that everyone can benefit from practicing yoga. She has realized, through her own practice, that yoga not only increases body awareness and appreciation but it also invites people to tap into their authentic selves. She has appeared on television shows such as La Fureur, performed in Casino stage shows including Danse-Sing at the Casino du Liban in Lebanon, and was part of a show tour for the Canadian Armed Forces in Labrador, the North Pole and in Bosnia. She was a cheerleader with the Montreal Alouettes for 9 consecutive seasons. She currently works as a special events specialist, planning and executive events throughout the city. For Amanda, yoga is a performance its own. It provides the opportunity to discover, appreciate, and reconnect with yourself. The dance between movement and breath is the most elegant choreography of all.

Asami Martens
Asami Martens
Vinyasa, Yin, Yin & Yang

Yoga stumbled into Asami's life when darkness had taken over her smile, and offered her refuge. After a regular period of practice, she quickly realized her love for Yoga. The practice helped Asami look deep inside of herself, face difficult challenges in her life, and made her realize the limitless potential within her body, mind and spirit. Needless to say, Asami attributes Yoga to shaping the person she is today, and has helped her accept her perfectly imperfect self through self-love. Asami's classes are creatively sequenced and use intelligent alignment cues. She incorporates yoga philosophy and storytelling to make her classes more than just a physical practice. Her classes are challenging and aim to bring inner smile and joy to each of her students with her passion and love towards Yoga. Asami seeks to inspire and connect with others about Yoga through her blog and social media, helping students relate to the ups and downs of her own practice. Born and raised in Japan, Asami currently lives in Montreal, Canada. She has also lived and taught Yoga in Sydney, Australia and Singapore. Asami has been teaching Yoga since 2009, and holds two, 200 hour Teacher Training from Santosha Yoga (Australia) and SBC Yoga (Bali, Indonesia). She is also trained in Yin Yoga and Prenatal Yoga. She completed her 500-hour teacher training with Amy Ippoliti and Vesselify School of Yoga in 2020. Asami continues to study under the guidance of Amy while supporting her 300-hour training. She is currently studying with Michelle Cassandra Johnson to understand and deepen her knowledge about the intersection of social justice and yoga. She is also partaking in Kundalini Illuminated 222-hour residency program with Kimiko Tao Fujimoto. Asami loves to travel around the world and experiences new cultures.

Brandon  Dawson-Jarvis
Brandon Dawson-Jarvis
Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin

Brandon is a Montreal based social entrepreneur, community builder, Lululemon ambassador and the founder of Grove Campus. Yoga emerged as a practice that was eye-opening, and counteracted his mental health struggles with PTSD and depression. Brandon realized that yoga moves much deeper than our physical bodies and has the ability to transmute a wide variety of issues, including mental health. He began leading karma sessions and using the contributions to have an impact in the community, thus Grove Campus was born. Grove Campus is a lifestyle brand that promotes movement to take care of yourself through self growth, joy and gratitude. Its purpose is to make the world a better place through community building and sustainable practices.

Charlotte Mercille
Charlotte Mercille
Tantra, Hatha, Meditation, Reiki, Tarot

Based on more than ten years of practice, Charlotte's teachings are based on the Tantra tradition of yoga. In a gentle and caring approach, she invites her students to reconnect with their bodies and discover their truth through intelligent and accessible sequences. Her mission? Invite yoga into all spheres of our communities and our lives, beyond the mat. In another life, Charlotte was a communications professional and journalist. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing, as well as the lifelong study (adhikara) of yoga. Charlotte is the owner of the studio since August 2021. ​ Certifications: 300 hours of teacher training in vinyasa & hatha yoga with Terri McCollum and Jill Campbell 40 h - yin yoga teacher training with Asami Martens 40 h - Hands-on adjustments from Asami Martens 40 h - Meditation teaching with Tracee Stanley 25 h - Yoga Therapy at Yoga Sangha

Emilie Frenette-Caron
Emilie Frenette-Caron
Vinyasa, Meditation

De nature curieuse et créative, Émilie est inspirée par le corps en mouvement. D’abord introduite au Yoga en 2012, pendant ses études en danse contemporaine, elle est touchée par le bien-être que cela lui apporte. S'ensuivront plusieurs années de pratique, sous différents professeur.es dans différents endroits dans le monde, elle devient finalement certifiée pour l'enseignement du Yoga Vinyasa en 2020. Depuis, en tant que perpétuelle étudiante, elle continue de se former régulièrement et acquiert diverses formations, notamment en Yin, Pleine conscience et Mobilité appliqué au yoga (Functioning Range Conditioning). En approfondissant continuellement ses connaissances dans ces disciplines, elle améliore son habileté à guider les autres dans leur propre évolution yogique. Émilie cherche à démocratiser cette pratique ancestrale et guide ses étudiant.es avec candeur et accessibilité. Ainsi, ses classes se définissent autant par leurs thématiques créatives que le mouvement organique basé sur l'alignement qui s'y trouve. Plus intéressée par les similitudes qui nous unissent plutôt que nos différences, son but est de cultiver un espace inclusif et chaleureux pour permettre à chacun d'enrichir son bien-être, une semence de présence à la fois.

Erin Chiarelli
Erin Chiarelli
Vinyasa, Yin

Erin is a multi-dimensional full-of-energy, that is ever-evolving in her practices and offerings in the world. She dove into her first 200hr YTT after taking just 5 yoga classes ... it was love at first chaturanga! Within the last decade of Erin's teachering career she's had the privilege of learning multiple modalities from amazing teachers in the embodiment, energetic and mindful spaces. She takes her gatherings and weaves them together magically in her classes, just for you! She brings movement, mindset, and energetics into all her classes and you can expect seasonal themes or even cosmic connection to take you deeper into your core essence and alignment; Mind, Body, Heart and Soul. When she's not within the community, she's barefoot and braless wondering the forest, chilling with her bestie Frenchie Mila or creating beauty in the world, content, crafting, you name it! Erin also offers 1:1 reiki sessions and human design readings!

Fimo Mitchell
Fimo Mitchell
Meditation

Fimo Mitchell is a meditation teacher, a writer and a podcast host. He began meditating in 2009 during his first trip to India. Since then, he has spent thousands of hours in meditation and completed two mindfulness courses. In 2020 he founded When The Village Meditates, a nonprofit dedicated to providing meditation programs, discussion groups and wellness retreats that centers racialized and marginalized people. In 2021, Fimo released his third book titled Pastel Remembrances. Every Tuesday, he hosts the When The Village Meditates podcast featuring ten minutes of meditation followed by five minutes of insightful speech.

Gladys Bonyad
Gladys Bonyad
Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin Yang, Restorative

Gladys (she/her) first discovered yoga in 2013 and since then it has been a constant in her life alongside her passions for music, dance, art and culture. Over the last 10+ years, she has deepened her practice by studying hatha, vinyasa, gentle, restorative, and yin yoga with a keen focus on functional anatomy and breathwork. One of her main goals as a teacher (and a lifelong student) is to help create an inclusive and safe space where students feel seen and heard. She weaves asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques) in an accessible and seamless way while honoring the roots of yoga. When she's not teaching, Gladys loves to sing, dance and immerse herself in the music and cultural scenes in and outside of the city.

Jennifer Atoapoma
Jennifer Atoapoma
Barre

Jennifer grew up in a very active family and participated in organized sports from a young age. She always had a love for sports and fitness but stopped in her college years to focus on her studies. This led her to a surplus of weight gain and unhappiness. Later, she decided to get back to her fitness lifestyle which resulted in her loving it so much that she decided to become a certified personal trainer, and so her journey began. She now has had the pleasure of being a personal trainer for over 5 years. She has enjoyed motivating and encouraging clients and realized she could make a bigger impact by training clients in a group setting. So she took her passion one step further and got certified as a group fitness instructor. Over the years she’s received multiple certifications, worked at local gyms, and taught classes including bootcamp, Body Pump, Pilates, Hot booty ballet, TRX, and strength training classes to men and women of all fitness levels. She’s enjoyed motivating and encouraging clients in both one-on-one and groups and helping them make fitness a big part of their lives.

Julie Comeau
Julie Comeau
Vinyasa, Yin, Meditation

Julie began practicing yoga in 2009, during a difficult period of her life. After a little while, she realized what beneficial impacts this practice came with, on so many levels. Her journey eventually became brighter, and she started having more compassion towards others and a great joy for life. Julie started teaching yoga to share all the positive aspects of the practice. After completing many trainings and guiding students for the past 7 years, her passion is still growing and evolving. She is dedicated to helping others connect with their true nature, allowing them to step into their fullest potential. Traveling the world since November 2020, she has been hosting private and group retreats to share magical experiences and add an extra dimension to her teachings of yoga, meditation, mindfulness and breathwork.

Mariana Mercado
Mariana Mercado
Vinyasa, Hatha, Meditation & Pranayama, Yin, Prenatal

" Through intention, breathe and movement, we can transform it all" Mariana is a passionate Mexican architect, artist, athlete, musician, yogi, nature and life lover, and recently became a mother. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 10 years, convinced that yoga is a way of life. She is driven, curious, creative and committed to her practice and community. Pregnancy and postpartum have definitely influenced her life and approach to the practice. She loves sharing the holistic benefits of yoga through a combination of intention, pranayama, asana and movement. Her classes are creative, progressive, and playful. They are designed to move along with breathing in order to flow into a relaxed state of mind and find deep connection within while moving in interesting ways.

Mylène Leclair
Mylène Leclair
Vinyasa, AcroYoga, Thai Massage

Mylène likes to move, laugh and connect. She’s at her happiest when she brings people together through movement, whether it is through yoga, acroyoga, thai massage or spinning classes. With over 500 hours of training completed, her yoga classes are lead with music at a fluid pace to build flexibility, strength and mindfulness. Know for her dedication to her communities, Mylène is curious, kind, and playful. Studies: - 380 hours in Hatha and Vinyasa Teacher training under the tutorship of Sylvie Tremblay at Yoga Sangha. - 20 hours of Hatha yoga teacher training specialized in Correctional and Palliative Intervention with Rocio Machorro. - 1 month Ashtanga retreat studying with international teachers Mark Robberds and Deepika Mehta. - 100 hour advance teacher training with Jill Campbell and Terri McCollum at the Wanderlust yoga studio.

Natasha Bernardi
Natasha Bernardi
Yin & Yang | Vinyasa | Yin

Natasha comes from a background in dance, both as a student and a teacher. She started practicing yoga 9 years ago and noticed the clear changes in her relationship with her body, as well as the subtle changes that were taking place in her mind. Not only did she feel more grounded and connected, the practice simply made her feel-so-good. She was also fascinated by the power of the breath and the benefits of conscious breathing on and off the mat. She completed her 200 hours YTT, and a 40 hours Yin training and started teaching 3 years ago. Natasha teaches, Yin, Vinyasa Flow and Yin Yang Yoga, incorporating mindful sequencing and breath awareness. She aims to create an inclusive space for anyone to find their place on the mat and to feel empowered in their practice. Natasha encourages her students to listen to their body, honor their uniqueness and gently explore movements.

Nuha Abdel
Nuha Abdel
Vinyasa

Nuha loves Burpees as much as shes love Utkatasanas. Her favourite TV show is The Wire as it reflects and informs her vision of society. Nuha has high expectations of herself and others, and believes that united in accountability we can achieve greatness. Her diligence in her practice and teaching is reflected in her firm, structured, yet playful sequencing.

Sylvie Lahaie
Sylvie Lahaie

About Sylvie - She is a yoga/meditation teacher and doing her PhD at McGill university in neuroscience. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge of the brain and love of yogic tools to empower people to feel their best. Outside of school and the studio, Sylvie loves to be in nature, a cozy cafe and/or being with loved ones.

William Charbonneau
William Charbonneau
Mobility & Yin

As a holistic movement facilitator William finds it important to look at the interdependent connection of all the system's of the body, mind and spirit. Through subtle and not so subtle explorations of our mobility, breathing, and nervous system we can navigate our inner and outer worlds so we can be better prepared for the ups and downs of life. He has studied various inner and outer movement modalities which include but are not limited too; Functional range systems, tune up, nidra, yin, vinyasa, hatha, breathwork and meditation... William wants to help his community better connect with themselves and others to avoid & mitigate injury and confusion. Don't be shy, he's here to help.

Trade Program

Devote 3.5 hours of your week to take care of the studio in exchange of unlimited yoga.

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