All our teachers are trained and certified in the Iyengar method. They all have in common this rigorous and progressive method, which is particularly geared to help students advance their practice while respecting their unique needs and limits.
With our teachers’ guidance, you are well supported as you learn. Indeed, to become Iyengar certified, teachers undergo extensive training, pass exams and commit to continuous development in order to deepen their personal practice and teaching skills.
Get to know our team by reading about what brought each teacher to yoga and the passion that motivates their teaching !
Claudie Berge
Claudie began training as an Iyengar yoga instructor in 2009, inspired by her teacher Marie-Andrée Morin. She had studied Shiatsu massage therapy before then. In 2014 Claudie got her first Iyengar yoga teacher certification*. Since then, she has been constantly seeking to develop further. Claudie is now a Level II* certified teacher and is also authorized to mentor and train other teachers.
Claudie has benefited from the teaching of many senior Iyengar yoga teachers over the years. While travelling in India, she attended many Iyengar yoga classes including in Rishikesh with Usha Dévi. She has participated in intensive workshops with senior teachers***. In 2018 she spent a month in Pune India at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute studying under Prashant Iyengar and Geeta S. Iyengar. Claudie is currently continuing her Iyengar yoga development, mainly with Barbara Young and Cristina Costa.
Claudie enjoys passing on her knowledge and passion for the Iyengar yoga method. She gives her classes with discipline, attentiveness, professionalism and generosity. In her teaching she works to make the benefits of Iyengar yoga accessible to everyone regardless of their level. As co-owner of Montreal Iyengar Yoga Center with Marie-Chantal Perras since 2014, Claudie is involved daily to ensure its smooth operation and growth.
* Formerly Introductory 1 and 2
** Formerly Intermediate Junior 1 and 2 (certified respectively in 2016 and 2019)
*** Including with Corinne Biria, Bobby Clennell, Carole Baillargeon, Ann Kilbertuis, Louie Etling, Zubin Zarthoshtimanes, Gulnaaz Dashti et Birjoo Mehta.
Marie-Chantal Perras
At a very young age, Marie-Chantal became interested in healthy eating, natural products and holistic approaches to health. After 4 years of training in naturopathy, she opened a private practice. In 2000, she included Iyengar yoga in her life and understood that it led to better physical and mental health. Wishing to share her experience, she began training as a teacher several years later.
A Iyengar yoga teacher since 2010, she continued to train in North America* and in India. In 2012 she stayed a month at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, where she received teachings from BKS Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar. In 2017, she studied one week with Prashant Iyengar. Marie-Chantal is now a Level II certified Iyengar yoga teacher. Since 2014, she has partnered with Claudie in the Centre de yoga Iyengar de Montréal. In addition to her family and yoga, Marie-Chantal has flowers as another passion, a field in which she is working.
In her teaching, Marie-Chantal is calm and rigorous, adding a touch of humor here and there. Using her observation skill, she aims at giving short and precise instructions at the right time. She encourages everyone to make their own observations, to discover what suits them here and now, and to try to go further while respecting their limits. She also likes to make connections with the philosophy of yoga and occasionally cite the writings of B.K.S. Iyengar.
* continuing training for teachers in Canada and the United States with Faeq and Corine Biria, Shirley Daventry French, Donna Fornelli, Carole Baillargeon, Bobby Clennell, Ann Kilbertuis, Louie Etling, Abhijata Iyengar the granddaughter of BKS Iyengar, Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh, Birjoo Mehta, Barbara Young and Tim Ruddy.
Christine Michaud
Christine has always been interested in holistic approaches to developing body and mind. With a bachelor’s degree in nursing sciences, she worked as a professional nurse across various specialties. Always eager to learn, she has also completed a bachelor’s degree in art history! She discovered Iyengar yoga in the early 90’s; she then threw herself into it fully.
Since she became a yoga teacher in 2005, Christine has believed that teaching and learning are intertwined. She has pursued continuing education with several senior teachers in Canada* and went to India three times for one-month internships with the Iyengar family. She is now certified as a Level II Iyengar teacher.
Using her extensive experience, Christine thoughtfully tailors each class so that all participants find progression, discoveries and wellbeing. As she knows her regular students’ needs, she can guide them straight away toward proper adjustments. Christine loves imparting her knowledge with rigor, precision and generosity. It is important to her to make Iyengar yoga better known, while maintaining its integrity and authenticity.
* Continuing training for teachers in particular with Marie-Andrée Morin, Shirley Daventry French, Margot Kitchen, Faeq and Corinne Biria, Bobby Clenell, Gulnaaz Dashti, Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh and others.
Paola Attalah
Paola discovered yoga after graduating from business school. While working in various corporate jobs, she noticed physical tensions in her body, particularly from stress and prolonged sitting in front of the computer. Initially seeking physical wellbeing from yoga practice, she tries to apply it to every aspect of her daily life helping her to overcome life’s challenges.
Passionate about the Iyengar method, Paola trained with Christian Pisano in France in 2017 and got her first certification in 2019. She is currently pursuing her Level II certification with Tim Ruddy in Montreal. She has also attended various workshops and courses with teachers close to BKS Iyengar including Abhijata Iyengar, Faeq Biria, Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh, Lois Steinberg.
Paola loves teaching and is dedicated to her students. She gives clear, positive and encouraging instructions. She also utilizes her natural coaching abilities to gently guide students on a path of personal exploration, adjusting them with care and transmitting confidence and serenity.
Martine Letarte
For Martine, yoga brings balance. She teaches yoga while working as a freelance journalist and these two activities allow her to find equilibrium between mind and body. As an active sporty person, Martine is well aware of the unique physical benefits yoga provides.
Martine discovered Iyengar yoga in 2012 at the Centre de yoga Iyengar de Montréal. It was a revelation ! She diligently took classes and then began teacher training with Tim Ruddy. She has attended several Iyengar yoga workshops abroad* and went to India to benefit from Abhijata Iyengar teaching.
Certified Iyengar yoga teacher since 2019 and presently Level II, Martine brings upbeat energy and conveys unique good humor to her classes. In her teaching, she considers yoga’s mental impacts. Having recently progressed in Iyengar yoga, she is eager to gently encourages students, making them eager to try and retry postures with curiosity, building confidence gradually without pursuing performance.
* Workshops in Canada with Marie-Andrée Morin, Carole Baillargeon, Louie Ettling, Ann Kilbertus and Bobby Clennell, in India with Abhijata Iyengar, in the United States with Lois Steinberg, as well as in Bali with Olop Arpipi.
Tim Ruddy
In 1986 Tim began his spiritual quest through meditation. Meditation led him to Tai Chi. The stretching involved in practicing Tai Chi had such a profound affect on his psyche he wanted more and the only he knew to do this was to embark on the path of Yoga. In 1990 his first yoga book was Light on Yoga and his first yoga class was Iyengar Yoga but without knowing Iyengar Yoga was a thing. He was hooked!
Tim started teaching Iyengar Yoga in 1995. The rules for teaching Iyengar Yoga back then were a lot more lax than today. By 1999 he decided it was time to enrol in teacher training to support his own teaching. Finally in 2001 he was certified by the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States (IYNAUS). Tim moved back home to Canada in 2004 and began his teaching career here. Tim is now a Level III certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher commonly referred to as a Senior Level Teacher. His influences are the teachers he studied with such as Geeta Iyengar, Prashant Iyengar, Abhijata Iyengar, Lois Steinberg, Louie Ettling, and Stephanie Quirk.
Tim joined the team at Centre de yoga Iyengar de Montréal in 2014 and has been a regular teacher there ever since. He also is a Teacher Mentor and has trained several teachers in Montreal and Quebec City to become certified or certified at higher levels. Tim’s passions are obviously yoga, pranayama and meditation. He also enjoys hiking, cycling and walks in nature, reading and studying philosophy.
Nasim Behrouzmehr
Nasim is a dedicated yoga practitioner and a Level II* certified Iyengar yoga teacher. She began practicing yoga in Tehran, Iran in 2002. Having studied engineering, she appreciated the precision of the Iyengar method. She studied Iyengar yoga under the supervision of Mahyar Raz, who had a great influence on her understanding of the essence of yoga practice. She began teaching in 2010.
Since she moved to Canada in 2013, Nasim has been assisting and practicing with several senior teachers in North America. She regularly travels to India to study directly with the Iyengar family at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, RIMYI, in Pune. It was in Pune that she discovered her deep interest in the therapeutic and philosophical dimensions of yoga that particularly motivate her teaching today. Since 2019, she has been practicing with Lois Steinberg to deepen her knowledge of therapeutic yoga and participate in Lois’ intense Iyengar yoga therapy workshops every year. Nasim is also enthusiastic about prenatal yoga, and she has been studying, practicing** and teaching it to several pregnant women.
Nasim relishes the opportunity to share the joy of practicing yoga with others. In her calm and soothing classes, accessibility and simplicity through precise instructions have been her goal in teaching. Nasim’s interest in sharing her knowledge led her to become a mentor for new teachers and to become actively involved in the Iyengar Yoga Association of Canada (IYAC). She is currently a member of the IYAC’s Professional Development Committee and their Education Roundtable. Her interest in the philosophy of yoga and its meaning in contemporary life has also led her to undertake a master’s thesis in comparative literature.
* Intermediate Junior II
** During her own pregnancy, Nasim practiced directly with Abhijata Iyengar à Pune, Lois Steinberg et Gulnaz Dashti. Her prenatal knowledge was enriched by her own experience of pregnancy under the supervision of some of the most expert Iyengar yoga teachers in the field.