Yoga Bhavana is a small studio full of intimacy and gentleness located in Villeray, Montreal. Since 2012, Marie-Daphné Roy and her team have been teaching several types of yoga such as restorative, postural, therapeutic, prenatal, postnatal and gentle yoga as well as Feldenkrais.
In 2020, the studio evolved and added to its offer online classes and trainings presented on its new online platform enligne.yoga-bhavana.com.
At Yoga Bhavana, no matter your level, you will find quality classes and trainings covering different types of practices that will meet your needs and expectations.
Our team
Marie-Daphné Roy
A certified Yoga Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Massage Therapist, Marie-Daphné is known for her expertise in Restorative Yoga, Yin Yoga, Yoga Therapy and Yoga for Women. She has been teaching yoga for over 25 years and has been leading yoga retreats and teacher trainings locally and internationally since 2006.
A graduate in Religious Studies with a specialization in Hinduism, Marie-Daphné visited India twice to study Hindu pilgrimages. She studied Contemporary Yoga during graduate studies in Sociology, completed a certificate in mental health and a short graduate program on Theravada Buddhist meditation and the creative process. She is also a sexologist.
Marie-Daphné invites you to a practice in which the felt-sense of your body and breath are paramount. She emphasizes the subtlety of alignment combined with a compassionate presence and embodiement.
Deeply grateful, Marie-Daphné studied with dedicated teachers. She studied Kripalu Yoga under the supervision of Yoganand Michael Carroll during a two years residency at Kripalu. She studied for 12 years with Hart Lazer, a teacher trained in the Iyengar Method, and is also inspired by Ramanand Patel. She has also trained in yin yoga with Paul Grilley and in Insight Yoga with Sarah and Ty Powers, which combines mindfulness meditation with yin yoga. She considers Sarah Powers as her mentor.
Marie-Daphne is on a sabbatical from teaching regular classes. Join her retreats and trainings.
Kim Zombik
Kim, who is also a jazz singer, is certified in both Kripalu and Iyengar-inspired Yoga. Her quest for stability in a wiggly world lead her to the rich and intense tradition of yoga asana her first month in college, in 1986. And after obtaining her teaching certificate from Kriplau Center in 2007, she began to teach. Once arriving in Montreal, she completed 4 trainings with Hart Lazer at United Yoga Montreal, and additional training in Restorative and Yin yoga with Marie-Daphnée Roy. Now she is pursuing studies in yoga philosophy with Robin Golt, and studies in Naad yoga (the yoga of sound) with Niloy Ahsan. In offering her BIPOC classes, Kim is grateful for the mentorship and support of Ryumon Zenji, and Violette Najat.
Year after year, she deepens her practice by allowing more simplicity. Cultivating patience, trust and ease is at the center of her practice right now. In her classes, emphasis is put on moving with precision, presence with a nice dose of humour. When those qualities are woven together, we create stability in the body, resilience in the mind, compassion in the heart.
Her practice is inspired by many wonderful teachers: the lyricism of dance, the power of the martial arts, the wisdom of the I Ching, the precision of BKS Iyengar, the vibratory healing of the classical Hindustani music of Dhrupad, as well as the transformations found through Somatic Experiencing.
Mondays 9 am Vinyasa and Yin
Mondays 12 pm Restorative and Yin
Tuesdays 9 am Therapeutic Yoga - for the back
Tuesdays 5:45 pm Yin Flow
Tuesdays 7:30 pm Restorative Yoga
Patricia Garcia
Patricia is a certified yoga teacher who teaches in English, French and Spanish. Charismatic and jovial, she is a dedicated practitioner who guides her classes with precision and thoughtfully organized sequencing. Intrigued by the workings of asana, Patricia encourages her students to remain open to what each posture offers and to practice with integrity and truthfulness. Patricia considers respectful and patient observation of the body and mind a key ingredient for the practice to unfold. For her, approaching the practice with curiosity and attention reveals the unique experience of each breath on the mat.
Fridays 9 am Postural Hatha
Saturdays 11 am Therapeutic Yoga – for the back
Marielle Bertin
Marielle is a certified Hatha yoga teacher inspired by the Ashtanga style of the AYM studio in Montreal. A dynamique approach focussed on the balance between effort of movement and personal potential.
This training introduced her to the discipline of daily practice and was the start of a relationship that has lasted for over 15 years.
For her yoga is the optimal challenge of everyday living. Exploring the tensions between effort and ease, comfort and discomfort and the sense of self within turbulence. Simplicity and movement. With a background in Massage Therapy, Horticulture and Garden Design she is currently completing the Professional Yoga Therapist Program at Naadayoga.
Mondays 5:30 pm Postural Vinyasa
Thursdays 9 am Postural Vinyasa
Brigitte Vaillancourt
Brigitte Vaillancourt divides her time between writing and yoga, a happy balance which allows her to create space in her mind as well as her body. She has been practicing yoga for over 20 years. In 2015, she decided to deepen her knowledge by enrolling in a 500-hour yoga teacher training at Naada Yoga. The diverse curriculum allowed her to explore Restorative yoga and meditation, practices that she has a particular fondness for. In her approach to practice and to teaching, she cultivates mindful slowness: a precious tool with which to perceive the subtle and shifting sensations of the body.
Wednesdays 5:45 pm Hatha flow
Fridays 12 pm Restorative and Yin
Saturdays 9 am Postural Vinyasa
Gabriel Genest
Saxophonist and composer, it was music that led Gabriel to become interested in mindfulness meditation, which he has been practicing daily for the past 10 years. Drawing on his rich background as a music educator, he has been teaching meditation since 2020, when he obtained his level 2 certification with Unified Mindfulness (UM). He is currently completing the Compass Advanced Certification (UM), an in-depth meditation teacher training.
Gabriel regularly attends retreats in the Theravada Buddhist tradition with renowned masters including Shinzen Young, Nikki Mirghafori, Sayadaw U Jagara and S.N Goenka. He has also completed the Dedicated Practitioner Program with The Mind Illuminated and the Programme court de 2e cycle en méditation theravada et processus de création at UQAM.
Curious by nature, he is interested in various contemporary Buddhist movements, secular approaches to meditation, and research in contemplative neuroscience.
Appreciated for his warm presence and attentive listening, Gabriel teaches with the Unified Mindfulness system, recognized as a clear, precise and complete approach to meditation that integrates the spirit of science with contemplative practice.
Wednesdays 7:20 pm to 8:20 pm Foundations of Mindfulness Meditation - Series on registration
Wednesdays 8:35 pm to 9:35 pm Deepening of mindfulness practice - Series on registration
Champa Cyr-Ratanatray
Champa is a yoga and meditation teacher with over 750 hours of yoga training in the following areas: Hatha, Ayurveda and Ashtanga yoga, as well as pre and post- natal yoga, and pelvic rehabilitation. She has received certifications in restorative and yin yoga, and was trained in therapeutic yoga with Bhavana yoga, focusing on lower back health, pelvic floor, digestive issues and stress and anxiety.
Passionate about health all around, Champa has training in trauma-sensitive yoga and nonviolent mindful communication. A movement expert, Champa is also an accomplished dancer, choreographer and performer with a BA in Contemporary dance from Concordia University.
From her experience in yoga and meditation, she teaches the six perfection of yoga; discipline, devotion, letting go, absorption, self-realization, as well as the impermanence of all things.
Champa endeavors to provide her students a space where they feel safer to explore their breath, body awareness and meditation. She considers each of her students as unique and aims to support them in establishing a daily yoga practice as a way of life. Champa provides her students with opportunities to listen to and deeply feel their bodies in order to establish a sense of belonging and well-being.
Sundays 4:30 pm Therapeutic and Restorative
Nadège Milord
Movement has always been an immense part of Nadège’s life, so in 2011, she began the practice of yoga in an effort to recover from an injury that had ended her gymnastics career. Initially, not knowing everything the practice had to offer, she would soon realize that yoga is more than meets the eye. In 2023, having accumulated over 10 years of yoga practice, she completed her first teaching training. Her intention through teaching is to create a space where racialized and historically marginalized people feel seen and welcomed. A space where all can freely explore movement: a space to connect with our body and inner self. Nadège truly believes yoga is an instrument that can help us heal and connect. Through her teachings, she invites us to slow down, turn our focus inward, and connect with our intuition. While she thrives on creating and guiding sequences that are both structured and fluid, her focus is always on inviting us to explore our inner experience.
Mondays 7:30 pm to 8:40 pm
Postural Hatha Series
Georges-Étienne d'Entremont
Georges-Étienne is a classically trained musician and conductor specializing in youth orchestras. In 2012, he discovered yoga as a means of rehabilitation following professional injuries. Following his personal practice, he committed to formal training, completing the 500-hour teacher training program at Naada Yoga in 2020. During the period of pandemic-related closures, which suspended his musical activities, Georges-Étienne transitioned to online yoga instruction to maintain engagement with his students. His instructional approach centers on intermediate and advanced postures, with an emphasis on providing accessible variations to accommodate diverse needs.
Saturdays 9 am Postural Vinyasa
Alexandrine Lebeau
Creative and colourful, Alexandrine is passionate by conscious and organic mouvement. Through her teaching style she combines elements of therapeutic yoga, Pilates and somatic mouvement. Her intuitive sequences aim to make room for self-compassion while guiding the focus toward breathing and subtle inner sensations.
Following numerous years of self practice during her teens and early 20's, after completing her first teacher training in Hatha Yoga, she began teaching Yoga in 2011. Soon after, she pursued Pilates and Barre training followed by studies in kinesiology, including functional training. Meanwhile, her passion for yoga brought her to expand her practice and teachings into Ashtanga and dynamic Vinyasa/Flow. Since the last few years her focus has deepened into therapeutic Yoga, Yin and Restorative. Alongside her advanced studies in yoga, as a certified massage therapist, she has the ability to convey a deeper knowledge of anatomy and physiology. She is currently studying acupuncture.
Camille Proulx
Camille is a passionate yoga teacher. Since 2016, she has been perfecting her knowledge in a therapeutic and diversified approach. Her teaching is based on over 1500 hours of experience with a diverse clientele including hospital, community, and school settings; elderly individuals, people with disabilities, children; as well as adults seeking accessible yoga instruction. She ensures to continually enrich her practice through ongoing reading and training. Her commitment to the well-being of her students is reflected in her inclusive approach and philosophy focused on empowerment. Her guidance is gentle, caring, and thoughtful. Her personality is welcoming and dynamic.
Camille acts as a substitute for the Yoga Bhavana team and offers private classes upon request.
Nadia Genois
I am a human, curious and I guide other humans to develop a better self-awareness to live more freely and open their horizons. Passionate about movement and self-discovery, always enthusiastic to learn and acquire new skills, I have an eclectic background which enriches my practice. Through the latter, I have always sought to combine movement, emotion and psychology, which first led me to studies in osteopathy (2015) and finally to the Feldenkrais® method of somatic education. I received my certification at the Feldenkrais Institute of New York, and have been a Feldenkrais practitioner since 2019.
I also graduated (1994) in contemporary dance at the École de Danse de Québec. In addition to having worked in psycho-social intervention for a long time, I have more than 15 years of experience in teaching different forms of movement, pole dance, gymnastics, dance, flexibility/mobility, floorwork.
For me the body is much more than a vessel but a friend and guide that accompanies us throughout life. I define myself as a movement optimist and I believe in the autonomy and the potential of each one. I work in groups and individually with anyone curious to learn. Here are some topics of particular interest: anxiety, creativity, athletic performance, chronic pain.
Rija Renaud
Father of two young boys, somatic educator, president of the Feldenkrais Quebec association, co-founder of Bhavana la clinique; these are the roles through which I aspire to participate in the collective and individual well-being.
In the past, I've had to deal with chronic back pain and the stress of working in New York finance. These situations forced me to stop and learn to take care of my posture, my movements, myself.
It is this learning that I want to share in my lessons. By adding elements from my meditative practice, from my studies in philosophy and cognitive sciences, I invite each participant to develop a quality of presence very useful to face the various challenges life brings us.
Rija is on a Teaching Sabbatical .
Julie Drouin
Julie began her career in the field of biology where she completed a master's degree in behavioral ecology. Her interest in living things then shifted to the study of human movement. She has been teaching Pilates since 2008 and has been a somatic educator since 2012.
Her academic career in science made him discover the elegance of critical thinking and the importance of questioning the foundations of our knowledge. The one in ‘’movement’’ allowed her to acquire a solid experience of different approaches such as Pilates, Yoga, the Feldenkrais method and Gyrotonic / Gyrokinesis.
She sees her practice as a patchwork whose different pieces bear witness to the complexity of human movement. Closer to an exploratory pedagogy, her teaching promotes a dialogue between the sensitive experience that one has and the principles (biomechanical, anatomical, etc.) that organize it. Each person can thus discover what is right for them according to their needs and goals.
You can find her on our online platform of recorded sessions.
Elena Bracco
The Feldenkrais Method helped me with healing from a herniated disc in my teenage years. Since then, I have continued to deepen the practice of the Feldenkrais Method by focusing on the issues of movement, proprioception and learning. Throughout my training path, I was motivated by the desire to understand how we can learn to move without hurting ourselves and thus use the experience of movement to adapt and flourish in the physical and relational space.
Here are my trainings:
- Master's and post-master's degree in teaching / learning processes (University of Turin),
- Teaching certification for the Bones for Life program focused on skeletal proprioception and bone density regeneration.
- Graduate diploma specializing in Somatic Education (Department of Dance of UQAM)
- Advanced certification in Feldenkrais (Quebec School of Training in Somatic Education)
You can find her on our online platform of recorded sessions.
Also in the Bhavana family
Bhavana la clinique
Marie-Daphné has long wanted to enrich Yoga Bhavana‘s offer by setting up a place where individual and personalized work would be at the forefront; a place where therapists are committed to supporting you and providing you with the tools to help you take charge of your own health. A therapeutic care clinic adapted to everyone’s needs.
This wish has come true! This project was born from the association of Marie-Daphné with two Yoga Bhavana teachers: Rija Renaud, teacher of Feldenkrais and Sébastien Arcand-Tourigny, yoga teacher and osteopath.
The three friends and colleagues, passionate about somatics, attentive presence and fascinated by the complementarity of health care, created Bhavana la clinique a place to express, with other health practitioners, their vision of a comprehensive and integrated health, always on the move.