Stefani Hoyt M.Sc., E-RYT 500

Yoga Therapist, Yoga Alliance Teacher Trainer, Nutrition & Lifestyle Counselor

Stefani is an Experienced – Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 hour level  with over 2,000 hours of teaching experience that qualifies her to train future yoga teachers through Yoga Alliance.  A Certified Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher; she has a great passion for working with Prenatal women.  At this point in her teaching career, she has assisted at several births and brings this experience into her classes.  After attending her first yoga teacher training in 2001 through Yoga Fit®, Stefani has continued to advance her yoga studies; completing trainings and certifications through East to West Yoga and 5 Elements Yoga & Pilates. Stefani’s Prenatal training was with Michelle Cormack E-RYT 500 and she has completed the level 4 training in Thai Vinyasa Healing Arts through Spectrum Yoga. In 2009 Stef completed her 500 hour level yoga certification in yoga therapy through the Heaven on Earth Yoga Institute in Montreal that included training in Holistic Psychotherapy.  Stefani has done additional studies with her teacher and yoga therapist, Robin Rothenburg.

Stefani is certified as a Raw Culinary Arts Associate Chef through the Raw Gourmet International Culinary Arts Institute of Chicago and has earned her Masters degree in Holistic Nutrition through Clayton College of Natural Health. She uses this training along with her psychotherapy and yoga therapy training to offer Nutrition and Lifestyle Counseling as well as hands on cooking lessons.

Stefani pays tribute to her yoga teachers Michiji, Karen and Robin and honors all the teachers she has come across along the way, with or without any titles. Thank you!

A personal note from Stef:

I began studying yoga when I was 21 years old.  I had just finished studying cultural studies and literature in University and had seen a great deal of the world as a result, but I didn’t feel at home in my own body.  Yoga helped me become comfortable with myself and others and gave me clarity about what I wanted in life and what made me happy.  I am often accused of smiling a lot and I can assure you its pretty true.  Life has not been easy for me, I don’t think it is for anyone, but yoga has given me the skills to be at peace in the midst of pain and challenge.  I try very hard in my classes to avoid dogma and legalism and through being transparent, human, sassy and at times out right funny, I try my best to invite my students into a place of comfort within themselves.  I believe that yoga is about relationship, first with yourself and then with others.  I am a Vinyasa Flow yoga teacher but I have two main approaches to my classes.  One approach is through tapas and discipline. In these classes, I focus on alignment, strengthening both the mind and body while cleaning out the things we don’t need whether they be physical or emotional.  My other approach is more maternal and intuitive and my students often tell me that it was exactly what they needed.  My classes always begin with checking in.  I take the time to talk to each and every student and find out how you are feeling and what is happening in your life and your body.  I do this is in an open format because I find it eliminates competitive thinking that leads to discouragement because you can’t be smug that you are doing a pose better than someone else when you just found out that they hurt their knee and because there is a certain communal support that happens when you know that you are holding a difficult pose because that pose is helping another person heal themselves.  And this is the biggest intention of my classes.  I can’t tell you how many friends I have made along the way through teaching yoga and even more so how many friends have met each other through having their mat across from the same person every week.  This is an element that is so important for human growth and living well and it is my hope that through my classes you will feel connected again and know that you are not alone, that you have a right to be here and that you are loved!

Namaste . . . . Stefiji

About Mandorla Yoga & Wellness

Stef established Mandorla in 2007 with the intention of creating an environment that encouraged true balance on the macro and micro level.  Originally a yoga studio in Sarnia, Ontario, Mandorla has now moved to Woodstock and offers its services at various studios throughout the region.

The word Mandorla, means almond in Italian. Its name is derived from the shape one sees when two circles of the same size overlap.  Historically the mandorla has been a symbol for thousands of years that signifies the perfect balance of two opposites.  One hears about this balance in yoga all the time as there are many terms to describe this balance in the ancient Sanskrit language.  For example Hatha Yoga literally means Sun/Moon Yoga.