Toronto - at 699 College on the South East corner of Montrose. (Side door)
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About Us

Home to some of Toronto’s original yoga teachers and their emerging graduate teachers, Yogaspace offers classes, workshops and teacher trainings, aimed at directing you inward and out of your ego. A cozy yogic environment with a rustic yoga deck from late Spring until early Fall, this is our third and most cherished space since we first opened our doors 28 years ago.

Cultural Appropriation Statement

Cultural appropriation is a reality in our world; cultures constantly borrow (or take) designs, images, clothing, and practices. When a dominant culture, such as North America, does this to a colonized and in turn socio-politically disenfranchised culture such as India, it results in commodifying and reducing aspects of their culture.

Here are some of the questions we try to keep in mind as we consider the presence of the cultural objects and practices at Yogaspace. We invite you to try them on for yourself.

Cultural appropriation in the case of yoga in North America is complex. When it comes to borrowing/taking aspects of cultures we must be critical about appreciation versus appropriation.

To acknowledge the borrowed practices and artifacts we uphold within Yogaspace, we have listed the items with context below. Yogaspace is an open community and with that we welcome feedback and critique about our space.

Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni Buddha was an ascetic sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He lived between the 4th and 6th Centuries CE in eastern India. We have several Buddha statue’s that were gifts when we first opened 28 years ago. Some of our teachers apply Buddhist concepts to their teaching of meditation and yoga.

Om, Namaste
At the beginning or end of class at Yogaspace, you may be invited to sing or listen to the sound of Om and/or speak the word Namaste. Om is a Sanskrit syllable, a sacred mantra that occurs in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Namaste is derived from Sanskrit and is a respectful form of greeting or acknowledgement in Hindu culture. Namaste means “bowing to you” and has the connotation of “I bow to the divine in you”. Some of our teachers may choose to include these in their classes as a way of acknowledging the cultural roots of yoga.

Sanskrit Chanting
Some Yogaspace teachers share chants or mantras at the end of class. Some of these are in Sanskrit and are from Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist practices. We acknowledge that some of our teachers learned these chants primarily from North American influences.

Land Acknowldgement

Toronto is in the ‘Dish With One Spoon Territory’. Co-existing in one dish, and navigating with one spoon, we have to share the responsibility of ensuring the dish is never empty, which includes taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with.

Yogaspace shares this treaty with respect and admiration of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. We respect the home of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Thank you for sharing your beauty with us.

RYS 200 & RYS 300