Meet Our Yoga & Fitness Instructors

We love help you to renew

Ayla Brown

Yoga Instructor

We come to yoga expecting to move our bodies, but often times, we come away with so much more: we can move thoughts, feelings, limiting beliefs and energy that we felt 'stuck' with. That is a beautiful gift, is it not? I have been teaching yoga since 2012, after completing my 200 Hr YTT for Hatha Yoga, and still I feel like I learn something new about myself each time I unroll my mat. In my classes I want my students to feel like they can let go of any expectations, beliefs or "have-to's", and simply allow themselves to open up, invite in compassion and flow, to play, to connect with their breath and alignment and to fully indulge whatever they are feeling that day. I encourage my students to challenge themselves but also to find balance and allow time for rest- that is the practice, to find a place between effort and ease, yin and yang. Off the mat you can find me hiking with my dog Buddha, cooking a locally inspired meal or reading a good book. Come join me for a class fit for all levels.

Vika Bradford

Yoga Instructor

Vika Bradford is an Okanagan based yoga instructor who is deeply passionate about movement, energy, and transforming through the two. 

She was certified at Angeli Yoga Teacher training in 2017 and has been teaching for over 3 years. Her classes are focused on the joy of movement, playfulness, and finding the healing by opening and balancing the energy centers through yoga.

Rebecca Pulford

Yoga & Fitness Instructor

Growing up I was very involved in sports & loved to move from a young age! This led to me getting my Degree in Kinesiology at UBC Okanagan, where I was simultaneously saving for my yoga training.  I have been teaching yoga for 2.5 years now :) 

Yoga is my moving meditation. Every day I am grateful to wake up and share my passion for movement. 

My intention is to always provide a grounding practise for others, and to inspire a joyful & empowered life. ✨ 

Michele Greco

Yoga Instructor

For over thirty years Michele’s passion has been in the healing arts, and where her love of yoga

began.  She started her career as a Registered Massage Therapist specializing in Biodynamic

Craniosacral Therapy and Myofascial Release. The years since have been full of learning and

growth, with sixteen years of study in Ayurvedic Medicine and completion of her practicum in

Pune, India.

Ayurveda and Yoga are intrinsically related through the ancient Vedic system of healing, and

after a severe car accident left her immobile, yoga has been an essential aspect to regaining

her health.

She received her 200 YYT certification in 2018 which deepened her love of this beautiful path,

and allowed her to continue to teach what she loves.

In her classes she hopes to bring you closer to yourself, and your inner wisdom, while she

continues to learn and grow in all aspects of her teaching (and life). She wants her students to

know she is with them every step of the way during their unfoldment on the mat.

Through her guidance she hopes to hold a safe space for each students self inquiry.

She invites them to listen to their intuition and the subtle qualities that are revealed in every

breath.

She invites them to be imperfectly, perfect.

Julie McCormick

Yoga Instructor

For more than a decade, Julie McCormick is Registered Nurse and continuous yoga student. Her mission in both professions is to elevate people to feel good in their body and mind and inspire joy while focusing on injury prevention. 

Julie first felt in love with yoga as a challenging workout. As her energetic passion for yoga grew, it beautifully transformed her life by grounding her. Her passion for yoga motivated her to complete her first 200h Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) in 2018 in Thailand to improve her own personal practice and to better understand the purpose behind the poses and her body movement and alignment. She was so inspired by her initial YTT completion that when she returned home to the Okanagan, she started working on her next yoga journey of completing the 300h YTT with North American School of Yoga. She completed another 200h YTT with Blissology in 2020 which was not only practice changing, it was life changing by finding deep connection with all beings but also with herself.

Passionate, motivating and ever-inspiring, Julie always wants to make sure people let go of high expectations of yoga poses and focus on what feels good for each individual practice. 

Tayler Sawchuk

Yoga Instructor

My name is Tayler and I am here to spread LIGHT! 

△ I teach yoga and fitness classes to empower others to connect with their body, their mind and their soul. To notice how good it feels to simply move and breathe. To practice balance on and off the mat. To be the best versions of themselves.

Exercise, health and wellness have always been important to me. In 2015, I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Kinetics at the UBC Okanagan. In January 2019, I travelled to Sri Lanka to complete my 200hr Yoga Teacher Training. 

When not on the mat, you can find me hiking with my pup Kia, enjoying a coffee at a local shop or exploring all the Okanagan has to offer.

Carly Thomas

Yoga Instructor

Carly, spent most of her life here in the Okanagan, raising her family in Penticton. Her first Yoga Experience was at The Juicy Carrot in Penticton back in the early 1990’s which peaked her curiosity of the yoga practice. Carly then began her personal yoga journey 17 years ago after being in the fitness industry and competing in body building for many years. She began with her practice in Power yoga, and took her first yoga teacher training at Maui Hot Yoga & Kickboxing in 2011, Realizing the need for balance in her life she discovered the Yin Yoga Practice and took her Yin Yoga Teacher training in Maple Ridge at Free Spirit Yoga in 2014. After teaching Power Hot Yoga and Yin Yoga up in Fort McMurray at Higher Health Yoga, her yoga teacher journey took her back to Hawaii to continue her yoga teacher training in the studies of Ayurveda with Sacred Seed Yoga in 2015.

Carly opened a little yoga Studio in Medicine Hat, OHM YOGA and continued to share her passion and love for the yoga practice in body, mind, and spirit for your optimal health & wellness.

She closed her Studio in March of this year when COVID restrictions occurred and moved home to BC.

Carly, also a Certified Wellness Coach, and Nutritional Supplement Advisor, blends her love for fitness, meditation, whole body wellness, and healing of the soul in her classes here in West Kelowna and Peachland.

She also brings her Essential Oil Yoga Sprays to compliment your practice and yoga journey 

Kimberlee Hanson

Yoga Instructor

For the past 20 years I have been a registered Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist. I have been practicing yoga since 2009, began teaching yoga in 2014, and completed my 500 hour teacher training in 2020.

I feel yoga is an excellent year-round therapeutic practice. A practice that prevents injury, strengthens the body and mind, and reduces stress. My classes are about awareness, mindfulness, and creating space for your body and mind. In that space you grow, harmoniously and comfortably, in your own way and in your own time. There is no judgement - just discovering and experiencing yourself. My intention is to help you leave my classes feeling calmer, more content, and more grounded.

Monique Lambert

Yoga Instructor

I have been practicing for approx. 6 years and yoga has been one constant in my ever changing world.

I was intimidated at first because I was unsure if I was young or fit enough to practice yoga and quickly learned that yoga has many benefits for everybody! Yoga introduced me to a community of amazing people and a different way of thinking & discovering my mind body connection. I have traveled to far away places to expand my practice such as Thailand and Croatia.

I am proud to work at Perfect Balance with an amazing team after recently completing my 200 hour YTT. My practice and confidence is always improving and I am grateful, there is so much to be said about being able to just be in the moment.

It’s a discipline of the mind to train yourself to have an attitude of gratitude.

Empathy is in the heart so live life with yourheart and soul and cherish each day.

Namaste  

Aleena McKinnon

Yoga Instructor

Aleena has been a yoga enthusiast for ten years, teacher for eight. A dancer her whole life, it wasn’t until a bad car accident that she was introduced to yoga through her physiotherapist.

It is my ongoing intention to assist others in re-awakening to the magnificence of one’s own mind and body. I believe that through a conscious exploration of the layers that comprise our being, each of us can learn to think and move in harmony with the intelligence that manifests as us. It is this re-discovery of our own strength, wisdom and grace that inspired me to continue on this journey of practicing and sharing yoga.. Namaste.

Stanley Prescott

Yoga & Fitness Instructor

"Howdy! My name is Stanley (he/him/his) and I am so stoked to share some movement with y'all and of course, get sweaty in the heat! I'm a recent graduate from UBCV with a B.Sc. specializing in Cell and Developmental Biology and the Naked Truth Yoga School; I love to blend my knowledge of physiology with my passion for informed and accessible movement! I have a background in competitive Highland Dance and found yoga and yoga fusion following my retirement from dance and have been in love ever since.

As a lightning round about me: I am obsessed with Trader Joe's, Nathan's Stange Planet is my favourite webcomic, I eat a kiwi like an apple (I hope we can still be friends), I'm also a coffee connoisseur and oat milk enthusiast!"

Johanna Macheledt

Yoga Instructor

Mind over matter is such a powerful saying and so true for me. I believe our mind can often limit our potential and my yoga mat is a place to let go of any limitations and to find the freedom to play. To embrace my inner child and to let go of any fear or worries. In my classes I hope to inspire you to do just the same. Forget about the “rules” and boundaries, be open-minded to trying new things and to exploring without fear.

In 2012 I was first introduced to yoga during my international high school year in Kelowna. When I permanently moved to Kelowna in 2014 I was seeking new connections and started volunteering at a local yoga studio in exchange for free yoga. This allowed me to get to know the practice better and to get inspired by it. At first, I was more intrigued by the more physical components of Yoga, opening and strengthening the body to increase mobility and to balance out my active lifestyle. Some of my favourite activities are surfing, hiking, trail running and snowboarding - yoga is the perfect supplement. With the physical practice came the benefit of calmness for the mind and time to reset. As I got deeper into the practice I became more curious and was seeking to expand my knowledge. I finally took my 200hr YTT at Nexus Yoga Institute in Nosara, Costa Rica in March 2018. I am super excited to meet you on your mat and to share movement and breath with you.