Chelsea Lalvin Weir
Owner & Teacher at Metta Wave Yoga 1000hr RYT in progress
Chelsea was born and raised in Bruce County until she was 18, when she headed off to Toronto to study Fashion Design at George Brown College, and later Ryerson University. During her time in Toronto she found yoga as a way of seeing the positive through a mess of things going on in her personal life. After 3 months of practicing she decided to take her teacher training as a way of deepening her understanding for her own interest. Being a student at the time, she paid for half of her training through Energy Exchange which also gave her the opportunity to be present in the studio environment- and she only fell more in love.
Since moving back home to Bruce County in 2006 Chelsea has continued to build her own identity as an instructor. She is currently certified with her 200 hour yoga teacher training through Tula Yoga out of Toronto where she was educated in Hot Hatha and Flow as well as the primary series of Ashtanga Yoga. She has also continued her education in the field with styles such as Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga and Prenatal. She has attended the Toronto Yoga Conference most years since she found herself deeply attached to this world and has taken part in many lectures, workshops and day long trainings with names such as Marla Eriksen, Yasmin Gow, Mark Laham, Marsha Wenig and Monica Voss. She also has certificates in Foundation and Mat Pilates Level 1.
In 2012 Chelsea began a different journey through Thai Yoga Massage Training with the Still Light Centre out of Toronto where she began to further appreciate the effects of touch therapy. Chelsea practices this healing modality with a part time client base and continues to educate herself in this blend of yoga traditions based in India and, Ayerveda concepts- the science of life. You will often find that Chelsea uses these techniques woven throughout her group classes.
In September of 2013 she attended a life changing week-long intensive training with Susi Hatley. Susi's perspectives went against many things Chelsea had ever learned- it was a difficult week to say the least. Susi's theory alludes to "functional movement". It was only a small taste of Yoga Therapy, but Chelsea hopes to further educate herself in this in the future. "Since the training I have tried to dip small pieces of Susi's concepts into my classes- but I am not yet ready to teach a full class on Functional Movement- I have to figure out where I land among it all. The reality is, I see Therapeutic Yoga as something for absolutely everyone- hockey players, dancers, people with both acute and chronic pain, as well as people who simply just want to improve their overall quality of every day life and movement. Each and every person I meet could benefit- myelf included! I just have to figure out how to blend my teaching style with the other end of the spectrum." Therapuetic yoga sessions are currently available at Metta Wave on a private client basis.
Since opening Metta in January of 2014 with her business partner at the time, Chelsea has completed and her 500-hour journey with Tiffany Cruickshank’s well renowned teachings of Yoga Medicine® and is now working towards her 1000-hour certification. Tiffany’s program is a style of learning and teaching that hopes to blend and recognize the importance of Yoga’s healing and therapeutic techniques (asana, pranayama and meditation) as an imperative component to Western medicine. This program has a strong biomechanics, physiological and anatomical focus. Chelsea has completed orthopaedic trainings specific to the Shoulder, Hip and Spine, Chinese Medicine and Myofascial Release and Internal Medicine (Neuroscience) and Restorative Yoga, Yin Yoga and Meditation, Yoga and Women's Health from an Eastern and Western lens, and also took part in a Cadaver dissection lab in Tempe, Arizona which changed her appreciation for the human body completely. Up next in August of 2019 in Portland, Oregon is a new offering for Yoga Medicine, Mental Health and Yoga.
On top of the Yoga Medicine® program Chelsea has also endeavoured to complete the Yoga Therapy program out of Mount Royal University in Calgary. This began is September of 2017 and can be completed over 3 years with both in class intensives and distance education.
"I go through phases both in my teaching and as a student as to “my why”. Why do I practice? Why do I teach? Why am I a believer in this thing that has been passed down, called Yoga? I am confortable saying that this is an ever moving target but I think at the root of it all is to understand and accept the flawed, imperfect, chaotic but WHOLE mess of myself and who I am and encourage my students to do the same. Be our own ‘Gurus’, our own inner teachers and not subscribing to someone else’s way of believing, seeing, feeling, thinking or being just because we assume that’s the way it should be. From this practice I believe (overtime) we start to a shift in our inner landscape (physically, emotionally, mentally, energetically, therapeutically, neuro-chemically, etc.), how we communicate within ourselves, and then how we interact in our relationships and how we show up in our lives on a more global scale. I believe my duty as teacher of the practice is to first and foremost be a student over and over again to all of it’s gifts, and last, facilitate an experience in the best way I know how that allows others to do the same- whether that be in a fluid, strengthening flow practice or a slow, grounded class focused on introspection and all the space between."