Sophie Hawkins has offered Thai Massage, Yoga/Meditation and Ayurvedic Workshops in London, Ontario, Canada since 2005. She studies Ayurveda from the original texts, Dr. Vasant Lad, Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Hebbar in India (where she has travelled extensively), and online with Dr. Douillard. She is certified from the Gerson Institute in New York.
 
She is a passionate researcher and life long learner. Sophie is a Certified Yoga Teacher who has been meditating since she was 10 years old. She teaches Breath Awareness Meditation and Breath Awareness Hatha Yoga. Her classes are accessible to most people and she happily assists her students modify postures in order to be comfortable. The focus in her classes is on opening Chakras by feeling breath in the body through specific instructions and subtle internal cues. Being comfortable in one’s body helps create happiness.
 
Sophie has a Masters in Education (Counseling Psychology). She has 20 years experience in community mental health care, providing support to trauma survivors, psychiatric survivors and people living on the street. 
 
Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Fine Art Studies. She is past President of Forest City Gallery, an artist run center in London where she produced and participated in Solo Exhibitions, Performance Art Festivals and coordinated group shows (Merge, Between the Cracks, UFO Show).
 
She is also trained in dance, is currently Bellydancing, and has several years of stage experience. Sophie has appeared on television and radio, spoken at conferences, served on committees and engaged in direct action campaigns on various aspects of human rights. She is available for speaking engagements.
 
 
My StoryI have always been interested in health since I was little girl and watched my Mother get sicker and sicker, taking more and more drugs, until she finally died of cancer. I knew even then that drugs were not the answer to health. I became a vegetarian at the age of 15 for mostly ethical reasons. I am no longer a vegetarian due to health concerns. Although it works for some people, after 15 years, it was no longer working for me (my diet is still approximately 90 percent plant based). 
 
As a young Mom, I explored all that was around in terms of a "healthy" diet (before the age of the internet), and found Macrobiotics. My daughter grew up on grains, beans and seaweed. Not a bad diet but too low fat for the long haul. She used to eat pats of butter when we would go out to restaurants!I was introduced to Ayurveda during Yoga Teacher Training by a lovely teacher and very good cook, Joan Ceh. A few years later I partnered with a Naturopath who specialized in Ayurveda and I worked in that clinic as a Thai Massage Therapist, Ayurvedic Cooking Instructor and Meditation teacher for over ten years. I saw people get better and I helped them learn how to cook and care for themselves through the brilliant system of Ayurveda. I currently run various workshops on cooking, yoga, meditation and do weekly private catering for busy people wanting good wholesome food based on Ayurvedic knowledge. I have been teaching since 2004. My own journey with healthy eating helped me regrow a thyroid that had mostly been removed at the age of 11 years (except for a small piece). This was confirmed during an ultrasound at the age of thirty. After six months on an Ayurvedic routine, people who had known me for years did not even recognize me due to how much better I looked. People often think I am ten years younger than my actual age. Wink-Wink-Ayurveda has an entire beauty regime for each unique constitution that encourages youthfulness and longevity! 
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I have struggled with a sugar addiction in the past that was only solved with the introduction of the six tastes in my diet. Ayurveda helps you make peace with food and gets you off the vicious cycle of binge eating and addiction.
 
I am passionate about sharing what I know in a real practical way that can easily be applied to everyday life without a lot of fuss. We should enjoy food! It should taste great! It should be our friend and not a constant worry or struggle. Learning to cook can be fun and easy. Let me show you how!