Mike Chapman has studied yoga for over 28 years and taught yoga full time for the last 10 years in the Waterloo and Wellington regions. Having taught thousands of classes Mike has developed a unique approach to yoga based on his experiences not only as a yoga instructor, but also as a personal trainer, coach, and fitness instructor. He has combined these experiences to offer the Breathe Into Motion Yoga System, the Surrender Into Stillness Yoga System and the Breathe Into Motion Strength and Conditioning Services offered at the Studios. Mike's credentials are also unique, holding a personal training certification (Certified Professional Trainers Network) and yoga instructor certification (Maha Pura Yoga), as well as a yoga specialist certification and a yoga for athletes certification from the Certified Professional Trainers Network. Mike has also had the good fortune to study with ashtanga yoga masters David Williams, David Swensen, Danny Paradise and Nicki Doane. Mike has studied anatomy with Thomas Myers (author of ‘Anatomy Trains’ and student of Ida Rolf). Mike has received a personal trainer certification with the Sports Performance Institute (now StrengthPro), studying with Canadian Olympic Weight Lifter and author Ed McNeely. These experiences, and many more, give Mike the tools to provide exceptional services at the Breathe Into Motion Yoga Studios and Conditioning Centre.

With a lifetime of fitness leadership experiences, Mike has, for nearly ten years now, concentrated on yoga instruction. Mike’s students range from teens to seniors, from marathon runners to those embarking upon fitness for the first time. He’s had a wide variety of yoga teaching experiences, from instructing at many high schools and post-secondary institutions to instruction for staff members at a local hospital.

Mike: ‘The program is a combination of yoga and sport science. It allows those with injuries to recover over time and challenges healthy, athletic participants with intense exercise. It’s made a big impact. Overcoming injuries by enabling the muscles to return to their ability to stretch and contract through their full range of motion is a necessity before moving forward in a weight lifting program or a cardio program.’

Mike: ‘I feel I have compassion for students who come to my classes with injuries. I’ve had so many sports
injuries over the years myself, I often mention to my students that sustaining the injuries I have over the
years has given me insight into many of their injuries.’

Mike: ‘I strongly believe a yoga class should first and foremost offer healing. It’s a healing art and science. If students are frequently aggravating an already existing injury and the instructor doesn’t offer variations or ask the student to temporarily avoid certain exercises then the student is left to wonder if yoga is helping, or is the cause of the injury.’

Mike: ‘In my classes it is paramount that the students are safe, first and foremost. I cannot stress how important this is. So many of my students have expressed to me how they have recovered from injury by attending my yoga classes. That’s so rewarding to hear.’

Mike: ‘The excitement for me is really seeing the success of the students. I am absolutely thrilled that people have lost the weight they wanted to, that they have succeeded in implementing this as a long-term lifetime change.’

Mike: ‘I do it because I love it. If you are working in a field that you really love, you’re inspired to go that extra mile. It’s a driving force within me - a path that I feel I need to be on.’