Teacher Training Faculty

Maxine Munro

Maxine Munro, B.Sc.O.T. (honors), B.Sc. Kin, Certified Interdisciplinary Yoga Instructor (500 hour), Certified Pre-natal Yoga Instructor, Certified Pranassage Practitioner. She has studied extensively with Amba Camp, Don Stapleton, Tim Miller, Mark Darby, Hart Lazer, Coeli Marsh and David Swenson. She taught courses in Yoga Therapy to health professionals and medical doctors for Dalhousie University Continuing Physiotherapy Education. She has continued to be recognized by Halifax readers of The Coast in "Best Yoga Instructor" category since 1999. Her education in Occupational Therapy and Kinesiology gives her the therapeutic approach in developing classes and instruction at the appropriate level of challenge. She is able to modify postures and classes to suit all levels of ability. Maxine has been co-directing the TAYS Hatha Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training (200 hour) since 2002 and the TAYS (500 hour) advanced training since 2004, she also teaches a yearly pre and post-natal yoga certification program to certified yoga teachers.

"Hi Maxine, I just want you to know, that you are a wonderful yoga teacher and that I love your classes.  You are so seamless in your delivery, and let us be challenged but at our own rate.  Thanks for all the expertise and joy you bring to your class.  You are quite an anchor in my life." V. L.

Michael Munro

Michael Munro, B.Sc.P.T.(R), MCPA, certified Interdisciplinary Yoga Instructor (500 hour), licensed and practicing physiotherapist. Mike has practiced in the field of Physical Therapy for fourteen years and currently combines his yoga and Physical Therapy background to teach yoga and meditation with skill and experience. His background is beneficial in helping people of all abilities find their personalized yoga practice.

His yoga training started in 1993 with Iyengar Yoga teacher Bev Windsor. He has since taken teacher-training programs with Don and Amba-Camp Stapleton in Interdisciplinary Yoga and has studied the Ashtanga yoga of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois with Tim Miller, David Swenson, Mark Darby, Hart Lazer, Philip Urso, Coeli Marsh and Allison Ulan. He taught courses in Yoga Therapy to health professionals and medical doctors for Dalhousie University Continuing Physiotherapy Education and is a Certified Pranassage Practitioner, combining yoga and massage techniques. Mike and his business partner, Maxine Munro have been offering 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training programs since 2001, and 500 hour trainings since 2004. Mike’s backgrounds and interests allow him to teach yoga with skill, precision and a sense of humor.

He has 19 years of meditation and Buddhist study, and a genuine interest and educated view on the history and philosophy of yoga and the yogic path. Mike is a graduate of Nitartha Institute, an Advanced Buddhist study program taught by internationally known Buddhist teachers and scholars. He is a student of Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and scholar Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and is the Canadian chair on the Board of Directors for Nalandabodhi Canada.

Leslie Hunter

Leslie Hunter, Certified Vinyasa Yoga 1000hour and Yoga Life Coach. Leslie teaches yoga to students and trains yoga teachers from a place of Love. As a senior teacher and teacher trainer at TAYS, Leslie leads exhilarating and unscripted Vinyasa Yoga classes that are challenging, heart pumping and "ah-ha! Inspiring". Leslie incorporates Buddhist philosophy, mindfulness practice and unadulterated joy into every class. Whether you are attending a yoga class or a life coaching session with Leslie, you leave feeling a new sense of awareness, focus and inspiration.

Jolene d'Entremont

Ask professional yoga teacher, Jolene d'Entremont, what she learned from her ten years as a flight attendant and she’ll tell you.... “patience, patience and more patience”. Ask her what she’s learned from her yoga teacher training and she’ll tell you; “the true meaning of being grounded”. Jolene is a skilled vinyasa teacher, an avid meditation student and an expert in pre-natal and postnatal yoga instruction.

Jolene followed up her 200-hour teacher training in 2006 with additional courses in pre and postnatal yoga instruction. She has also completed her 500 hour professional level teacher training certification at TAYS and she is passionate about vinyasa yoga, which she continues to study with Master teacher Coeli Marsh. As a mother of three, including two at-home births assisted by midwives, Jolene brings enormous empathy and knowledge to her work with both expectant and new mothers. She has made it her mission to help women see their intrinsic beauty and to honor their bodies at these times of both incredible wonder and equally incredible stress. As one might expect of a mother of three, Jolene knows a great deal about sharing which is a wonderful thing for us as she has much to share. Jolene has been teaching vinyasa yoga and pre and post natal yoga at TAYS since 2004.

Tomomi Kojima

Tomomi Kojima's love for yoga flourished shortly after she left her native land, Japan 12 years ago (1999). Coming from a different country and being naturally keen on learning new things, she was introduced to yoga through her friend and immediately felt something "click". Now, she is a certified yoga teacher with additional training in pre and postnatal yoga. She believes in the idea of yoga practice as a healing process and her classes explore yogic philosophy by finding similarities in our daily life and asana practice. Her passion in the Vinyasa tradition was born out of her own practices to find her inner rhythm and strength and she encourages students to find theirs in the class, observing their own journey by breathing through it all. She continues to study all aspects of yoga with her teachers in the 500 hour training. Tomomi studied Psychology for adults and children at Dalhousie University. She loves live music and traveling.

Philip Urso

Philip is a Guest Teacher for parts of TAYS' YTT 200 and YTT 500 level programs. Yoga Teacher, author, podcaster, Philip Urso, loves to train yoga teachers in the art of exhilarating and unscripted vinyasa yoga classes. Philip's training began with Siddha Yoga in 1990, then to Kripalu teacher Anita Bussey followed by comprehensive training with Baron Baptiste. After years of studying A Course in Miracles, one day he understood it. Philip leads Advanced Vinyasa Teacher Trainings with fellow yoga teachers Deborah Williamson and Stacy Dockins. His two 5-star podcasts on iTunes "A Crash Course in Miracles" and "Yoga Classes, Baptiste Power Vinyasa" have over 1.5 million combined downloads. Philip's greatest passion is in guiding other yoga teachers to laugh away fear and teach fully from love. His Elephant Journal column explores these very themes. More info at PhilipUrso.com