Meet Rebekka Walker – our new Creative Director!
Rebekka Walker came to yoga as a teenager, riddled with severe injuries from ski racing. Being an elite athlete took a toll on her body and she realized she needed to realign.
“I was sick of physiotherapy and I wanted something that would help with my pain and stress levels. My mom is a yogic practitioner and long time meditator and she suggested I try yoga. It really helped me come back into my body,” Rebekka said.
After embracing the physical benefits, Rebekka started to dive in the spiritual and philosophical aspects of yoga and sought out a specific lineage of teaching based around healing and uniting the body and mind through compassion and ease.
“When I started doing Yoga it was a lot different. There was no music and no mirrors. There were two – maybe three – yoga studios in Vancouver and classes were two hours long. It was a little occult and definitely in the underground,” Rebekka said.
At age 16, Rebekka went to India to study with renowned yoga teacher Amma, who is one of the foremost spiritual leaders in India and a notable humanitarian. She then studied Iyengar, Hatha and Vinyasa yoga before meeting John Friend in the year 2002 and becoming an Anusara practitioner.
“What I love about yoga is it’s capacity to create conditions into which we can become attuned to and aligned with the bigger picture, our environment, and beyond– it’s all about connection fundamentally.”
Rebekka spent a decade practicing and teaching Anusara around the world before moving to Vancouver and opening Inner Space Yoga in Gastown, which she successfully ran for 8 years.
“Yoga is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In my teachings, I seek to look at yoga as the living practice that it is, and yet there is still relevance in how it was practiced thousands of years ago, so we need to pay homage that.”
The proximity of the Inner Space studio to the Vancouver School of Healing Arts meant she’s enjoyed a close working relationship with the school over the years and has mentored student teachers from VSOHA and taught classes and courses on occasion.
“What draws me to VSOHA is that it’s an established yoga school, not a studio, which means it has its focus solely on training teachers. As such, it’s also a little understated in the Vancouver scene and I like that. It holds lots of possibility and potential.”
Rebekka has joined the faculty at VSOHA as Creative Director and is looking forward to bringing her own unique essence to the VSOHA programs.
“The specific flavours I bring to yoga are joyful inspiration and elegant alignment. The capacity to support my students in their remembrance and recognition of their highest potential. My unique message is all about the soulful study of ancient yet very relevant system of awakening.”
For the last two years, Rebekka has lived on Bowen Island where she has worked as a Yoga therapist at the Orchard Recovery Centre, taught training programs at Bowen Island Yoga, and worked as a senior teacher at YYoga.
“I know that I’m a yoga teacher because I feel like it was what I was meant to do,” Rebekka said. “I’ve never really considered if it’s my path or not. I’ve never really doubted that it wasn’t for me because it keeps pulling me back.”
Rebekka has been a yoga practitioner for 23 years and has taught yoga for 15 years in many places around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Thailand and Bali.
“The highlight of my career is just the capacity of my practice and my love of my work to allow me to step into the bliss of everyday existence. Everyday is good because I love what I do, and I see that reflected back at me in the eyes of my students.”
