Nicole Emily Marcia is the Founder and Director of Fine Balance Yoga. She has been a Yoga teacher since 2004, and a practicing Yoga Therapist since 2008.  Nicole is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and a member in good standing of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.  In 2009 she was awarded a Master of Arts Degree, with a specialization in Yoga Therapy Studies, from Lesley University in Boston, USA.  In 2010 she was certified in a Trauma Sensitive Yoga Teacher Training Program at The Trauma Center, also in Boston.

Nicole has extensive experience teaching studio and corporate Yoga.  Her more recent work, and passion, include:

• Providing Yoga/Yoga Therapy to clients in especially difficult circumstances, including those living with mental health issues, chronic pain, addictions, and other trauma related problems.
• Offering wellness oriented programs to staff of various organizations, primarily those serving the above clients in venues including hospitals, drug treatment centers and social service organizations.
• Delivering training for Yoga Teachers in working with Trauma, Anxiety and Depression.

Currently, she is employed at the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions, where she is developing and implementing a Yoga/Yoga Therapy program. She provides group and individual Yoga Therapy to clients with concurrent mental health and substance abuse issues. Nicole has also conducted classes at Onsite, the rehabilitation arm of Insite, North America’s first safe injection site in Vancouver’s downtown east side and Riverview Hospital.

Nicole is a faculty member at Ajna Yoga, a guest faculty member at Stenberg College and the Director of Teachers’ Training and Mentorship at Yoga Outreach, a Vancouver based registered charity whose mission is to develop and deliver life-affirming yoga programs to people who do not have access to these resources.

As a Yoga Therapist, Nicole’s expertise lies in bringing the practice and philosophy of Yoga into marginalized communities, in order to create programs that meet their unique therapeutic needs.

She designs in-house corporate Yoga programs aimed at staff wellness, stress reduction, work/life balance, flexibility and strength.