I’m the founder and director of Fine Balance Yoga.
In 2009, I was awarded a master’s degree with a specialization in yoga therapy from Lesley University in Boston, MA. From 2008-2017 I served as the Director of Therapeutic Yoga Programming for the Provincial Health Services Authority at their Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions and Riverview Psychiatric Hospital where I developed and delivered a comprehensive yoga therapy program for in-patient clients in various stages of recovery from mental health and addiction issues.
In 2010 I completed a training to teach yoga in military communities with Warriors at Ease in Silver Spring, MD and in 2017, I completed a 300-hour certification in Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) facilitation at the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Boston, MA.
I currently serve as the Director of Teacher Training and Mentorship at Yoga Outreach, a not-for-profit organization providing volunteer yoga teachers to marginalized populations. Through my work at Yoga Outreach, I have the honor of currently collaborating on the First Nations Women’s Yoga Initiative and the Indigenous Child & Youth Yoga and Mindfulness project.
I’m a faculty member at Ajna Yoga, Yoga Therapy International and the The Vancouver School of Healing Arts and was an instructor and program coordinator at Langara College Continuing Studies in addition to being a yoga therapist at Onsite, the treatment arm of North America’s first safe injection site in Vancouver’s downtown eastside from 2009 – 2018.
I am an approved service provider with the Tsawwassen First Nation and a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) with the International Association of Yoga Therapists and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) as well a member of Bridge for Health and the Breathe Network which connects survivors of sexual violence with healing arts practitioners.
Education
Masters in Counseling (Candidate), City University, Vancouver, BC
2020 – Present
Master of Arts Degree, Yoga Therapy Studies, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, USA 2007- 2009
Field School in Eastern European Cultural Studies, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic 2001–2002
Bachelor of Arts Degree, English Literature, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC 2000–2002
Arts & Sciences Diploma in Classical Studies, Langara Community College, Vancouver, BC 1997-2000
Basic Counselling Skills Certificate Program, Vancouver Community College, Vancouver, BC 1996
Business Owner
Founder & Director Fine Balance Yoga, Vancouver, BC 2004 – Present
Program Coordinator, Langara College Continuing Studies, Yoga Programs, Vancouver, BC 2012 – 2020
Director of Teacher Training & Mentorship, Yoga Outreach, Vancouver, BC 2006 – Present
Collaborator & Facilitator, The First Nations Women’s Yoga Initiative, Vancouver, BC 2020 – Present
Program Director, Incorporating Yoga as a Trauma-informed Practice to Enhance Drug Treatment Outcomes for Justice Involved Youth, Yoga Outreach & the Department of Justice Canada, British Columbia
2017 – 2019
The Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions & Riverview Hospital, Provincial Health Services Authority, Burnaby/Coquitlam, BC
2010 – 2017
Yoga Therapist
Boreal Wellness Centre, Vancouver, BC 2019 – Present
Deborah’s Gate, The Salvation Army, Vancouver, BC 2018– Present
Tupper Nova Adolescent Psychiatric Day Treatment Program, The Vancouver School Board & Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, BC 2018 – 2019
Onsite Detox & Transitional Housing Program, Vancouver Coastal Health & the Portland Hotel Society, Vancouver, BC 2007 – 2018
Curriculum Developer & Educator
Langara College Continuing Studies, Holistic Health Department, Vancouver, BC 2012 – 2020
Vancouver School of Healing Arts, Yoga Therapist Training, Vancouver, BC 2012 – 2020
Ajna Yoga, Yoga Therapist Training, Victoria, BC 2010 – Present
Guest Lecturer, Post Secondary Institutions, Government & Non Profit Organizations, BC 2011 – Present
Delivering presentations and lectures in trauma informed Yoga theory and techniques since 2011 at City University, Adler University, Stenberg College, Copeman Health, Child and Youth Mental Health Services, the Ministry of Child and Family Development, the Vancouver Foundation, Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, Cameray Youth and Family Services and the Dalai Lama Center for Peace & Education.
Research Associate
Expanding safe spaces: practices and perspectives of trauma and structural violence-informed care, the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, BC 2019 – 2020
Vancouver Injection Drug User Study, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, Vancouver, BC 2013 – 2016
Jump Step Intervention Study, The University of British Columbia and The Mood Disorders Association of BC, Vancouver, BC 2015
The Imaginative Education Research Group (IERG), Simon Fraser University, Department of Education, Burnaby, BC 2002–2004
Publications
The Yoga Service Council, Best Practices for Yoga for Addictions & Recovery, Co-Author 2019 – 2021
The Breathe Network’s Trauma-Informed Toolkit Project, Contributing Author 2016
Conference Presentations
Northern Indigenous Parenting Conference, Prince George, BC
September 2019
First Responder Behavioural Health Services Canada Inc. Occupational Awareness Training for Clinicians, Level 2 Training, Surrey, BC May/June 2019
BC Society of Transition Houses Annual Training Forum, Richmond, BC
October 2018
Dalai Lama Center for Peace & Education Heart-Mind Conference, Aldergrove, BC February 2018
The Kiloby Radical Recovery Online Summit, USA September 2017
The Annual Victoria Yoga Conference, Victoria, BC February 2013 – 2017
17th Annual Canadian Energy Psychology Conference, Victoria, BC
August 2015
The Wellspring Conference, Vancouver, BC
October 2013
Professional Memberships
The Breathe Network Service provider, faculty and member since 2018.
The Center for Trauma & Embodiment at the Justice Resource Institute, Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F) Certified facilitator and member since 2017.
Bridge for Health Founding member since 2013.
The Yoga Alliance, Yoga Alliance Certified Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) Designated continuing education provider and member since 2007.
The International Association of Yoga Therapists, Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) Continuing education provider and member since 2005.
Continuing Education
Decolonize First: A Liberating Guide, Workbook &Webinar with Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee, Squamish. Vancouver, BC 2020
Occupational Awareness Training for Therapists: Understanding First Responder Trauma, Levels 1 & 2, The BC Professional Fire Fighters Association and First Responder Health, Vancouver, BC 2019
Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator Professional Certification, the Trauma Centre at the Justice Resource Institute, Brookline, MA, USA 2017
San’yas online Indigenous Cultural Safety Training, Provincial Health Services Authority, BC 2017
New Frontiers in Trauma Treatment, the Justice Resource Institute of British Columbia, with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, New Westminster, BC 2013
Advanced Webinar in Complex Trauma & Dissociation with Janina Fisher, PhD, USA 2012 –2013
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Professional Training with John Kabat-Zinn, Mount Madonna, CA, USA 2006
Community Service
Purple Light Nights, Specialized Victim Assistance Program, Abbotsford Community Services 2020
Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW), Vancouver, BC 2007
The Kettle Friendship Society, Vancouver, BC 2002
Battered Women’s Support Services, Vancouver, BC 1995 – 1997
“Our clients struggle with a variety of complex mental health and addiction issues, behavioral problems and medical conditions. Nicole has put in a tremendous effort into the development and implementation of a program that meets the unique needs of our clients and enriched their overall treatment and recovery. Nicole works with caring and compassion on the complex issues of our clients providing creative solutions in an independent and effective manner. She has developed strong therapeutic relationships with the clients, and has been helpful in the development of treatment plans and provided quality Yoga Therapy for our centre. In my opinion, she is an excellent Yoga teacher and therapist and is dedicated to her professional work.”
Steven Henne, MA, RCC, Clinical Practice Lead, Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions