ABOUT LILA
A Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner in BC, as well as a practicing Evolutionary Astrologer and yoga teacher for over 20 years, Lila is dedicated to the well-being of her clients on every level.
She loves weaving together the esoteric with the modern to facilitate experiences of alchemy that create conscious embodied living. One of her great joys is to guide people into a space of true transformation, encouraging them to discover, honor, and gracefully reveal their most authentic nature through the practices of Chinese Medicine, Evolutionary Astrology, yoga & meditation, so they feel empowered to live from this inspired place in the world.
Lila attended the College of Integrative Health Sciences, formerly known as the Academy of Classical Oriental Sciences in Nelson, BC, from 2017-2022, and graduated in April 2022. She is thrilled to have access to even more amazing tools to help people live in transformative, conscious, and harmonious ways. Her practice, blends the esoteric with the modern to facilitate inspired and empowered living.
Lila was introduced to Evolutionary Astrology in 2007 and has been a student of Steven Forrest since 2010. Her readings are thorough, transformative, and meant to remind people of something they already know deep within, helping them tap into the well of wisdom that is inherently present. Lila's yoga teaching incorporates therapeutic alignment and action in the body with yogic myths and philosophy, the wisdom of evolutionary astrology, and direct experience, to create a rich, profound, and soulful experience both on the yoga mat and in the world we share.
As a cultural anthropology major, Lila has been deeply interested in the lens through which humans view reality. The myths and stories that make up a culture have always fascinated her, from how many similarities there are among different civilizations’ understandings of life, to the differences that keep them unique. This enthusiasm comes through in her Chinese Medicine treatments, as well as her astrology readings, courses, & workshops, and her yoga classes and trainings. She loves to see how the archetypal energies she works with as an astrologer have much in common with the stories she tells and from which she teaches in yogic lore. Interweaving these energies that play upon one another so well is one of her favorite aspects of teaching and sharing, as there’s so much richness to work with and unpack. It’s fuel for continual inspiration!
Diving more deeply into the study of Chinese Medicine has led her to become more interested in how the patterns she works with from the evolutionary astrological lens make their way into the body. We are whole beings:: bodies, minds, and spirits, no one of these separate from the other two. As such, both cellular and genetic information (pre- and post-heaven in Chinese Medicine talk) create a patterning in the spirit, in the mind, and in the body. As many therapists and healers have discovered, mental patterns are held in the body, and vice versa. Yet these patterns are meant to be uncovered, worked with, understood, and integrated, offering a free flow of energy and life, including blood circulation, respiration, digestion, communication with self and other, and truly every system that comprises the embodied experience. And the way that Chinese Medicine understands the body goes beautifully with this recognition, with each organ having an association with an emotion and therefore an important role to play in the expression of each individual being. The system is aimed at treating the whole human rather than just part. The same is true for evolutionary astrology; it recognizes the gifts and wisdom a human has access to in this lifetime, as well as certain tendencies that can be honed and refined for the optimal expression of oneself. And, each astrological sign has a correspondence with a body part and/or system, bringing the energies of the cosmos both into the mind and body in quite a deep way. Experiencing how the wisdom from both of these traditions makes its way into her yoga teaching is rewarding and interesting, keeping her on her toes, so to speak. Each of the three systems have much in common, yet they’re also able to fill each other in in powerful ways. It’s a real gift to be able to work with such profound systems on their own, but even more so, together.
Lila also currently offers yoga classes, workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats internationally. She feels grateful and humbled to continue studying with her primary teachers Adyashanti and Mukti, as well as her evolutionary astrology teacher Steven Forrest, and mentor Nancy Fantozzi. Her love of practicing evolutionary astrology has been a perfect complement to the yoga practice, and she feels honored to create a space of magic and healing where her clients feel supported to transform in the most radical of ways. She’s deeply grateful for the teachers whose powerful and inspiring voices of non-dualism have brought insight and freedom, such as Bill Mahony, Douglas Brooks, and Sally Kempton. From 2006 to 2011, Lila owned and directed Gateway Yoga in Raleigh, NC, a yoga studio dedicated to the life-affirming principles of Anusara Yoga.
Over the years, Lila has had the honor of teaching yoga at the American Dance Festival from 2008-2012 in Durham, NC; at EnvisionFest in Bahía Ballena, Costa Rica; Lightning in a Bottle in Temecula, CA; Basscoast in Merritt, BC; Blessed Coast in Squamish, BC; international retreats in Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua; in Carlingford and Galway, Ireland, and in many parts of Canada and the US.
Lila played the role as Creative Director at the Vancouver School of Yoga from the Spring of 2016 through the Spring of 2017 before moving to the Kootenays, a magical and beautiful part of Canada. Through her yoga school, she has co-created and offered programs of excellence in the yoga community, empowering teachers to authentically step into the seat of the teacher with confidence and grace. Her over fifteen years of facilitating yoga immersions and teacher training programs has given her the ability to continually refine her craft, as has owning and managing her own yoga studio for 5 years, and offering her heart through these elegant practices.