shoga

shannon + yoga = SHOGA. 

my own unique style of yoga based on years of teaching and feedback from fellow yoginis. 

It’s a hybrid form of power/ flow/ Ashtanga yoga and sport, designed to build strength, stamina, flexibility and balance in body, mind & Spirit.

private shoga sessions

Each one-on-one is a thorough workout, targeting core & upper-body strength, inspired by ballet, pilates, aerobics, HIIT (intervals) and various sports, with breathing exercises to ground and centre, all tailored to your needs. Did I mention fun? Book a private session or custom video online: shannon.nering40@gmail.com

humble yogini beginnings

I like to think I started yoga when I was six. That’s when I began ballet: the grace, strength, heart - a gorgeous discipline, like yoga. However, I never fit in next to the waifs in my class, despite desperately wanting to. Not only was I the biggest and tallest (the band on my leotard tugging at my waist), my hair was too thin and short for a proper ballet bun. Though our Russian coach sneered at my aesthetic, he appreciated that I was quick to learn. Even so, I felt ridiculous in a tutu, and when I started to sprout breasts long before my peers, I was compelled to curtsy and bid adieu. 

My ego bruised, I found a new love: gymnastics! I poured my soul into all things upside down. My childhood in a handstand, I was to be the next Nadia Comaneci! Ah, misguided dreams of youth. Then a coach set me straight and told me I was "too big” for the sport. Once again, feeling like the giraffe amidst the gazelles.

It didn't stop me. I always loved athletics/movement, I continued working my body to the edge. Gymnastics led to track, where I discovered flight through high-jump; then swimming which led to life-guarding - I had loved the water since my first bath when my mom said I dunked my head in and wriggled like a fish. Next, a fierce love for the mountains and skiing, where I devoted myself to Freestyle Moguls and poured my aggression into the slopes. Winter meant endless hours at the ski hill, summer I discovered skiing's sister sport, mountain biking. All glorious forms of physical expression. Not to mention... FUN.

With each sport, I felt closer to the elements, and deepened my bond with mother nature and the animals who naturally excelled at such things: dolphins, eagles, pumas, even the squirrels scrambling sideways up a tree! I prided myself on my sports and pushed myself to try it all. On the mountain that meant skiing harder, faster and sometimes more dangerously...

A few not so minor injuries later (fractured vertebrae age 18 while training for skiing; fractured foot age 21 and foot surgery) and a decent but short freestyle ski career, I discovered yoga. Ommmmmmm. Back to my core, balance, equanimity. Yoga felt right. It was athletic and powerful, yet mindful and layered and deep, connecting the human triage, body, mind, spirit. I had to ask, "Why wasn't everyone doing yoga?"

Finally, the opportunities for expansion seemed endless. But it wasn’t until I moved to LA in 2000 that I truly dug into it. How could I not? A few blocks from my doorstep were the coolest yoga dojos on the planet (Sacred Movement, Y Yoga) and hottest yoga teachers (Shiva Rea, Bryan Kest, Seane Corn) in the biz. Then in 2006, after a family-move to beautiful British Columbia, Vancouver, I became a certified yoga teacher and have been learning and teaching ever since.

This summer marked my 10 year anniversary as a yoga teacher after logging a few 1000 hours in front of a class. Lions Bay has lovingly been my base, my community, my home... but now I open a new chapter, in paradise. Kauai, the Garden Isle, the oldest and some say "prettiest" of the Hawaiian Islands. Here I bring Pineapple Retreats on my "acre of Diamonds" (as my sister calls it), from my new home Hala Kahiki Farms - the Pineapple Plantation. During our half-day wellness retreat we do yoga amidst the citrus/pineapple orchard then pick, squeeze and enjoy the fruits of labor (literally) during a nutrional Q&A and eat-real-food demo. It's Farm - to Mat - to FUN!

A huge thank you to my students who have taught me so much. Now, I’m officially a Yoga student forever, and a teacher always-in-training, and ever-so willing to share.

Yours in health, love and peace... Shannon