Michelle Cormack

Owner

5 Elements Yoga School

Michelle Cormack is the Founder of 5 Elements Yoga & Pilates (in 2003) and was the Owner/Director of the Brampton studio until 2016. She now operates her Georgetown studio and specializes in Yoga Teacher Training.Michelle was raised with an awareness of natural health and awakened her curiousity of yogic concepts at the age of 12, eventually taking her first yoga classes in 1985 while attending the University of Waterloo.She has the designation of Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher at the highest level (E-RYT500, Yoga Alliance) and has trained extensively (thousands of hours) with many of the world's best teachers, most notably: Prana Vinyasa Yoga founder Shiva Rea and ParaYoga founder Yogarupa Rod Stryker. Prior to studying with her teachers Shiva Rea and Rod Stryker, she had earned several Yoga Certifications, including East to West Yoga (RYT500) and the Seattle Holistic Center (Pre and Post Natal Yoga). She is also Certified in TheMethod Pilates (Physical Mind Institute, New York, NY) and is Stott Pilates trained in Mat, Reformer and Injuries & Special Populations. She has been studying Ayurveda since 2003 and is a Certified Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist (Himalayan Institute). She is deeply committed to lifelong learning and continues her studies in yoga, tantra and ayurveda. In 2019 she became a Certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher.Michelle has often been a guest teacher for Shiva Rea's Pre & Post Natal Yoga Teacher Training in California. She's regularly travels to California, Colorado and worldwide to study, and has been on pilgrimage 3 times to India, including participating in the 2013 Maha Kumbha Mela in Allahabad.She has studied (and practiced) Yoga Nidra since 2004 in several lineages, including ParaYoga, Himalayan Institute, Satyananda and Total Yoga Nidra/Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, having cultivated a deep love and fascination with this sublime Yogic practice.Michelle also has an extensive background in fitness, initiated with teaching fitness in 1984 and Personal Training, receiving several fitness Certifications over the years.She has provided assistance and education to childbearing women & their families since 1992, receiving certifications as a Childbirth Educator (CCE), Doula and Labour Assistant, and is a Core Confidence Specialist in Pelvic Floor health. She is a contributing author to the book "Bearing Witness: Childbirth Stories Told by Doulas". Michelle is a Certified Thai Yoga Massage Practitioner, having additionally studied Ayurveda & Thai Yoga Therapy with Kam Thye Chow (Lotus Palm), Deanna Villa (Thai Massage Toronto) and Advanced Thai Massage with teachers from Asokonanda's school. She has been a Lotus Palm Teacher, co-teaching & co-authored (with Kam Thye Chow) the Prenatal Thai Yoga Massage course and manual.She is also a Certified Reflexologist and Reiki Master. Michelle was one of the original PRO Trainers for the Can-Fit-Pro Pre & Post Natal Fitness Specialist Certification Course (PFS) for many years.She has written/developed her own Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training course and the 5 Elements 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training course. She has been a Presenter at several conferences on Prenatal Yoga & Pilates and evolved Vinyasa Flow Yoga (Can-Fit-Pro, Yoga in Toronto, The Yoga Conference) and has taught at the Kripalu Center in Massachusetts.Recently Michelle has uncovered a talent for art and has enjoyed blossoming into an oil painter.Michelle's passion is to share her love of Yoga, Pilates & Wellness with her students and the 5 Elements Yoga Teacher Trainees, and her greatest joy is being is the mother of 5 amazing daughters and new granddaughter. She is deeply grateful for the support of her husband and family in fulfilling this calling to teach!!