Sting drops in on Toronto yoga class

Yoga students attending a class in the city's trendy Queen West neighbourhood were thrilled to find themselves doing sun salutations and the flowering lotus a few feet from Sting earlier this week.

The Grammy-winning musician delighted yoga practitioners by attending a public class Monday, a few hours before one of two Toronto dates on The Police's reunion tour, their first in more than 20 years.

While he stood out in the class - it was Sting, after all - students quickly settled into the usual routine.

"Everyone was quiet for a minute when Sting walked in, and then it just calmed down," said Leigh Anne Dunn, who has practised yoga at the Downward Dog studio for five years. "It was really natural and nice."

Sting isn't the only celebrity who has stopped by the Downward Dog while visiting Toronto: actors Willem Defoe and Mariel Hemingway have frequented the studio, Dunn says.

Downward Dog co-owner Diane Bruni and Sting share a friend: world-renowned yoga teacher Danny Paradise, a Toronto native whose students have included Madonna, Paul Simon and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

Bruni says Paradise, who taught Monday's class, first introduced Sting to yoga almost 20 years ago.

Hey, Sting, the next time you're in Salt Lake City...

Monday Night Yoga Returns

For the last little while I've been threatening to start up a Monday night Yoga-Only class for the West Valley study group. Everyone seemed interested, but as most of them commute up to class from Utah County (30+ mile round-trip), they weren't sure they could commit to it. So, I put off starting it up. Fortunately, one of my students committed herself to be there and let me know that if I held it, she would make the drive. It's nice to have a night dedicated to Yoga again, and to have the opportunity to teach just that to my students.

We have openings for new students, so if you live in the SL/UC Metro area and would like to learn authentic Hatha Yoga... drop me a line!

Namasté!