Our diverse and inclusive community located in downtown Duncan, BC invites you to the mat, whether you’re new to yoga, returning after a break, or seeking a supportive space to deepen your practice.
The tradition of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is found in the ritual of early morning practice. There are 6 set series, from a Primary series through an Intermediate and Advanced series. New students learn the foundations of Sun Salutations and standing postures, gradually mastering them before moving on to more complex postures. Breath awareness and focused attention are the key components that support the postures. Students learn discipline and patience and can take their daily practice with them.
Through consistent practice, students gain strength, mobility and flexibility, deeper breathing and a calm and peaceful mind. Daily practice of breathwork, meditation and postures is likened to cleaning and purifying the body and mind, which increases longevity and quality of life.
The Yin and slow-moving classes perfectly complement the more dynamic sessions, offering a focus on body awareness and nervous system regulation. These practices will leave you feeling calmer and help improve your sleep
Research on health tells us that changing our lifestyle and the foods we consume empowers us to create health and well-being every day. Good sleep, healthy digestion and eating whole, nourishing foods, coupled with yoga, meditation, and walks in nature give us the perfect medicine for a busy, stressful life. Start your healthy new habits today!
Our first offering of the season!
We welcome back Mantra, Meditation & Sound – Deborah, Shelby & Susan host this evening of mantra & guided meditation concluding with a crystal bowl sound healing.
Join us each month for Kirtan together!
No experience or instruments are needed. Our Kirtan is chanting (singing) mantras with music in a call and response style that originated in India. It’s uplifting, joyful as well as meditative, and grounding. Bring your open heart and join in the community!
New to yoga or ready to revisit the basics?
Join us for three engaging sessions designed to help you move with confidence, connect with your breath, and discover the joy of yoga.
Ground in Stillness, Soften into Sound
Begin with a gentle yin yoga practice led by Shelby, using long-held postures to release tension and open the body. After settling into deep stillness, transition into a restorative sound journey with the healing tones of crystal singing bowls.
New to yoga or ready to revisit the basics?
Join us for three consecutive Saturdays of engaging sessions designed to help you move with confidence, connect with your breath, and discover the joy of yoga. (Dec 6, 13, & 20)
This intimate program is designed to help you come alive, nurture whole-body vitality, and create a life filled with everyday joy. Together, we’ll explore presence, connection, whole-health living, and how to manifest from your inner sanctuary—so you can feel more vibrant, grounded, and fully alive in daily life.
A few years ago Vancouver Island Yoga School emerged from the landscape of Duncan’s popular Harmony Yoga and Wellness Center. VIYS is a natural evolution inspired by its founder’s desire to create a spiritual center for the study of Yoga and its sister science Ayurveda. In the last fourteen plus years, we have delivered yoga teacher training, workshops, intensives, and retreats to India. With VIYS, we redefine ourselves and create a new mission and purpose for the years to come.
Our mission is to provide a shala—a spiritual sanctuary where ALL PEOPLE can explore yoga, meditation, and mindful movement. Connection and personal growth naturally flow from the roots of classical yoga and somatic healing practices.
We offer a supportive, inclusive environment that fosters the development of mind-body awareness, presence, strength and community connection. Through daily classes, workshops, retreats, and special events, we provide opportunities for learning and transformation within a welcoming and inclusive community.
Our space is where everyone can feel supported on their journey, whether they are cultivating strength and flexibility, exploring spirituality, or simply finding ease and balance in daily life. At VI Yoga School, we believe yoga is a lifelong path accessible to everybody, at any stage of life, and we celebrate the shared experience of coming home to presence together.
In its truest sense, Yoga is Union with the Divine. The word Yoga has several meanings, such as “union,” “path,” or a type of concentration called Samadhi. Samadhi means absorption and, when directed toward spirituality, the mind stills and leads to insight into the nature of reality, unseen by a mind trapped in discursive thoughts.
About 2000 years ago, the great sage Patanjali collected the existing teachings on Yoga and systemized them into the Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras became a road map to higher consciousness. This map is at the base of our teachings. The ancient teachings are as relevant today as they were in ancient India.
Amidst struggle and suffering, human beings look to wisdom teachers, schools, and temples to find sanctuary and spiritual growth. At VIYS, our goal is to provide you the space to commit to strength, wellness, wholeness, and community.
Service to others is the foundation of spiritual practice and diverse faiths. It can help us shift away from the distractions and focus on our issues when we care for the good of the collective.
As a Board Member, our Director Deborah, along with our entire studio community support this inspiring global nonprofit.
It spans over 30 countries, uniting thousands of practitioners, spiritual leaders, donors, and corporate partners, transforming our collective gratitude to support vital programs for women and children in India.
Learn more at Yoga Gives Back and we ask you to consider setting up a monthly donation.
