Health and Wellness Institute
Vanessa Théroux
Accredited naturopath · Yoga teacher
E‑RYT 500 · Founder of Vivasvan
As a naturopath and yoga teacher, I have spent over a decade working at the intersection of these two disciplines. My interdisciplinary background informs an understanding of health that considers the body, the mind, and the social and cultural dimensions of human experience.
My path and its foundations
From a young age, I was interested in healthy eating and the influence of lifestyle habits on health. At the same time, my family history, marked by suffering and various mental health challenges, led me to seek a deeper understanding of human beings and what contributes to their balance.
These experiences shaped my reflections on the connections between the mind and health. They led to an inquiry that continues to shape my life, practice and teaching: understanding what shapes us and how we can learn to care for ourselves with greater awareness and discernment.
This inquiry led me to a Diploma of College Studies (DEC) in psychology (2009), followed by bachelor’s-level studies in sexology until 2011, before I continued my training in naturopathy. Alongside this, I trained to teach yoga and discovered Vipassana meditation. These practices made direct experience and self-observation essential parts of my path.
Naturopathy deepened my understanding of the body and the connections between health and the art of living. My studies in contemporary anthropology broadened this perspective to include the social and cultural dimensions of human experience. I continue to train and deepen my practice through study and further learning that enrich my teaching.
A human-centred approach
This path has shaped an approach grounded in listening, education and respect for each person’s pace. Knowledge meets lived experience, offering points of reference to explore, question and integrate into one’s own life.
Creating Vivasvan is an extension of this approach. I want it to be a space where people can study, practise and move forward with dedication and care, developing their ability to care for themselves and find their own points of reference.
My approach to yoga
In my classes, I emphasize self-observation, precision and quality of presence. I invite people to reflect as they practise, to observe and adjust their movements to better understand what they are doing and why. This attention, cultivated even during effort, helps establish calm in the mind.
The aim is not to make thoughts disappear, but to recognize them as movements of the mind and learn not to confuse them with our inner being. Practice then becomes a path towards loosening the identifications shaped by memory and conditioning, and opening to a deeper awareness. This is a process of self-realization at the heart of yoga.
This approach extends beyond the mat, into how we inhabit everyday life and relate to ourselves, to others and to the experience of reality. Yoga thus becomes an art of living that invites us to care for ourselves with greater awareness, discernment and autonomy.
Training and further study
These are the main training milestones in my background, which I continue to deepen through study, practice and ongoing professional development.
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Naturopathy training (2012–2019) at the Institut en sciences naturopathiques de Montréal (IESN), comprising more than 2,000 hours of training.
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Initial 200-hour yoga teacher training with Shabad Saroop Singh Khalsa (2011).
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Hatha yoga training (2013), followed by advanced (2022) and therapeutic (2015) yoga training with Hart Lazer.
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Further study in Yin yoga (2022).
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Certificate in traumatic stress with Bessel van der Kolk, Trauma Foundation (2023).
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40-hour training in trauma-informed yoga (Yoga Alliance), in 2023.
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Major in contemporary anthropology at UQAM (2025).
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Chair yoga practice since 2013 and further training with Eyal Shifroni (2024).
I am currently receiving mentorship in preparation for Iyengar yoga training.