Welcome. My name is Heather Morton.  I am a small business owner, founder of The Yoga Way, educator, entrepreneur and certified Hatha-Raja Yoga instructor. The Yoga Way served the Toronto community for over 15 years before becoming a virtual platform to connect more people to Yoga.  

Since 2013, various progressive courses, classes and workshops have helped many individuals find greater peace, improve their health and experience healing. From Canada and the United States to the UK and North Africa, the effects of Yoga resonate deeply. I teach from the tradition rooted in the Yogic lineage (paramparā) rather than following popular trends. My focus is on Yoga, a lifelong practice with many other layers beyond the poses.   

To date, I have made 25 extended trips over the last 25 years to India. I continue to study and practice in India under Yoga Masters, Swamis and my Guru, Shri BNS Iyengar. With also a passion for travel, I have lived abroad in Southeast Asia, Europe and North Africa. 

Academically, I hold a Master of Education (M.Ed.), a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and a Fine Arts degree in Theatre Performance (B.F.A.).  As an educator,  the Yoga programs provide something that I saw missing in most courses available (both off and online): 

Personalized feedback         Mental training & breathwork             Individual guidance & support          Customized classes         Practice sheets  

More than a Pose:    

Before Yoga, I was looking for answers to many of my struggles, but mostly in the wrong places.  As background,  

~ I have idiopathic (childhood) scoliosis (mild to severe)

~ was a former national beauty pageant titleholder

~ waited on tables and had acting gigs

~ was a smoker and had an eating disorder

~ broke my wrist and scapula

~ travelled solo to several Asian countries

My original aspirations were once far removed from Yoga after making what looked like a successful foot into the modelling world. But this experience left me feeling estranged. After completing a degree in theatre, I left Canada to work and live in South Korea for 2 years, teaching both English and Yoga with no prior training.  It was upon my return to Canada and while living at ashrams that my real journey of Yoga began.      

In 1999, I made my first trip to India. A pivotal shift was studying directly under Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, who taught me the primary series of Ashtanga Yoga. But after a knee injury, I continued studying other Yogic systems and, for 13 years, became an avid backbender in Mysore. Still searching, however, I met the late Swami Veda Bharati and attended silent retreats in Rishikesh in 2009. With his blessings, I was initiated into The Himalayan Tradition of Yoga Meditation.   

In recent years, my practice has sustained and supported me through various life events, from a miscarriage to marriage, international moves and the birth of my son. My spiritual practice has been a constant thread. 

My primary teachers now are Vinay-ji Kumar in Mysore, in which I practice a Vinyasa Krama system and Shri BNS Iyengar, the oldest living Master in the Ashtanga Yoga Vinyasa lineage (and a disciple of the late T. Krishnamacharya).  I landed at his feet in 2014 after hearing about him 20 years before. 

Yoga Certifications:

Sivananda Yoga TTC, ATTC, Sadhana Intensive (1997, 1999), Hatha-Yoga primary & secondary series (2003, 2005), Pranayama Intensive (2015 – 2019),  Mudras (2022), Prana Vashya Yoga Primary Series (2019) and the Science of Ayurveda (2014).

Off the Mat    

Having produced one of the first instructional DVDs on the backbends of yoga, it made the practice more accessible to many. It continues to reach students around the globe. I also created meditation CDs, a back-bending manual and a Teacher Training Handbook. As a published author, I have written extensively about the benefits of Yoga in education for children. 

Philanthropy & Life

When in India, I continue to work with children to improve their quality of education  — a deep passion of mine since 2004.  

And aa a mother, I am raising my 11-year-old boy to explore the world with open eyes.