Make an appointment to get a measles vaccine or ensure your vaccinations are up to date.

Go to the University of Toronto home page
Go to Student Life homepage
Feeling distressed? Click for help
Group of students meditating
Photo: Bluemoon Productions

Mindful Moments

Mindful Moments works to support students’ holistic wellbeing: body, mind, spirit and heart. Through mindfulness meditation and yoga classes, we aim to provide programming where students can learn new skills, develop life-long healthy habits and learn about themselves. These classes are also a great way to find a quiet space during busy days.

Each instructor’s class is shaped by their unique academic and personal experience with mindfulness and yoga. Read about each of our Mindful Moments instructors.

If you’re interested in learning how to facilitate mindfulness for your peers visit MindFIT Training Program.

Sign up for the Multi-Faith Centre newsletter to receive information about mindfulness, meditation and yoga programs!

All undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff are eligible to attend where space permits. All levels of fitness are welcome to our yoga classes.

Types of Mindful Moments Classes

We aim to create a warm, welcoming, joyful, yoga class where everyone can feel comfortable in their bodies and with one another. We know yoga and fitness classes can sometimes feel intimidating. Here, we want to help dismantle contemporary notions of yoga as hierarchical spaces demanding perfection that are hyper-focused on the physical form of the body. Instead we emphasize moving at your own pace and developing a practice that works for you. Your instructor will offer options in class that you can choose to make the practice more or less physically challenging.

Good things to know about these classes:

  • Beginners are welcome. Remember, your instructor was a beginner once too.
  • This is not a competitive yoga environment. Everyone should feel free to do as much or as little of the physical components of class as they feel comfortable doing.
  • Listen to your body. It is your best guide on your yoga journey.
  • No special clothing is required but you should wear something you can move comfortably in.
  • We usually practice barefoot to reduce the risk of slipping.
  • Your instructor is happy to chat after class if you have questions about the practice.

When we get quiet in mindfulness meditation, we start to notice all kinds of things: our mental chatter or self-talk, our physical habits (e.g. clenching our teeth) and we can even become more aware of our mood and feelings. This awareness is empowering because it allows us to question or contemplate whatever we start to notice. Agency and autonomy can grow from this awareness and reflection.

Good things to know about these classes:

  • Your facilitator is trained and they welcome your questions.
  • You facilitator might be a graduate student, a staff member or even faculty.
  • Mindfulness is challenging—that’s why practicing together can really help!
  • Mindfulness is never about being perfect. It’s about noticing when our minds wander and learning about ourselves from that wandering.
  • There is no right, singular mindfulness practice for everyone. Your facilitator will offer a variety of meditations including breath meditations, body scans, visualization meditations, walking meditation, self-compassion and kindness meditations.

Search and register for Mindful Moments sessions

Some sessions require registration via Folio, others are drop-in style. Search for Mindful Moments on Folio to register.

Mindful Moments Instructors & Facilitators

Headshot of Abby standing and crossing her arms confidently.

Abby Gaskin

Yoga Instructor
Sessions:
Thursdays, 8:10 – 9 a.m. at Hart House Fitness Centre
Wednesdays, 8:30 – 9:15 a.m. at Goldring Fitness Studio
Fridays, 7:15 – 8 a.m. at Goldring Fitness Studio

Abby is a graduate from the Master’s in East Asian Studies program at U of T and is an enthusiastic motivator about practicing and teaching yoga. Throughout her studies as a fashion designer (BFA in Fashion Design from the Parsons School of Design), followed by her time as a womenswear designer for UNIQLO in New York City, Abby has been exploring a diverse combination of yoga styles and practices. Though she started her yoga pursuit in 2016 as a Hatha-style certified teacher, Abby enjoys teaching a variety of styles with a focus on relaxed vinyasa yoga flow.

Headshot of Fiza smiling.

Fiza Mahtani

Mindfulness Instructor
Sessions:
University College via Instagram @ucstudentlife

Fiza is a 4th-year Economics student passionate about health, wellness, and event planning. Over the past two years, she has been actively involved as a Work Study at the Multi-Faith Centre, supporting mindfulness, yoga, and interfaith programming. Beyond university, Fiza is the co-president of the U of T Pilates and Yoga Club and is currently working toward completing her yoga teacher training.

Jenna smiling.

Jenna Smith

Mindful Yoga Instructor
Sessions:
Tuesdays, 8:30 – 9:15 a.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport

Jenna is a current Master of Arts student in the University’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education. She has worked for the last three years as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and holds her 200-hr YTT certification. Her approach to yoga has always focused on mobility and a mind-body connection and her goal is to make her classes accessible and engaging to yogis of any ability. She has experience teaching professional athletes, kindergarteners and everyone in between! She would be excited and honoured to see you in one (or many) of her classes.

Keke standing in tree pose outside of old city hall in Nathan Philips Square.

Keke Shadane

Yoga Instructor
Sessions:
Mondays, 7:15 – 8 a.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport
Tuesdays, 8:10 – 9 a.m. at Hart House Fitness Centre
Fridays, 1 – 1:45 p.m. at Athletic Centre Dance Studio

Keke Shadane is a multidisciplinary performing artist, movement/yoga instructor and community leader. She began her movement practice as a classically trained ballerina. After dealing with a traumatic injury in her late teens, Keke fell in love with the magic of yoga and sustainable approaches towards movement and mindfulness. She infuses her love of poetry and dance into her teachings by inviting in childlike explorations and encourages participants to explore what movement can feel like when we tune into what our bodies truly need, instead of contorting to fit in.

Lauren Brown, Ph.D., M.Ed., E-RYT, AMMS

Program Coordinator and Facilitator
Sessions:
Meditation: Wednesdays, 12 – 12:30 p.m. on Zoom
Yoga: Thursdays, 4:30 – 5:15 p.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport

Lauren is the Mindfulness, Meditation & Yoga Program Coordinator for the Division of Student Life. She was introduced to mindfulness as a teen athlete and has practised yoga for over 20 years. Her recently completed PhD research is a call to leverage formal education, such as credit bearing university courses, as a preventative measure in the fight for student mental health and wellbeing. Through her research she identified that undergraduates learn about wellbeing through experiential learning, contemplation and critical thinking.

Maya Gangji

Yoga Instructor
Sessions:
Sundays, 10 – 10:45 a.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport

Maya has been involved with the Sivananda Yoga Organization since 2016 and has been teaching at the Sivananda Yoga Toronto Centre since 2022. Maya’s experience includes traditional Hatha yoga, Kirtan/mantra chants, and discussions on the Bhagavad Gita. Currently, Maya is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, studying Physiology, Psychology, and Buddhism, and is heavily involved in campus life.

Melissa Campagnolo, RYT, C-IAYT

Yoga Instructor and Mindfulness Facilitator
Sessions:
Yoga: Tuesdays, 1:10 – 1:35 p.m. at Hart House Fitness Centre
Meditation: Tuesdays, 1:40 – 2 p.m. at Hart House Fitness Centre

Melissa is an experienced yoga teacher & therapist and Buteyko Breathing Educator. She has completed Foundations of Applied Mindfulness Meditation at U of T’s School of Continuing Studies. She encourages you to personalize yoga and meditation and bring their teachings into daily life. Melissa’s classes involve a reflection topic/intention, gentle yoga practice, relaxation, breathing practice and seated/lying down mindfulness meditation. All of her classes are beginner friendly with modifications available.

Niamh standing in front of an open field smiling.

Niamh Wall

Mindful Yoga Instructor
Sessions:
Wednesdays, 7:15 – 8 p.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport
Thursdays, 3 – 3:45 p.m. at Athletic Centre Dance Studio

Niamh is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Forestry and Conservation at U of T. She has had a meditation practice for over a decade and was certified to teach yoga in 2017. She has trained in various meditation techniques, including the Vipassana tradition in Nepal in 2014 and through her training with Pat Harada Linfoot in Toronto. She has also taken Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Compassion courses since. She joined the MindFit program at U of T in 2019. Niamh views her personal yoga practice as an opportunity for physical and spiritual inquiry.

Headshot of Suzi smiling.

Suzi Lima

Yoga Instructor
Sessions:
Tuesdays, 3 – 3:45 p.m. and Wednesdays, 3 – 3:45 p.m. at Athletic Centre Dance Studio

Suzi is an assistant professor in the Department of Linguistics at U of T and a certified trauma-informed yoga instructor. In addition to her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, Suzi is also certified in restorative yoga and has training in mindfulness meditation from the School of Continuing Studies at U of T. Suzi first connected with mindfulness meditation and its benefits in 2013 when she was in graduate school. She believes that different components of yoga (movement, breath, and meditation) can lead individuals and communities to a calmer and more grounded experience in their daily lives.