“For her dedication, teamwork and genuine concern for less fortunate individuals in the community. For volunteering hundreds of hours in fund raising activities in her work area, at the Ottawa Food Banks and for the Military Family Resource Centre.”
~ address given for Justine, on behalf of the Director-General of Land Equipment Program Management, at the Diamond Jubilee Awards Ceremony (Dept of National Defence, November 26, 2012)
“Justine Hoang is one of the most authentic Yoginis I know. Her asana practice is deep and beautiful, but her heart and generosity are the most inspiring. She is truly a teacher’s teacher, and I feel lucky to call her a friend.”
~ Megan Campbell, founder of JOY (Journey of the Yogini)
“Justine’s yoga classes have allowed me to explore, expand and develop my personal practice. Having a teacher that creates a space for you to continue to grow your personal practice at the level that challenges and opens you more fully in such a natural way is rare. With Justine’s help I have discovered a connection to my body and postures that once seemed unattainable, yet now has become a natural flow of my practice. Thank you Justine.”
~ Kylie Delfino, Yoga Teacher, Clinic Nutritionist, and Founder of “The Nourished Self”
“Justine is considered to be one of the elite yoga practitioners in Ottawa. The most startling discovery about Justine is her boundless heart…as you get to know her I am sure you will find a limitless amount of compassion, love and kindness that she shares with all she encounters. She transfers these qualities onto the mat with grace. Spending an hour with Justine is not only a yoga experience but a spiritual experience. We leave with a reverence not only for where she has taken our bodies, but where she has taken our hearts and spirits too.
If you have found that your yoga practice has stalled because you can’t find a teacher to take you to the next step Justine is the teacher for you. While she may teach beginner or intermediate Dharma yoga classes her brilliance shines through when she is able to show a more advanced student how to go the distance with their yoga practice. If you want a yoga challenge then you need to spend more time with Justine.
For some reason every time I do a class with her, I think of a fine goblet of crystal. As the goblet makes a clear, clean sound when struck, so too can you hear her frequency of love and compassion resonating through you as you spend time in her presence.”
~ Mary Stavrou, Certified Yoga Teacher and Practitioner (Mountaingoat Yoga)
“I have known Justine for a number of years now and I can honestly say that she is a truly gifted and exceptional teacher. Justine is able to create a perfect and soothing environment for anyone coming to her classes, whether a beginner or a seasoned practitioner. She has a unique and expert way of breaking down the pose so that it can become accessible to anyone. Through her Dharma classes, Justine enables her students to develop their strength, flexibility, awareness of their body as well as incorporate the immense spiritual benefits of yoga. »
~ Virginie Proskurniak, Certified Teacher, Samadhi Wellness
“Justine teaches with her heart and soul, and it really comes through in her classes. Her Dharma classes are what I call “a full spectrum yoga experience”. She opens the class with an intention, a little chanting, follows with a myriad of postures, and encourages us without pressure, to try new and challenging poses. Pranayama practice is included and then she lets us float into savasana to finish. Justine demonstrates the more challenging poses with beauty and grace, a true pleasure to observe! I feel challenged, yet nurtured, invigorated, and on a journey when I come to her class. At the end I leave feeling relaxed and mindful of my own energy and that of others around me. I only with I could attend more often. Thank you Justine!
~ Camilla d’Entremont, Certified Yoga Teacher, Maitreya Yoga
“I have been practicing yoga on a fairly regular basis for about three years now, and came to yoga looking for a physical activity that could also help me achieve some semblance of mental calmness and clarity – both on and off the mat. As the mother of three children, two with various special needs, a stressful work environment, running a small charity, and other “life” pressures that are a part of daily living for all of us, I was feeling tired, overwhelmed, and stretched to my limit. I’ve always been physically active, but the stress relieving benefits of my usual activities (running, swimming) seemed to dissipate the moment my shoes were off and I was faced with any type of stressful situation.
About a year into a fairly regular practice, I began attending some Dharma Yoga classes taught by Justine – at first, mainly because the classes fit nicely into my packed schedule! This turned out to be an incredible stroke of luck for me, because what I have found through Dharma Yoga and Justine’s instruction has been such a gift. The physical practice of Dharma Yoga itself is incredibly varied, and I have found it can be modified quite easily depending on my energy level or state of physical health on any given day. What I have discovered since those first classes, however, is that in addition to the wonderful physical benefits of this practice, it also has helped me to develop a wide-ranging set of tools and a deeper knowledge and understanding of myself that I can easily access throughout my day. As precious as my “mat time” is to me, it in fact represents a very small portion of any given day – and so having a practice that offers me tools to manage stress, evolve my personal relationships, and also cultivate spiritual development has been life changing for me.
In my experience so far, Dharma Yoga seems to offer to practitioners as much or as little as you want to take from it. If you are looking solely for a physically challenging practice – you will find it here. If you are looking for a practice that also offers some fundamentals and insight into the philosophy of yoga, you will obtain this as well through practicing Dharma Yoga. And if you are hoping to take your yoga to a much deeper spiritual level, as well as benefit from a physical practice, there is no doubt you will find this in Dharma Yoga as well.
The one thing I have learned as a general rule as I get older is that the more I “learn” about a particular subject, the more I realize how little I know about anything at all. My experience with Dharma Yoga embodies this principle – I know that I’ve just barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. I feel so grateful that Justine is willing to share this practice with the Ottawa yoga community through her classes and workshops – her patient guidance has been invaluable to me. She seems to instinctively know when to ask for a little bit more, and also when I am at my personal limit.
I recently experienced the passing of my father, to whom I was quite close. After the first few weeks of processing his death, I wanted to return to my yoga practice, but was worried that slowing my mind and being in a state of peace and calmness would also bring on unmanageable emotions and grief. I decided my first class back would be to Justine’s Dharma Yoga class, as the atmosphere is always one of non-judgment and acceptance. I left that class with a level of peace and gratitude that I had temporarily forgotten was possible.
You can’t help but leave a Dharma Yoga class or workshop with a feeling a sense of stillness, mental clarity, and like you just caught a glimpse into the intensity of what is possible by delving deeper into this practice. I feel sincere gratitude that Justine is willing to share her incredible depth of knowledge of this practice with me and the Ottawa yoga community at large.”