The first time Monica Angelatos walked into a yoga studio, in 2004, it resonated with her so deeply that she gave up the dream she had been working toward, being a museum expert, and decided she wanted to open her own yoga studio instead.
“It was all about the feeling of freedom, liberation, letting go of all the things that weigh you down and hold you back. I knew I wanted that for myself, and I wanted to provide that for others,” says Angelatos.
Although Angelatos started her yoga practice in earnest to help heal herself emotionally and physically after a major life change, her longtime friend, and former ballerina, Maureen Vohora, started her yoga practice to get back into shape after having a baby in postwar Sarajevo.
This past July, Angelatos and Vohora, also the owner of iGita in Oakville, bought Be Yoga and Wellness, at 4031 Fairview St., and have furthered its existing appeal by adding a variety of class options, including Pilates and barre, to the already extensive selection of restorative and aerial yoga, and introducing new workshops including Hula-Hoop.
Angelatos chuckles, “We have classes that can kick your butt, and then we also have restorative classes where you can go into a deep state of relaxation.”
She continues by saying that taking care of the physical body is only half of what the studio is about.
“Given the state of the world and how hectic life can be for some people, we are all functioning with higher levels of stress without even really realizing it. That level of stress over a long period of time can affect your physical and mental health. We want to focus on overall wellness of a person.”
The studio now boasts practitioners for acupuncture, naturopathy, psychotherapy, osteopathy, shiatsu to complement the Ayurveda, biodynamic craniosacral therapy and registered massage therapy that was previously offered.
The pair invites new students who may be intimidated by yoga, especially men, to their six-week program for beginners.
“Their imagination gets ahead of them,” explains Vohora. “They think they’re going to walk in and everyone is going to be doing the splits and putting their foot behind their head. They automatically assume that they won’t be able to do it, or they’re worried about looking foolish.”