In Focus | Shauna Nyrose of Okanagan Yoga Retreats

In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do.

What is your name?
Shauna Nyrose

What do you always find yourself saying?
You are only as strong, creative, kind or thoughtful as you think you. If you want to be kind, do kind things. If you want to be strong, practice finding the strength to be strong. Setting an intention is not enough. The real shift comes with action.

If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select?
Oprah Winfrey!

If you were to receive any existing public award, what award would you like to win?
Small business of the year, or women in business

Who inspires you?
My husband and my children - they keep me real and accountable and firmly grounded in what's important in life. I am inspired by everyday people who not only want to make a difference in their communities, but who are actually doing it.

What are three things on your bucket list?
1. Take an extended, culturally immersive sabbatical in another country with my kids.
2. Be a talk radio host
3. Be financially successful enough so that my husband doesn't have to work so hard.

Please tell us about a defining moment in your life
Having my son nearly 11 years ago. My world shifted... I knew that I needed to be a better human, that there was more to life than just making money and getting stuff.

If you had an enormous yacht, what would you name it?
I can't really imagine having a yacht.

If you could foresee a single day of your future in its entirety, what date would you select?
I really had to think about this question. And the truthful answer is I am quite happy leaving the future in its rightful place. I'm happy to keep it a surprise.

What are you passionate about?
I am so grateful to have discovered yoga nearly 11 years ago, right after the birth of my son. I realized that I had been seeking a spiritual practice my whole adult life... it was the missing piece. Practicing gratitude, acceptance, letting go of s*** that doesn't matter; all of this has opened up a space for me to be so passionate about many things in my life! My amazing family, my work as a yoga teacher, my dear friends... and nature. Not a day goes by when I don't silently take a moment of awe for this beautiful place we live in. Yoga has really been a catalyst for making the days meaningful.

What has been your favourite day of your life, up to this point?
The day I married my husband, Darcy. Having my kids was a sentimental milestone, but my favorite day was my wedding day nearly 13 years ago. I felt beautiful and loved and I was surrounded by all the most important people in my life. I married an amazing man. I didn't know back then that he would turn out to be a wonderful husband and Dad but it all felt very right in that moment. We sang, we danced, we drank wine...and for me, it really doesn't get much better than that.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Building two extraordinary little people. I'm so proud of my kids Jack and Jade. But I'm also proud that I had to courage to become a yoga teacher at 35. It was not easy and there were so many time that I questioned why I was doing it... I mean, I had a good job, family, great kids... I didn't need to do it. It would have been easier not to, to just settle into my comfortable Kettle Valley life. But one of the most powerful lessons I've come to learn from yoga is that it is in the uncomfortable space that we grow, push our boundaries, and discover our potential.

Where is your favourite place to dine in Kelowna?
I like the Minstrel, the Gratitude Cafe... my backyard.

What is your favourite activity or event in Kelowna?
For the last few years, I've taught at the Okanagan Largest Outdoor Yoga class in July. It's a fundraiser that's always super fun!

What is the name of your business/organization?
Okanagan Yoga Retreats

What does your business/organization do?
Yoga and Meditation Retreats in amazing locations exclusively in the Okanagan Valley.

Where can people find you or your business online?
www.okanaganyogaretreats.com

How do people connect with you on Linkedin?
https://www.linkedin.com/

Where can people find your business on Facebook?
Okanagan Retreats

What is your mission?
To bring people to the Okanagan and to teach them how to feel better physically, mentally and emotionally; to leave them feeling inspired and empowered in their own lives.

If you could achieve one thing within your field, what would it be?
To put the Okanagan Valley on the map as a world-class retreat destination

Where do you want your business/organization to be in five years?
In five years, our intention is to be known as one of BC's premiere yoga and lifestyle retreat providers; we hope to have cultivated strong partnerships within the local, regional and provincial tourism community

Who do you consider to be a forerunner within your field?
Locally, we are charting new territory! We are inspired by smart, integral, elegant entrepreneurial women such as Jamie Wood from Sanga Retreats, Jana Roemer and Elena Brower.

What three qualities do you feel that your business/organization exemplifies?
Inspiration
Possibility
Optimism

How does your business/organization impact the community?
Okanagan Yoga Retreat leaders Chelsea Ray and Shauna Nyrose are also co-founders of The Lit from Within Project, a local grass-roots fundraising platform started here in Kelowna. Together with fellow Lululemon Ambassador, Pam Rader and volunteers, The Lit from Within Project provides financial and service resources to existing trauma, mental health and addiction recovery programs in the Okanagan. Over the past year through special yoga events, the Lit from Within Project has raised thousands of dollars. Both Shauna and Chelsea work in recovery and have witness first-hand the healing power of yoga.

What makes you successful? Tell us about it.
I think we are successful because we are just who we are. You can't be something you're not. People are drawn to authenticity. They are drawn to being a part of authentic experiences. Chelsea and I really try to embody our yogic values in how we operate our business; do no harm, tell the truth, don't steal from others, let go of things that are not meant for us, focus our energy on our work. We also firmly believe in the theory of abundance. That there is enough for everyone which helps us make decisions not from a place of fear (as is often the case these days) but from a place of generosity.

If you were trapped in an elevator with several wealthy investors from any field, which field would you want them to be experts in? What would say to them/talk about?
Naturally, we would want them to be experts in the fields of Wellness; we are excited to see the merging of western and eastern modalities on health! Psychology, Medicine, Therapeutics, Nutrition, Spirituality, Communications. People like Marianne Williamson, Sheryl Sandberg and even Oprah, who are embracing a new kind of spirituality that is very much rooted in our modern socio-political cultural experience. People like Gabor Mate, a Vancouver physician and author who is literally defining the relationship between disease and emotional health, as well as charting new territory in understanding and treating addiction from a place of compassion. Wow, we hope that would be a really long elevator ride!

If I could change one thing about Kelowna, it would be:
Well... I kind of wish it could be summer all the time. I love summers so much. Just some snow at Christmas and up at Big White.

What do you think makes Kelowna great?
Everything! We love Kelowna and the Okanagan so much that we couldn't imagine hosting our retreats anywhere else. From the pastoral mountain views and beautiful lakes, to the incredible vineyards and delicious farm fresh food we grow here, and our world-class hospitality partners... it is the PERFECT place to press pause... and spend some time with the most important person in their lives.

My nomination for the In Focus spotlight is:
Sandy Redman, Kelowna Paddle Centre

Some general comments I would like to share are:
As a kid I was outgoing, pretty happy actually. One of the things that I've discovered as I ventured into deeper yoga practice that this is kind of unusual. Many people suffer with trauma, stuff from their childhoods, self-limiting thoughts that are taken as 'truth'. Through the years of yoga training, sometimes I've felt like there was something wrong with ME, that because I didn't have wounds or scars that I might not be a good teacher. I'm slowly beginning to understand that the reason my students feel a connection with me is because I open up the possibility that yes, you CAN be happy in this life. Even when through job loss, the end of a marriage, the crap hitting the fan... it's the way in which we see the world and our role in it that determines EVERYTHING. There is nothing wrong with me and there is nothing wrong with you. It's all the way in which we filter our relationships, work, experie nces. Often, in hindsight we realize that our worst days or experiences might have actually been the best things that could have happened to us. It's the universe setting you up to win. I believe we all have the potential to be truly happy in any given moment... we just have to choose it.

We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below, and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna!