“The more we understand diversity, specifically intersectional diversity, the greater our capacity to connect with each other and uplift marginalized populations.”
“Cultural intersectional pedagogy teaches us to live in a courageous space, the space that marginalized and stateless individuals survive in every day.”
Heidi believes that each living being holds a unique resonance that expresses individual sound, harmony and rhythm. This resonance is a result of infinite variations in skeletal structure, muscles, and soft tissue as well as a multitude of ranges of motion and patterns of movement. Accompanying this network is a cultural concerto of life experiences and learning styles, informed by generations of relationships with land, water, and natural systems.
“It is the understanding of diversity that brings us together. Specifically, it is the intersecting moments of diversity that cultivates the courage to listen, heal and to share space.”
Heidi was born on Jeju Island, now part of South Korea but historically, independent and deeply rooted in its own island culture with a distinct language and culture. Jeju Island, specifically the Haenyeo (free diving women of the sea) is listed in UNESCO’S “Intangible Cultural Heritage” with less than 4000 speaking Jejuan and far fewer practicing the cultural matriarchal arts of the Haenyeo and the island’s Shamanism and Animism. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910), “Jejudo Island” was a name to be feared. A sentence of exile to Jeju was second harshest next to execution. The Jeju National Museum offers a history of exile with artifacts spanning centuries. They came from all classes of society — royal family members, scholars, and thieves. Many were banished for political and cultural conflict, sexual orientation, and insurgent art and poetry.
Heidi believes Jeju represents the cultural spirit of intersectionality.
Heidi is a Certified Advanced Specialist in Piano, Harmony, and History with the Royal Conservatory Of Music. She holds E-RYT 500 with the Yoga Alliance and has over 1000 hrs of supplemental training in Yin, Anatomy and Biomechanics, Vinyasa, Meditation, and Philosophy. She studied Landscape Architecture at University of British Columbia. She currently resides in Tofino, BC, traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, where she teaches yoga, music practices Landscape Architecture and lives within the cultural intersections of the Tla-o-qui-aht, the stateless, the Jejuan diaspora, Zainichi Koreans, and the inter generational effects of war, genocide and assimilation.
Research
Heidi’s current research is the exploration of cultural intersections through the expression of movement, music, writing, landscapes and living yoga.
Yoga
Heidi is an E-RYT 500 with the Yoga Alliance and has over 1000 hrs of supplemental training in Yin, Anatomy and Biomechanics, Vinyasa, Meditation, and Philosophy. At Coastal Bliss Yoga, Tofino, she teaches Hatha, Vinyasa, Power, Yin, Nidra, Foundations and 55 or Better Chair Yoga. She also co leads the 200 & 300 hr Teacher Training Program. Heidi leads the yoga program at Pacific Sands Beach Resort which includes daily yoga and retreats.
