Mary Paterson is author of: The Monks and Me, 40 Days in a Buddhist Monastery, about her pilgrimage to Thich Nhat Hanh’s Monastery in France, to be published in the fall of 2012 by: Hampton Roads Publishing in San Francisco. Mary is also the Founder and Director of Toronto’s Lotus Yoga Centre, a mecca for yoga and meditation instruction that has been operating since 2000. For fifteen years, she has studied and taught internationally in India, England, France, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the U.S. (New York and New Mexico). For ten years, Mary has also specialized in teaching stress-reducing techniques to people with cancer, their family members, nurses and doctors at hospitals, and to members of the charitable organization Wellspring (a support center for people with cancer).
For the last six years, people from all walks of life (doctors, artists, film directors and scientists), from around the world (Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto) attended yoga retreats in Mexico and Costa Rica that Mary has led. Mary holds international certifications in Kundalini and Hatha yoga, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens University that focused on biology, psychology, and philosophy. She has traveled extensively throughout India, studying under renowned masters of various spiritual disciplines with a strong focus on Buddhist and yogic practices. Her journeys have included several retreats in the Himalayas and Europe on silent meditation courses for personal growth and increased awareness of herself, others, and the world.
Mary has been interviewed for numerous magazine and newspaper articles including Elle Canada, the International Yoga Show journal Namaskar, The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. She has written a series on yoga as it relates to increased health and happiness for the corporation, CIBC Wood Gundy, and an article on “yoga and fertility” for Tonic magazine. She is frequently the meditation and yoga expert for on-line journals. In the spring of 2007 CBC television’s Living in Toronto featured Mary’s work with cancer survivors. She is often invited by business corporations to teach and speak on the transformational powers of meditation.
Mary also performed professionally for many years as a contemporary dancer in theatre and film after training at The National Ballet School. She has produced and performed in several critically acclaimed works with principal dancers from The National Ballet of Canada and has collaborated with the internationally celebrated author, Michael Ondaatje, and singer, Jane Siberry. Her dance work has been featured and promoted on numerous occasions in television and print.
While Mary has taught several celebrities, she recognizes the importance of equally valuing every human life, understanding that we are all deeply interconnected and all face the challenges and joys of being human. She is passionate about the powerful way yoga and meditation transforms people and is devoted to guiding others towards greater health and happiness. E-mail: mary@lotusyogacentre.com Agent Shaun Bradley, email: shaunbradley@eastlink.ca
