WHO IS PADMA?

Padma is an enlightened educator and one of Canada’s most respected and popular teachers of meditation, yoga and self-realization. Padma masterfully translates timeless wisdom into modern language, making complicated, eastern knowledge available and relevant to us, helping build health and calm strength in our modern, dynamic world. Padma has over 30 years of experience in yoga and meditation, including a one-decade advanced meditation retreat in the Himalayas of India, and is certified to teach by the International Meditation Institute of India. On television, Padma has hosted and produced four nationally-aired series, Padma Yoga TV. Since 1999, she has hosted international workshops, taught Hollywood stars, and developed teacher training programs. Padma, Marla Stewart, B.Sc., holds a Biology degree from McGill University, Canada.

Padma researched and contemplated advanced yogic meditation, having discussions and meditating daily with a Himalayan meditation master. She mastered original Sanskrit texts of classical yogic philosophy, specializing in the Patanjali Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. She is highly regarded for her extensive studies and vast knowledge of classical yoga, becoming known as Canada’s Meditation Master.

‘Padma’ is the name offered to her by her teacher in the Himalayas. The name ‘Padma’ means ‘The Lotus Flower’ and is a very important symbol in India and in Asian cultures. The Lotus represents spiritual purity and intellectual awakening. The thousand-petalled lotus is the sign of complete spiritual enlightenment.
Padma is also another name for the goddess, Laxmi, the symbol of wealth, prosperity, abundance and beauty.

WHERE HAS SHE BEEN FEATURED IN MEDIA?

Her four nationally-aired television series are “Padma Yoga: Blissful Living,” ”Padma Yoga: Modern Meditations,” “Padma Yoga: The Elemental Series” and “Living Yoga with Padma,”  all totalling 143 episodes. She has produced two educational DVDs, Mountain and Ocean, and hosted a 12-part series on CBC radio. Her guided meditation recordings, “Freedom from Flight Anxiety,” and “Contentment” are heard on Air Canada flights. Padma is often featured in other national media, such as in the television series “Remedy Me,” and in Chatelaine magazine, December, 2009, in Reader’s Digest and others.

WHERE DID SHE STUDY?

Padma lived and studied in the western Himalayas of India, in close proximity with a meditation master, for almost a decade. As well as hours of her own study time each day, plus study with the other senior yogis there, Padma spent hours every day in discourse, study and meditation with her teacher. Padma lived independently, meditating up to six hours a day, and practicing the subtle arts of yoga. Lifestyle in the Himalayas was rustic and minimal, including basic tasks such as boiling drinking water and keeping the wood stove burning. She cooked and lived with no electric appliances, modern conveniences, or hot running water, spending the years in meditation and study.
Padma continues to return to India each year for extended meditation retreats and direct study with her teacher, Swami Shyam.
Padma also spent two years in Japan, learning Buddhist meditations, and attends Soto Zen retreats in North America with Norman Fischer.

ABIT OF HISTORY

Padma, Marla Stewart, B.Sc., worked as an environmental researcher for the federal government of Canada. Seeking deeper personal happiness and looking for the root causes of human behaviours that are destroying our environment, she travelled by herself to the Himalayas where she lived for a decade before returning to Canada. Certified to teach ‘Advanced Yogic Sciences and Meditation’ (M.M., Senior Level) and ‘Hatha Yoga’ (1000-hour Senior Level) by the International Meditation Institute of India, she is a unique educator specializing in a holistic approach to mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. Her western science and philosophical studies inform and expand her exceptional education in eastern practices. She is a unique bridge between the two worlds of wisdom and speaks with eloquence of their oneness. Padma owned and ran the Padma Yoga and Meditation Center in Vancouver, B.C., in 2002, and since 2000 has taught yoga and meditation to professionals, government agencies, and A-list Hollywood celebrities.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE

• Hosted and  produced the 26-episode nationally-aired TV series ‘Padma Yoga: Blissful Living’, 2010.
• Hosted and produced the 26-episode nationally-aired TV series ‘Padma Yoga: Modern Meditation’, 2010.
• Hosted and produced the 26-episode nationally-aired TV series ‘Padma Yoga: The Elemental Series’, 2009.
• Hosted and wrote a 65-episode nationally-syndicated television series, ‘Living Yoga with Padma’, 2003.
• Hosted a 12-part radio show on CBC radio, North By North-West, 2007.
• Featured on in-flight recording heard on Air Canada “Freedom from Flight Anxiety” and “Contentment.”
• Featured in the national TV series “Remedy Me.”
• Featured as a Lululemon Ambassador at their main store on West 4th Ave, Vancouver, 2007.
• Presented at the 2007 Toronto Yoga Conference; billed as a ‘Canada’s Meditation Teacher.’ Sponsored by Channel ONE in Toronto.
• Featured in a meditation article in Reader’s Digest, 2008.
• Featured in Chatelaine magazine, December, 2009.

• Founded and developed the departments of Meditation Studies, Learning and Development,  and Continuing Education programs at YYOGA, Vancouver, 2008 and 2009.
• Owned and directed the “Padma Yoga Center” in Vancouver, 2002.
• Produced two popular educational DVDs, 2006, “Mountain” and “Ocean”.
• Sat on the boards of the Yoga Association of BC (currently a Senior YABC Instructor), and the Yoga Outreach of BC.
• Taught meditation and hatha yoga and all yogic arts such as Sanskrit, chanting, breath, and philosophy, to top yoga teachers across Canada and the US since 2000.
• Since 2005 has been invited to host workshops in Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Florida, California, Mexico and France.

• B.Sc. in Biology from McGill University; Worked for the Federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans.
• Certified by the International Meditation Institute of India to teach Hatha Yoga (1000-hour Senior Level),  Yog Sciences, Meditation and Vedant Philosophy (Master of Meditation, M.M.)
• Completed a nine-year full-time advanced meditation retreat in the western Himalayas, 1999, with the meditation master, Swami Shyam, and continues to return there every year for extended  meditation retreats with her teacher.
• Practiced hatha yoga since 1982.
• Spent two years in Tokyo practicing Zazen meditation; Attends Soto Zen retreats.

• Recording a CD of talks on yoga philosophy
• Writing a book on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali