A Little About Candace Cooke

Q. What was your life before teaching yoga?
A. Before teaching yoga I was travelling the world… I travelled for 10 years! I met Alastair, my husband and the man who built Santosha, in Australia 20 years ago, after already travelling for about a year and a half. After that, being from different countries, he’s English, we found it hard to settle in one place so we kept going! Had work visa’s for different countries and travelled for long periods of time between working. We also did importing for a couple of years in there, living in Indonesia and selling in London (UK) and Calgary.

Q. Why did you start practicing yoga?
A. I first tried yoga in India, it wasn’t everywhere like it is now but it was there…. I remember very well my first class in Varkala, with the cutest, old Indian man ever! It was so grounding and freeing at the same time, and it felt like the real thing, coming from the source. After that, I did it when I could around India but it wasn’t until I got back to Calgary that I really got into it. I was really missing Indian culture and feeling a bit depressed being back home, in the middle of winter. I went to a yoga class at what was then, Yoga In Motion, and felt instantly connected to something great! I was hooked and felt fulfilled almost immediately! I was so excited to find that in Calgary!

Q. What is your guilty pleasure?
A. My guilty pleasure is a cold cerveza on a hot day…. Hence the last few months in Mexico with the family! I really love it there!

Q. What does a typical day look like in your life?
A. For many years I lived with no routine at all, that is the way I loved it to be! With three kids I’ve had to succumb to some sort of routine! My day usually begins with me being woken up by our youngest (Ashton who is 3) somewhere around 6am. If I am practicing in the morning, I try really, really, hard to not wake him up, and I sneak out into the living room and practice. He inevitably finds me! So, I usually have him on top of me for a good portion of my practice, to some degree or another! I’ve just adjusted my schedule now that I am back from a few months in Mexico. I realized while there, how much happier I was having my kids around me more and doing less! I think this is going to bring more balance to my whole family…. Both Alastair and I spend a great deal of the day being with our kids. Our daughter Isla is 5 and is in Kindergarten so is gone for half the day and our eldest son Josh is 11 and in grade 6. He plays some serious soccer and has the craziest schedule of all in our family, we spend a lot of time (5 or 6 days a week) taking him to where he has to go! It was great in Mexico, where we home schooled the kids together, we had an amazing time and absolutely no schedule to follow except that we did school in the mornings for 3 hours….

Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 – 10 years?
A. I am not sure where I see myself in 5-10 years, this is a question that I have been asking myself a lot lately! I am really happy where I am right now, I’d just like to have warmer weather for more of the time, so definite travel plans for the winter months…!? I am loving teaching yoga retreats, more of those too! Taking amazing people to awesome destinations is a real passion of mine!

Q. How did you come to name Yoga Santosha?
A. We felt that the word Santosha, the sanskrit word for Contentment, is what we were really looking for, and what makes most people truly happy, once they find it. This is why we say…. Let your contentment blossom!