sharon smith-carter

CLINICAL SOMATIC EDUCATOR & YOGA INSTRUCTOR

RSME, ERYT500, AWA CERTIFIED GROUP LEADER

Sharon has taught yoga and movement since 1999 in her community of Kawartha Lakes. She opened the first dedicated yoga studio in Lindsay Ontario, path to stillness yoga and focused on mindful practices that could help support positive shifts for health and wellbeing. Her interest has been rooted in the therapeutic aspects of movement as a way to settle the nervous system. Her yoga experience began with well-known Kripalu teacher Lila Ostermann and she formally certified in 2000 with an RYT500 Hatha Yoga training. She was drawn to study the work of teachers Donna Farhi, Judith Lasater, Paul Grilley, and Biff Mithoefer and many others over the past 2 decades. Sharon is a life-long learner and continues to explore approaches that are helpful to those dealing with mental and physical discomfort. She is currently studying the SPS Method for Spinal Health focusing on low back issues.

In 2013 she began her Somatic studies with Martha Peterson and Essential Somatics (based on the work of somatic pioneer Thomas Hanna.) This work had a profound impact when she found that somatic movements could facilitate profound shifts with very small movements. She continued her training with Essential Somatics to become a Clinical Somatic Educator and Somatic Movement Educator (RSME |RSMT) in 2014-2019. Somatic work has offered Sharon (and her clients) a powerful practice towards rewiring patterns of movement to reduce pain and increase ease. In 2021 she joined the faculty of Essential Somatics as a mentor and group teacher for their ESMTT program.

By fluke, she was introduced to the Amherst Writers & Artists Method of Writing with teacher Sue Reynolds in 2017. She was immediately drawn to the positive, supportive approach and philosophy of this writing method as a non-writer. Sharon became a certified AWA Group Circle Leader in 2019. Her group writing circle created a wonderful online community lifeline during COVID and now continues online to allow participation from those beyond CoKL.

Outside of her studio she continues to do outreach for NFP organizations and facilitated a Mind-Body Mental Health program at her local hospital until Covid shutdowns. Community minded, she collaborated with 2 friends in 2016 to start a 100 Women Who Care Chapter which to date has donated over $315000. in support of local organizations which fills her heart. When she’s not at the studio, Sharon can be found walking, knitting or on her paddle board in good weather.