Meet Rya and Tanya
About Rya Letham
BHKin
BEd
Certified by The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning
Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher 500
Certified Nutrition and Detox Coach
Core Confidence Specialist
Original Strength Certified Professional Coach
Reiki Method of Natural Healing Level 1
Meet Rya Letham,
Rya has lived part-time in Huatulco for over 4 years, and finds it one of the most beautiful rejuvenating places on Earth.
I help clients empower themselves through the mindful movement practices of Pilates and yoga.
Inspired by the healing power of movement and nutrition, I have studied and worked in the field of health education for almost 30 years. I hold a Bachelor’s of Human Kinetics degree, program Exercise Science, from U.B.C., a Bachelor’s of Education degree from S.F.U. and studies in nutrition.
My first yoga teacher training was at Yandara Yoga Institute in 2009.
I then went on to complete my advanced yoga teacher training in Rishikesh India in 2010, studying Akhanda, including meditation and restorative training.
I have worked with diverse groups of people, including children, adolescents, seniors, prenatal and postpartum mothers and English as a second language students. My understanding of the body and love for learning shines through in my practice.
I am an Original Strength Certified Professional Coach. I integrate Posture Rest exercises designed to help calm the nervous system, develop reflexive stability and support communication between the right and left side of the brain. The exercises help people move with more freedom, relieves anxiety, supporting one to better live in wholeness and bliss.
As a mother of 2, I am forever grateful for the Pilates system which has assisted me in regaining my physical strength and agility postpartum. I completed my Classical Pilates apprenticeship at Whistler Pilates in 2016. I am also certified in the Core Confidence program; exercises designed to help retrain your centre postpartum.
I opened Pilates Integrated studio in Pemberton BC, and evolved it to online only in 2021. Currently I teach Pilates and yoga both online and in person at Local Motion Therapy, Pemberton Community Centre, Village Yoga and online.
People walk away from my classes and trainings feeling empowered, having learned ‘aha’s’ about the connection between their body, mind and spirit.
Any many stick around for regular weekly practice :)
I am also co-founder and a lead teacher for Anandastar Registered Yoga School with Yoga Alliance.
I am motivated by the nature of infinity, infinite nature, one’s true nature and being in nature.
About Tanya Di Valentino
A love for life, conscious movement and connection to nature led Tanya to open her eyes and heart to a lifestyle guided by the ancient wisdom of yoga.
Tanya has spent nearly her entire life with an enthusiasm for conscious movement, ever since her days as a young gymnast. Her interest to teach others about the joy of movement began in university when Tanya began to coach children’s gymnastics. After graduation in 2001, she moved to Whistler to snowboard and wandered into a hot yoga class at Neoalpine Yoga Studio and instantly fell in love. Ever since that first, life-changing yoga class taught by the amazing Kristin Campbell, Tanya has been a dedicated student of yoga.
Tanya’s spiritual seeking brought her to Yandara Yoga Institute on the beaches of Todos Santos, Mexico where she completed her first teacher training course with Craig and Shane-Christopher Perkins in 2006. This invaluable experience stoked her curiosity for traditional lineages and she spent five weeks at Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh, India, completing her advanced training in Akhanda Yoga, holistic Hatha, with Dr. Yogrishi Vishvketu. Her love of the dynamic and powerful Ashtanga Yoga lead her to San Francisco to complete teacher training with David Swenson. An opportunity arose for Tanya to spend six weeks at The Sivananda Yoga Ashram on Paradise Island in the Bahamas and she did not hesitate to travel to this beautiful and magical place. Tanya arrived at the Ashram to study Thai Yoga Massage with Kam Thye Chow, to learn about yoga for athletes and to fan the flame of Bhakti Yoga at the Ashram with workshops and many vibrant evenings of Kirtan with Krishna Das, Snatam Kaur and Russill Paul.
These early experiences have contributed greatly to Tanya’s dedication to the practice of yoga for over two decades as well as profound feelings of love and gratitude when sharing what she has learned with others.
Over the years, she has met people from all over the world and has come to realize a common thread that weaves through each person is a deep longing for lasting joy, peace and love. It is Tanya’s intention with the many paths of yoga to inspire others to experience the joy, peace and love that is ever-present as the essence of their own being.
Tanya is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500-hour level (ERYT-500) and has co-created the registered yoga teacher training program Anandastar Yoga (RYS-200). She has been teaching yoga in Whistler and Pemberton since 2006.
Tanya’s Education and Certifications
March 2025 – Group Fitness Instructor Course for BCRPA Certification - Body Blueprint Fitness Education with Christina Truscott (Live Online, In-Progress)
February 2025 – Fitness Theory Course for BCRPA Certification - Body Blueprint Fitness Education (Online) with Christina Truscott
April 2024 - Emergency First Aid & CPR/AED
May 2024 – Steel Mace Vinyasa Level 1 (16 hours) – Teacher Training, Flow Shala with Summer Huntington (Live Online)
January 2022 – Yin Yoga Teacher Training (55 hours), Whole Body Paradigm School of Yoga with Lucy St. John, Pemberton, BC
August, 2019 - National Coaching Certification Program – Gymnastics Foundations Trampoline Course with Colleen Kaminski, Whistler BC
October, 2018 - National Coaching Certification Program – Gymnastics Foundations Active Start (Pre-School) Course with Penny Erickson, Whistler BC
March 2008 - Thai Yoga Massage Level 1 & 2 (148 hours) – Lotus Palm Institute of Thai Massage with Kam Thye Chow and Albert Swiercz, Sivanada Yoga Ashram, Paradise Island, Bahamas
February 2008 - Yoga and Sports Intensive Course (90 hours) - Sivanada Yoga Ashram with Swami Sitaramananda and Dr. Don Oyao , Paradise Island, Bahamas
October 2007 - Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training (40 hours) – Ashtanga Yoga Productions with David Swenson, San Francisco, California
April 2007 - 500-Hour Level Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, Certified to teach Akhanda Yoga Levels 1, 2, Prenatal, Hatha-Raja and Classical Kundalini – Akhanda Yoga Institute with Dr. Yogrishi Vishvketu (Vishva-ji), Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram, Rishikesh, India
April 2007 – Reiki First Degree – with Shanti Rubens (Master of Reiki), Rishikesh, India
October 2006 - Vinyasa Flow Teacher Training (75 hours) – Neoalpine Yoga & World Yoga Within with Kristin Campbell and Tina Pashumati James, Whistler BC
June 2006 - 200-Hour Level Yoga Teacher Training – Yandara Yoga Institute with Craig and Shane-Christopher Perkins, Todos Santos, Mexico
January, 2005 - National Coaching Certification Program – Gymnastics Technical Foundations in Artistic Gymnastics Course with Michelle Sims, Nelson BC
January, 2001 - Bachelor of Arts Degree - University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario
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