Our Founders
Sharon Gannon's quest for independence began with her birth on July 4th in Washington, DC. Her interest in mysticism was nourished by her Catholic upbringing.
started her quest for liberation upon her birth on July 4th in Washington, DC. Sharon views art as a means for uplifting the soul and her artistic pursuits enriched the community by educating and inspiring. In 1984 she shifted her main focus from the performing arts to teaching yoga in the hope of giving practical methods that would benefit people more directly and immediately. Sharon has studied yoga since 1976 with many teachers around the globe, most notably with Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, Swami Nirmalanada, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, Swami Shankarananda, Shyam Das and Bhagavan Das. She brings a rare blend of scholarly study, artistic pursuits and a highly disciplined asana and meditation practice to her offerings as a teacher.
Sharon is an animal-rights activist and outspoken advocate of ethical veganism. She was nominated for the "Gutsiest Woman of the Year 1999" by Jane Magazine. She is the author of Cats and Dogs are People Too, an investigation of the corporate profit-driven insensitive attitudes that result in commercial "pet food" and the health risks to companion animals who eat it. Together with David Life and Janet Rienstra, she established the Animal Mukti Free Spay & Neuter Clinic, which was the first free spay and neuter clinic in New York City, at the Humane Society of NY in 1999. In 2004 she was recognized as "Friend of Ferals" by the Humane Society of New York and Neighborhood Cats. She is a long time vanguard member of PETA, working with them on various projects and campaigns to help make this world a kinder place. In 2003 she appeared on a video screen in Times Square behind the New Years Ball advocating Yoga and Vegetarianism as a step toward world Peace. Along with Life she has established a 76-acre Wildlife Forest Sanctuary in upstate New York.
David Life has been recognized by Yoga Journal as an "innovator" in yoga in the U.S today. Together with Sharon Gannon, and through the blessings of his teachers, David has helped create the Jivamukti Yoga method, which focuses on teaching and practicing yoga as a means to enlightenment.
David is a Certified Advanced Practitioner of the Ashtanga Yoga method of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, which he began studying in Mysore, India in 1988. He spent several years as a sannyas (renunciate) initiated by Swami Nirmalananda in 1989. He has received Kalachakra and Bodhisattva initiation from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. He has been a contributing writer for several publications including Yoga Journal and Yoga International, and together with Sharon Gannon has co-authored two books, Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body & Soul and The Art of Yoga.
His interest in yoga is supported by his artistic, literary and metaphysical studies. He imbues his classes with metaphor, musicality and spirituality, spiced with humor, vigor and spontaneity. He is considered to be a "teacher's teacher" and he is a respected, popular, and in-demand teacher around the globe. He has taught for more than twenty years throughout the United States, and in Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, Italy, India, Turkey, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Philippines, Australia, China, the Caribbean, and Israel.
Jivamukti Yoga Toronto 
Our Faculty
