Back in the ’70s Sheila Southon loved ashtanga yoga.

She loved the observances, restraints, purification and meditation that it offered and practised faithfully while concentrating on her own personal growth and development. Along the way, she studied Buddhism, Hinduism and tai chi and loved the full and complete lifestyle she felt these things offered.

"It was a path I was happy to stay on, but the more practical side of life got in the way," the calm and gentle grandmother of one told me last week. "I had to wait in order to continue on that path."

But wait she did: marrying, divorcing, raising two children and earning her master’s degree in counselling psychology as a single mother along the way and eventually remarrying.

Fast forward to the early 1990s — Southon was working (and continues to work) as a guidance counsellor at both the elementary and high school levels, which was beginning to take its toll. "I was overwhelmed, I mean there were 1,100 kids in the schools and I thought I was handling things efficiently but, truthfully, was losing myself in the process."

So in order to nourish herself she dove back into the world of yoga and meditation and began to listen to Deepak Chopra’s CD on the Physics of Healing.

It felt so right to her; Chopra’s beliefs that the body is a river, or a field of energy, and that how we feel and what we think have a huge impact on our health. "It all just resonated within me," Southon told me. "I wanted to learn more."

Southon decided to attend the Chopra Centre to further her knowledge of his teachings.

And learn she did.

Southon recently became only the third person in Quebec certified to teach the Chopra Centre’s Perfect Health program, and the first in Quebec certified to teach the Primordial Sound meditation program.

And she’s excited to be able to share Chopra’s wisdom with others.

The Perfect Health program includes basic yoga, basic meditation, nutrition (food as medicine), mind/ body types and conscious communication in relationships.

"Perfect Health is a combination of ancient Ayurvedic life science and discoveries in quantum biomechanics (the medical equivalent of quantum mechanics) over the past five decades," she explained.

It’s designed to help people experience physical healing, emotional freedom and higher states of consciousness, Southon said, and that’s exactly what she experienced.

The message she wants to impart most to people interested in the Chopra program is "the importance of reintroducing consciousness as a treatment modality in healing and maintaining health and vitality."

Southon explained that in the history of Western medicine, spirit and body were separated, which was not the case in the East. "We have access to ancient wisdom and now we can filter it through the rigour of brilliant Western medical science."

She likens primordial sound meditation to being at the beach in Maine. "I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the waves and the surf and I can feel the stress slipping away."

Southon said that when she re-embraced the techniques she’d learned, she found not only was she calmer, decision making was easier and "I was even more efficient at work."

And, she said, becoming more aware helps us to understand our bodies, which puts us in a much better position to discuss any illness or issues with a doctor. "It all starts with consciousness and awareness, it truly is a path to everything."

To find out more about the Perfect Health program, visit www.chopra teachers.com/sheilasouthon.

jthompson@montrealgazette.com