Lee Downer

Biography of Lee Downer Lee’s philosophy in fitness has always been safety and gentle exercise designed to yield effective results. This philosophy has led him to focus on yoga. In his first year at York University while studying Physical Education and Pure & Applied Science, Lee was hired by the YMCA as a fitness instructor. In 1991 Lee began studying yoga and became a YMCA Certified Yoga teacher. He then created and taught a yoga program for the North York YMCA which was named by the “Y” as “Yogafit”. Lee became a strong leader for the Y and taught several other YMCA fitness programs, such as Y’s Way to a Healthy Back, RunFit, MuscleWorks, WalkFit, and a Youth Weight Training Program. Lee’s strong fitness background and love of yoga has led him to the creation of “CorYoga”, a hybrid of Ashtanga and Hatha yoga. CorYoga is a sequential series of fluidic modified yoga moves set to a combination of exhilarating rhythmic world beat and soothing new age music. It can be physically challenging yet gentle and relaxing. Because of Lee’s safe and gentle approach to fitness, CorYoga has become very popular with a broad demographic of yoga students looking to increase not only their level of fitness but also take advantage of the endless benefits of yoga. CorYoga Anatomy workshops In addition to a busy schedule of teaching CorYoga classes and training new CorYoga Teachers, Lee has presented numerous CorYoga Anatomy Workshops and CorYoga for Golfers Workshop at Extreme Fitness the YMCA and Fitness Connection in Toronto. With the use of a life size flexible skeleton, these fascinating workshops teach the anatomical differences between body types and the reason why two people never look the same in each yoga posture. Some of Lee’s Fitness Club clients include: YMCA, Toronto, Ontario Extreme Fitness, Toronto, Ontario Fitness Connection, Toronto, Ontario The Workout Fitness and Racquet Club, Toronto, Ontario Premier Health and Fitness Club, Toronto, Ontario The Works Fitness and Aerobics Centre, Markham, Ontario P.U.S.H Fitness Club, Thunder Bay, Ontario Office Yoga Oasis Lee has fine-tuned his focus once again to concentrate on yoga for office workers. In the summer of 2002, he developed a series of videos called “Office Yoga Oasis”. Today Lee is presenting his Office Yoga Oasis program to offices of companies that are interested in helping their employees to find ways to de-stress right at their desks or work stations. Lee has successfully licensed his online Office Yoga Oasis Program to the Ontario Hospital Association and the Ministry of Affairs and Housing. Lee has also presented Office Yoga Oasis on City TV Breakfast Television. Office Yoga Oasis can be found at website location www.2oyo.com Some of Lee’s recent corporate yoga clients include: The Hudson Bay Company (North America’s oldest company) Nelson Thomson Canada, (publishing company) Thomson Carswell Ontario Hospital Association North York General Hospital Oxford Properties McMillan Binch LLP, (lawyers) HermanMiller Canada, (Office Furniture Manuacturers) City of Toronto Parks and Recreation (Municipal Government) Financial Services Commission of Ontario, (Provincial Government agency) Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, (Provincial Government agency) Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) (Federal Government agency) Canadian Management Centre (CMC) Conference exhibitor and presenter The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) Personal Yoga Training - Private Clients Lee also has numerous private clients who hire him for various therapeutic reasons such as help with Multiple Sclerosis, lower back and leg pain as well as for general improving of their overall health and wellness. Personal Training Before yoga came into Lee’s life he was a personal trainer. He began his Personal Training career in 1980, during his college days. Lee’s goal in those days was to become a chiropractor. In 1989 he decided to go back to York University to study Physical Education and Pure and Applied Science from 1989 to 1992. Between 1987 and 1991, he coached and trained many athletes, including Ontario and Canadian Weight Lifting Champion (1987), Ontario Bodybuilding Champion (1989), Super Seven Strength and Endurance Champion (1985), Metro Bench Press Champion (1986) Martial Arts Lee was also the founder and instructor of various martial arts and martial arts based aerobic fitness programs, such as Gojute Self-Defence (1992), and Dojorobics (1993). Gojute is a form of martial art developed specifically for women, utilizing techniques from aikido and jujitsu. Dojorobics is a fitness program which utilizes marital art techniques to create an aerobic workout.