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Mindful Moments

Mindful Moments support students’ holistic wellbeing: body, mind, spirit and heart. Through mindfulness meditation and mindful yoga classes, we aim to provide programming where students can learn new skills, develop life-long healthy habits and learn about themselves. These classes are also a great way to find a quiet space during busy days.

Each instructor’s class is shaped by their unique academic and personal experience with mindfulness and yoga. Read about each of our Mindful Moments instructors.

If you’re interested in learning how to facilitate mindfulness for your peers visit MindFIT Training Program.

Sign up for the Multi-Faith Centre newsletter to receive information about mindfulness, meditation and yoga programs!

All undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff are eligible to attend where space permits. All levels of fitness are welcome to our yoga classes.

Types of Mindful Moments Classes

We aim to create a warm, welcoming, joyful, yoga class where everyone can feel comfortable in their bodies and with one another. We know yoga and fitness classes can sometimes feel intimidating. Here, we want to help dismantle contemporary notions of yoga as hierarchical spaces demanding perfection that are hyper-focused on the physical form of the body. Instead we emphasize moving at your own pace and developing a practice that works for you. Your instructor will offer options in class that you can choose to make the practice more or less physically challenging.

Good things to know about these classes:

  • Beginners are welcome. Remember, your instructor was a beginner once too.
  • This is not a competitive yoga environment. Everyone should feel free to do as much or as little of the physical components of class as they feel comfortable doing.
  • Listen to your body. It is your best guide on your yoga journey.
  • No special clothing is required but you should wear something you can move comfortably in.
  • We usually practice barefoot to reduce the risk of slipping.
  • Your instructor is happy to chat after class if you have questions about the practice.

When we get quiet in mindfulness meditation, we start to notice all kinds of things: our mental chatter or self-talk, our physical habits (e.g. clenching our teeth) and we can even become more aware of our mood and feelings. This awareness is empowering because it allows us to question or contemplate whatever we start to notice. Agency and autonomy can grow from this awareness and reflection.

Good things to know about these classes:

  • Your facilitator is trained and they welcome your questions.
  • You facilitator might be a graduate student, a staff member or even faculty.
  • Mindfulness is challenging—that’s why practicing together can really help!
  • Mindfulness is never about being perfect. It’s about noticing when our minds wander and learning about ourselves from that wandering.
  • There is no right, singular mindfulness practice for everyone. Your facilitator will offer a variety of meditations including breath meditations, body scans, visualization meditations, walking meditation, self-compassion and kindness meditations.

Search and register for Mindful Moments sessions

Some sessions require registration via Folio, others are drop-in style. Search for Mindful Moments on Folio to register.

You can also enjoy Mindful Moments Yoga classes available at KPE and Hart House to explore more mindfulness and movement opportunities in a supportive setting!

Mindful Moments Instructors & Facilitators

Haleh Asadnia

Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation Instructor
Mindful Moments Meditation Sessions:
Wednesdays, 12 – 12:30 p.m. Online through Teams
Register on Folio

Haleh facilitates supportive mindfulness-based meditation session centred on awareness and gentle inquiry. Currently studying Curriculum & Pedagogy with a wellbeing emphasis at OISE, she integrates her psychology background with her experience facilitating mindfulness-based practices in university settings. Haleh’s sessions are warm and invite participants to slow down, tune in, and explore their inner experiences with kindness and curiosity.

Michelle Bancroft, MEd, BSc Kin, WWHP

Student Life Coordinator, Mindfulness, Wellbeing, and Contemplative Practice
Mindful Moments Meditation Sessions:
Wednesdays, 12 – 12:30 p.m. Online through Teams
Register on Folio
Thursdays, 1 – 1:30 p.m. KP 307 (Quiet Room), Multi-Faith Centre
Register on Folio

Michelle Bancroft is a dedicated educator and wellness advocate with over a decade of experience in health promotion, adult education, and mindfulness-based programming. She currently teaches in the Workplace Health and Wellness programs at Humber Polytechnic and Centennial College, where she designs inclusive, student-centered curricula—including an innovative Mindfulness and Meditation course open to all students. Michelle holds a Master of Education from OISE, a BSc in Kinesiology, and a post-graduate certificate in Workplace Wellness and Health Promotion. A graduate of the Multi-Faith Centre’s MindFit course, she has facilitated meditation sessions across the U of T campus for over four years. Michelle will be stepping into the role of Program Coordinator, Mindfulness, Meditation & Yoga at the Multi-Faith Centre while Lauren Brown is on secondment.

Lauren Brown, PhD, MEd, E-RYT, AMMS

Program Coordinator, Yoga Instructor and Mindfulness Facilitator (On Secondment)


Lauren is the Mindfulness, Meditation & Yoga Program Coordinator for the Division of Student Life. She was introduced to mindfulness as a teen athlete and has practised yoga for over 20 years. Her recently completed PhD research is a call to leverage formal education, such as credit bearing university courses, as a preventative measure in the fight for student mental health and wellbeing. Through her research she identified that undergraduates learn about wellbeing through experiential learning, contemplation and critical thinking.

Headshot of Melissa

Melissa Campagnolo

Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation Instructor
Mindful Moments Sessions:
Mondays, Yoga: 12 – 12:45 p.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport
Tuesdays, Yoga: 1:10 – 1:35 p.m. immediately followed by Meditation: 1:40 – 2 p.m. at Hart House

Melissa is an experienced yoga teacher & certified yoga therapist. She has completed Foundations of Applied Mindfulness Meditation at U of T’s School of Continuing Studies. She encourages you to personalize yoga and meditation and bring these teachings into daily life. Melissa’s classes involve a reflection topic/intention, gentle yoga practice, relaxation, breathing practice and seated/lying down mindfulness meditation. All of her classes are beginner friendly with modifications available.

Shuxin Chu

Mindfulness Meditation Instructor
Mindful Moments Meditation Sessions:
Thursdays, 1 – 1:30 p.m. KP 307 (Quiet Room), Multi-Faith Centre
Register on Folio

Shuxin welcomes everyone to a mindfulness meditation session. Her sessions will focus on a calming, relaxing, and centering body scan meditation. They will begin with deep breaths, followed by relaxing and rejuvenating each part of the body, and concludes with gratitude. The practice is open to beginners and individuals of all experience levels, and participants are free to leave at any time. Shuxin comes from a non-denominational, open-minded background of meditation for inner peace and has been practicing since COVID-19. Currently, Shuxin is interested in exploring how innovation can be fostered in educational spaces to promote human flourishing, drawing on psychology, Buddhism, and sociology.

Headshot of Kirsty smiling.

Kirsty Clarke

Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation Instructor
Mindful Moments Yoga Sessions:
Tuesdays, 8:15 – 9 a.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport

Kirsty is on staff in Marketing and Communications at Hart House. She has been teaching yoga since 2017, to students of all ages and abilities. She teaches a relaxing vinyasa style, with options for students of all levels and experience. Kirsty‘s goal is for students to leave class feeling refreshed and revitalized, with tools to connect mind and body in a meaningful way outside the classroom in their real lives as well.

Headshot of Silje smiling.

Silje Jensen

Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation Instructor
Mindful Moments Yoga Sessions:
Thursdays, 5 – 5:45 p.m. KP 208 (Main Activity Hall), Multi-Faith Centre
Register on Folio
Mondays & Thursdays, 7:15 – 8 a.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport
Sundays, 10 – 10:45 a.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport

I teach a movement-forward, mindfulness-based class that strengthens both body and mind. I have expanded my teachings by studying and practicing yoga around the world under a variety of mentors and I am honored to teach at the University of Toronto. I am currently an undergraduate student studying philosophy and physiology with a focus on nutritional and neurosciences. I have always had a fascination in human biology, and to me, yoga embodies the intersection between bodily and mental awareness.

Headshot of Abby standing and crossing her arms confidently.

Abby Gaskin

Yoga Instructor
Mindful Moments Yoga Sessions:
Wednesdays, 8:15 – 9 a.m. at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport
Thursdays, 8:10 – 9 a.m. at Hart House

Abby is a graduate from the Master’s in East Asian Studies program at U of T and is an enthusiastic motivator about practicing and teaching yoga. Throughout her studies as a fashion designer (BFA in Fashion Design from the Parsons School of Design), followed by her time as a womenswear designer for UNIQLO in New York City, Abby has been exploring a diverse combination of yoga styles and practices. Though she started her yoga pursuit in 2016 as a Hatha-style certified teacher, Abby enjoys teaching a variety of styles with a focus on relaxed vinyasa yoga flow.

Headshot of Fiza smiling.

Fiza Mahtani

Yoga Instructor
Mindful Moments Yoga Sessions:
Tuesdays, 8:10 – 9 a.m. at Hart House

Fiza is a 4th-year Economics student passionate about health, wellness, and event planning. Over the past two years, she has been actively involved as a Work Study at the Multi-Faith Centre, supporting mindfulness, yoga, and interfaith programming. Beyond university, Fiza is the co-president of the U of T Pilates and Yoga Club and is a registered yoga teacher.

Headshot of Suzi smiling.

Suzi Lima

Yoga and Mindful Meditation Instructor
Mindful Moments Yoga Sessions:
Thursdays, 3:10 – 3:55 p.m. at Athletic Centre

Suzi is an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics at U of T and a certified trauma-informed yoga instructor. In addition to her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, Suzi is also certified in restorative yoga, yoga nidra and yin yoga. In addition, she has training in mindfulness meditation from the School of Continuing Studies at U of T. Suzi first connected with mindfulness meditation and its benefits in 2013 when she was in graduate school. She believes that different components of yoga (movement, breath and meditation) can lead individuals and communities to a calmer and more grounded experience in their daily lives. In her classes, expect a combination of breathwork, slow vinyasa flow and restorative shapes. You will be invited to explore the practice without judgment and with curiosity.