For the month of September, we are taking a break from spotlighting a member to instead feature a beloved staff member, Darlene Pinnell.
After 14 + years as a part of the PWFC family, we, unfortunately, say goodbye to Darlene, one of our instructors who has helped many of us say goodbye to bad moods, stress, sore and tense muscles.
The majority of our members will remember Darlene as one of our fabulous Yoga instructors but she didn’t begin with us as an instructor. She was actually first a member, who happened to have her Yoga certification. After some encouragement (and maybe a bit of begging) from Greg, she agreed to shift her yoga practice from being a student to an instructor (although she will say she will always be a student of Yoga which is why we call it a practice). She quickly built a following and has been a high-demand instructor ever since.
Darlene has introduced, inspired, educated and encouraged Yoga as a practice to many members who have passed through our doors. Her passion plus her easy-going (go with the flow) approach set an immediate class culture of acceptance for all levels and abilities. She was able to mix in her depth of knowledge to go along with humour and personalization, which helped make her a member favorite.
Some of her students chimed in with a few notes of appreciation of Darlene!
“Loved Darlene’s love for yoga. It was very evident she simply just enjoyed moving her body and passing on her knowledge to her students. Was so wonderful to be able to break up the day with a yoga class and Darlene’s positive energy. She will be missed!”
“Darlene is awesome. Very knowledgeable – always pleasant! I developed many new yoga skills under Darlene’s direction. I will miss her smiling face and am sad to see her go.”
“I will miss her calm presence and her Sun Salutations”
“Darlene is a wonderful Yoga instructor. Her knowledge of many types of yoga and levels of fitness are apparent.”
“Her knowledge of Yoga is insurmountable! I love the ambiance she brings to class. Chanti! Chanti! Chanti! Namaste!”
Although we have left the door open for an occasional return or guest class, this will be the first time in many years Darlene will not be a regular on our group fitness schedule. We wish Darlene all the best and express our gratitude for the immeasurable positive impact you have made to so many of our lives. Namaste
