Vidya Institute

Gitte Bechsgaard, the founder of Vidya Institute International, Toronto (2002), has studied, taught, and researched in Yoga, Psychology, and the Vedic Wisdom Traditions for almost 30 years. She is certified as a Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher (CIYT) and teaches throughout North America and Europe. In 2011 Gitte completed her Ph.D. thesis on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, published as The Gift of Consciousness: Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras(Cambridge Scholars Press). Her other book, The Sacred in Exile: What It Means to Lose Our Religion, co-written with Dr. Gillian McCann, was published with Palgrave in 2017. Together, Gillian and Gitte have facilitated University Conferences in Health, Healing, and Religion for Nipissing University, centered on themes related to the cultivation of religious tolerance, holistic health, contemplative practice, and spirituality. They also co-write for Psychology Today every month.