From Maureen Malanchuk

Precious knowledge and special gifts

Wende was one of the first people I met when I moved to Vancouver in the mid 90's and was looking for an Iyengar yoga class to join. Over the next 12 years I studied with her for two hours each week, completed the two-year teacher training program under her guidance, and practiced alongside her at dozens of local weekend workshops.

Of course, her beautiful hair and striking eyebrows were the first things I noticed about Wende but what I remember most were her twinkling eyes, her beautiful laugh, her inner peace and her warm personality.

Wende had a unique teaching style that was softer and gentler than many other Iyengar teachers I worked with. However that softness could be deceiving. She would gently but also quite firmly guide us in deepening our practice, taking us past the point we thought we could go. She taught with a firmness that was wrapped in velvet. In her classes there were always moments of clear instruction and moments of quiet reflection woven together with moments of humour and warmth. It was a joy and privilege to be her student.

The lessons she taught went far beyond the mat and yoga poses or pranyama practice; I also learned about the guiding principles of yoga - non-violence, contentment and austerity - not only through study and discussion but, more importantly, through the way she lived her life. Through the yoga she taught, the life she lived and the person she was, Wende showed me how to live in the present, be still, let go. No small lessons.

Wende also had a great talent for connecting with her students on a personal level. When we discovered our mutual love of travel, we would often greet each other with stories of recent adventures or upcoming travel plans.

I am grateful to Wende for sharing her precious knowledge and special gifts with me and I will treasure them always.

I was at a yoga workshop recently where many of us who had known and loved Wende keenly felt her absence. Though she was not physically with us, I was comforted to feel her presence throughout the workshop; her voice softly reminding me to breathe, her gentle laugh chiding me when I fell out of a pose, her memory nestled warmly in my heart.

Namaste, Wende

Maureen Malanchuk
September 2009