Tenant Spotlight: Journey To Ashtanga

Kelly Hilton had an intriguing career. After studying film at Carleton University, she moved to Hamilton to work for a publishing company. Eventually, she opened her own yoga studio, which has become highly popular within the Cotton Factory family. Subsequently, Kelly became editor of a publication focused on feminism and began doing projects for women’s shelters advocating social justice.

Kelly created the “Seeds of Hope” project for women’s shelters and collected stories from eight shelters worldwide, then bought land from local institutions to plant the seeds from different countries. This provided an on-site outreach for these centers and a place for people to seek help. Due to Kelly’s work, she was invited to speak at an international conference about using landscapes for social justice purposes.

When Kelly’s youngest child left for college, she decided to pursue her passion for yoga and enrolled in a teacher training course. She joined forces with five other women and formed Aviva Yoga Studio – which they eventually moved into the Cotton Factory 6 years ago.

Kelly starts her day at 5:30 with an Ashtanga practice at the Cotton Factory. Afterwards, she teaches classes in the dedicated yoga space. Kelly loves the healing atmosphere of the Cotton Factory, as well as all the people she has met through this journey.

Aviva Yoga is located in Studio M207 on the 2nd Floor in the Mill Building at the Cotton Factory. To learn more about the classes Aviva has on offer call (289) 208-2753.

This article was written by Kylie Sylvester, Co-op Student, Glendale Highschool, Hamilton Ontario.